BOuiTquE WiNE AWARDS 2011
chairman‘s message
Most of the wineries in Australia and New Zealand are boutique wineries. By our definition, that means they crush no more than 250 tonnes of grapes per year for their own label. According to the current Australian and New Zealand Wine Industry Directory, precisely 2,003 of the 2,477 wine producing entities in Australia (81%) fit that category. In New Zealand the figure is 74%. These figures expose the lie perpetuated by those with vested interests in far-off countries that Australia is the home of industrial wine churned out by huge, refinery-like wineries. Why dedicate a wine show expressly to boutique winemakers? Almost all wine companies, regardless of present size, began as boutiques. Nobody is pretending that all of the best wines of these two countries come from small wineries. Some of them undoubtedly do. But because of their lower economies of scale and lack of marketing clout, boutiques are at a disadvantage compared to larger entities. They are also disadvantaged by the minimum volume requirements for entry into some of the classes of the larger wine competitions. Our show has no such limits. Small wineries, often driven by the energy of a single passionate, determined, energetic, visionary individual are the powerhouse of creativity and originality in wine. They conceive ideas that others later imitate. We celebrate the dynamic boutique wineries of these two great countries and applaud their fine wines.
Huon Hooke awards chairman Boutique Wine Awards 2011
Page 4
AABW BOuitque WiNe AWArdS 2011