New World dominates HKIWSC awards

The Cathay Pacific Hong Kong International Wine & Spirit Competition held its awards ceremony at the Exhibition Centre last night.

Fifty-three trophies were awarded in total, with the lion’s share of the prizes going to the New World, particularly Australia.

Australia scooped 10 of the trophies (four for Australian Vintage alone) and 489 medals in total.

On the other hand, an increased number of entries from Portugal (by 144%), Austria and Germany (400%) saw those countries improve their medal haul compared to last year.

Overall the competition saw an 11% increase in entry numbers with new entrants from Brazil, Slovenia, Israel and Mexico for wines and Barbados, Georgia and New Zealand for spirits.

Debra Meiburg MW, founding director of the HKIWSC, said: “The Competition continues to attract the attention of the international wine community and local importers. More people are recognising the intricacies and differences in the taste and consumption preferences of the Asian community from other major markets where wine competitions are traditionally based.

“Trophies and medals offer major credibility in this market, and we are so pleased to see a fresh batch of winners this year.”

In addition to the trophies for the wine and spirit winners, Oliver Zhou and the team at Vinehoo.com were named joint winners of the ‘Young Communicator of the Year’ award for their work in spreading wine culture in mainland China.

Zhou said he was “overjoyed” to have accepted the award and that the work of the Vinehoo team had been recognised on an international level.

“Winning such a prestigious award certainly requires us to do 110% in the future, but I know the team is ready for the challenge.”