Barossa Cider Co has won Best Cider in Show at the 2019 Australian Cider Awards for its Squashed Apple Cider.
Cider Australia announced the country’s best cider recipients in the 2019 Australian Cider Awards at a gala dinner in Melbourne.
The awards received a record-breaking 276 entries. A record number of gold medals were also awarded this year, with 14 out of the 16 won by Australian producers.
The panel judging panel included chair Sebastian Crowther MS of REAL Wines, Michael Henry of Henry of Harcourt, James Kendell of Small Acres Cyder, Loïc Le Calvez of Wine Truth, Briony Liebich of Lion Co, Jody Scott of New Zealand’s Zeffer Cider and guest UK judge Tom Oliver.
Entries were blind tasted and assessed in terms of aroma and flavour, appearance, mouthfeel and overall impression.
Barossa Cider Co came out on top a score of 97 in the New World Medium Sweet Class.
“As a family owned business, we are really proud and humbled to receive these accolades after the past 6 years of hard work,” said Oscar Bowen, Co-Owner and Director.
“After an idea around the dinner table that lead to my brother, Hugo and me traveling Europe and the UK for some enjoyable market research, we decided on a production style inspired by best in class techniques already being used in the Australian industry combined with our family and our own wine-making experience.” Said Oscar.
“Our aim when we started this business was to produce the best possible easy drinking cider that would appeal to a broad demographic using only 100% real Australian Apples and Pears, and we are extremely proud to receive this validation of what we originally set out to achieve.”
Australia’s best cider trophy winners were:
Best in Show: Barossa Cider Co (pictured above) – Squashed Apple Cider
Best New World Cider: Barossa Cider Co – Squashed Apple Cider
Best Traditional Cider: Kangaroo Island Ciders – Colony Cove 2018 Draught Cider
Best Perry: Small Acres Cyder – 2017 Sparkling Perry
Best Intensified/Distilled Cider or Perry: William Smith & Sons – Charles Oates Distilling Apple Blanco
Best Australian Cider or Perry: Barossa Cider Co – Squashed Apple Cider
Best International Cider or Perry: Cester Camillo – Sidro del Bosco
Most Successful Small Producer: Small Acres Cyder, New South Wales
Most Successful Larger Producer: William Smith & Sons, Tasmania
Champion of the Industry Award: Dr Clive Crossley and partner Lynne Uptin OAM of Red Sails Cider in Tasmania.
President of Cider Australia, Sam Reid, said: “The strength of Clive and Lynne’s international networks and friendships has been important in shaping and influencing Australian cider.
“They are an inspiration to many cider producers in Australia and overseas and show what is possible if you retain integrity and aim for the best.”
Click here for the full list of medal winners.
Cider exports and tourism in focus at Australian Cider Forum
Cider exports and tourism were the focus of this year’s Australian Cider Forum – which preceded the Cider Awards – with Cider Australia and Wine Australia joining forces to promote a future go-to-market strategy and tourism opportunities for cider producers.
The-go-to-market strategy – being developed with funding from the Australian Government’s $50 million Export and Regional Wine Support Package (the $50m Package) – will support craft cider producers looking to market their brands overseas and follows the launch of Cider Australia’s world-first ‘100% Australian Grown’ trust mark in 2018.
Key features of the go-to-market strategy include:
- in-market analysis of the China, Japan, UK and US markets
- Export Market Guides outlining the demographics, regulatory environment and import requirements for each of these markets, and
- guidance on how to apply the brand proposition and trust mark in each of these markets.
Wine Australia Chief Executive Officer Andreas Clark said: “With the Australian Government’s $500,000 Cider Program nearing completion, Wine Australia will use the cider forum to update producers on the resources being developed to help them identify and break into key export markets.
Reid added: “The Cider Program has brought to life the vision of the Australian cider industry and united cider producers across the country under a consistent and meaningful brand.
“The 100% Australian Grown trust mark is an important foundation that enables consumers to identify authentic ciders made from apples grown on Australian farms, and the export market analysis and guidance materials we have developed go far beyond anything previously available to smaller producers.
“With cider becoming a global category, now is a great time for Australian cider makers to be pursuing this opportunity. Ten years ago, only 21% of global cider consumption was outside of Western Europe and this has now moved to 45%, according to GlobalData, reflecting the growth in new world cider markets and styles.
‘This puts us in good stead to achieve our goal of increasing the market share of Australian craft ciders from 10 to 30% by 2023.”
For more information about Cider Australia’s brand proposition and trust mark, visit http://www.cideraustralia.org.au/backtoearth/
