Dr Cath Kidman

Wynns viticulturist wins at Gourmet Traveller Awards

October 7, 2020
By Ioni Doherty

Wynns viticulturist, Dr Cath Kidman has been awarded Viticulturist of the Year at the 2020 Gourmet Traveller WINE Winemaker of the Year Awards.

Of her win, Chairman of judges, Peter Forrestal said: “Catherine Kidman shows how detailed viticultural investigation can have significant impact on wine quality. She wants the vines to produce grapes that are concentrated in colour and flavour, and is looking for judicious water management to achieve this via research that includes the use of thermography.

“As our Viticulturist of the Year for 2020, we salute Cath Kidman’s meticulous research and the ways in which it impacts on the wine quality at Wynns in the short and long term. It’s valuable and impressive in itself, but even more important when considered as part of the contribution that the team of viticulturists makes to the quality of wine at Wynns,” he said.

Dr Cath Kidman has worked at Wynns Coonawarra Estate for close to a decade. She was delighted to receive the prestigious award.

“I am truly humbled…I think that we can all say that being a viticulturist or winemaker this vintage has been tough! However, I am a true believer that adversity breeds innovation and more importantly, that we as an industry are resilient and supportive of each other.,” she said.

“I have no doubt that the way we approach and do things in the future will change and I’m really excited by the opportunity that we have right now to maximise our learnings about our environment and vineyards and really push the boundaries in our understanding of how to grow our vineyards to continue to produce exception wines into the future.”

Established in 1951 and with history dating back to the late 1800s, Wynns Coonawarra Estate is the region’s pre-eminent wine producer, and largest single vineyard holder, with the best and longest established vineyard sites in Coonawarra. Its wines are regarded as benchmarks for the district; lauded for both their consistent quality and depth of flavour.

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