Bites

An already stellar year is getting better for Mt Barker producer Xabregas Wines, which has just won three awards at the highly acclaimed International Wine Challenge 2006 in London.

Given that Xabregas only entered three of its wines, winning an award for each has made the team, led by Dr Di Miller ,very happy.

Xabregas Wines entered its premium 2004 Show Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, which won silver, the 2004 Show Reserve Shiraz which won bronze, and the 2005 recently released Show Reserve Chardonnay, which was awarded a ‘seal of approval’.

The International Wine Challenge in London is considered to be a benchmark of global wine events as it brings together more than 9,000 wines from regions throughout the world. This makes it one of the largest blind tasting events in the world, if not the largest.

Success at this level caps off recent success for Dr Miller and her team at the Porongurup Winery, near Mt Barker.

Last year, the winery collected 17 medals at the Qantas Wine Show of Western Australia.

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The Swan Valley Regional Winemakers Association recently announced an alliance with the WA Fishing Industry Council to promote the combination of WA wine and seafood.

Kicking off the partnership will be a seafood and shiraz weekend on July 8 and 9 bringing together numerous Swan Valley wine and food producers. On show will be different seafood parings with Swan Valley shiraz, considered to be the region’s favourite wine.

The second event will feature further food and wine matches as part of the Fishing Industry Council’s awards dinner in October.

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Still in the valley, this year marks the 50th anniversary for Garbin Estate Wines. To celebrate the occasion, the label has been changed to include a picture of the winery’s founder, Duje Garbin.

Mr Garbin arrived in Australia in 1937 and settled in his Swan Valley vineyard in 1956. His son, Peter, now controls the company.