PREDICTIONS by industry watchers that Western Australia’s cool 2006 vintage would produce some stellar whites wines have been further validated by the awarding to Millbrook Winery’s 2006 sauvignon blanc of the gold nedal at the 2006 Royal Adelaide Wine Show. The wine also took out the trophy for best sauvignon blanc. Obviously chuffed with the result, Millbrook senior winemaker Tony Davis said the award backed up wins at Melbourne and Rutherglen wine shows, and a silver at the Brisbane Show. The fruit was sourced from the Margaret River, Geographe and Great Southern regions of WA. The wine is one of the finest examples of the wave of 2006 whites now being lauded for their elegance and aromatic characters. The cooler conditions have added superior length of palate thanks to high levels of natural acidity. And the sauvignon blanc capitalises on this best. It will be available in January 2007. • • • Capitalising on the growing demand for bio-dynamic wines, Cullen Wines has teamed up with The Hyatt’s Globe Restaurant for a bio-dynamic/organic dinner. While no stranger to producing some of the country’s best wines, this will be a first for the group. Qantas Wine Magazine winemaker of the year 2000, Vanya Cullen, will present Cullen’s bio-dynamic wines matched with an organic menu created by Globe chef Paul Medica on Friday November 3. • • • It has been a big week for the group now known as The Vintage Wineworx. The re-branded Porongurup Winery this week discarded its trademark name to meet the growing interest from all regions of WA. Multi award-winning winemaker Dr Di Miller says the name change better reflects the contract winemaking nature of the business as well as the multi-rationality of the business’s focus. Name changes aside, the winery collected 26 medals at the 2006 Qantas Wine Show of Western Australia, including the trophy for best oaked chardonnay for its Hidden River’s 2005 Chardonnay.