Overview
A moscato made with beer hops. Chenin blanc infused with pine resin. Queensland's only wine fermented in terracotta. They're some of the wildly delicious drops made by Australia's just-announced Top 50 winemakers for 2020, as chosen by Young Gun of Wine (YGOW).
Running since 2007, the annual award showcases the up-and-coming wine labels and winemakers pushing the boundaries and making some damn-fine wine. The Top 50 were chosen by the industry's leading chefs, winemakers and sommeliers, including Louella Mathews of Sydney's Bibo Wine Bar, Mona sommelier Pip Anderson, Charlotte Hardy of Charlotte Dalton Wines and wine critic Nick Stock. And, full disclosure, I was also a judge — so I can personally vouch for these wines.
If you're currently self-isolating, working from home or are just wanting to spend a little more time indoors at the moment, this list has arrived at a helpful time — you now have 50 wine labels to drink your way through, from the comfort of your apartment. On said list, you'll find 17 winemakers from Victoria, 14 from SA, six from NSW/ACT, WA and Tasmania, and one from Queensland.
Dirty Candy Wine's Daniel Payne, Con-Greg Grigoriou from SA's Delinquente Wine Co, Frederick Stevenson's Steve Crawford, Alexander Byrne from Noisy Ritual in Victoria, Le Petite Mort's Andrew Scott from Queensland are some of the makers whose wines you'll be wanting to 'add to cart' right now. You'll have a chance to chat to some of these winemakers while you taste their wines, too — and for free.
Because of current health concerns surrounding COVID-19, YGOW has cancelled its usual in-person tasting events, but, instead, it'll be hosting a series of virtual events in May. The free online series will see you chatting to winemakers and industry experts from your bed, couch or even bath while sipping on vino. You can sign up for those over here.
Once you've tasted some of the wines from the list and chatted to some of the winemakers, you can vote in the People's Choice Award, which is open until June 1. Everyone that votes will get a $50 Langton's voucher — so, yes, you can purchase even more wine.
The winners, including the People's Choice, Best New Act, Winemaker's Choice, Danger Zone and Young Gun of Wine, will then be announced on Monday, June 1.
You can check out all the winners below:
Some of the 250 wines that were tasted and judged for YGOW. Photo by James Morgan
YOUNG GUN OF WINE 2020 TOP 50
NSW/ACT
- Daniel Payne from Dirt Candy Wine, Hunter Valley
- Angus Vinden from The Vinden Headcase, Hunter Valley
- Steve Mobbs from Dreaded Friend/Wallington Wines, Central Ranges
- Will Gilbert from Gilbert, Orange/Mudgee
- Tom Ward from Swinging Bridge, Orange
- Samuel Leyshon from Mallaluka, Canberra District
QLD
- Andrew Scott from Le Petite Mort, Granite Belt
SA
- Sholto Broderick & Louis Broderick from Basket Range Wine, Adelaide Hills
- Dylan Lee from Bird in Hand, Adelaide Hills
- James Hamilton from Golden Child, Adelaide Hills
- Michael Sexton from Main & Cherry, Adelaide Hills
- Sarah Adamson from Scout Wines, Adelaide Hills/New Zealand
- Tarrant Hansen from Spider Bill Wines, Adelaide Hills
- Alyson Tannenbaum from Vinteloper, Adelaide Hills
- Andre Bondar from Bondar Wines, McLaren Vale/Adelaide Hills
- Charles Seppelt & Skye Salter from Paralian Wines, McLaren Vale
- Mauricio Ruiz Cantu & Benjamin Caldwell from Somos, McLaren Vale
- Con-Greg Grigoriou from Delinquente Wine Co, Riverland
- Ansel Ashby from Gatch Wine, Riverland/Adelaide Hills/Clare Valley
- Steve Crawford from Frederick Stevenson, Barossa Valley Eden Valley/Adelaide Hills
- Nick Dugmore from The Stoke Wines, Kangaroo Island
TAS
- Jonathan Hughes from Mewstone Wines, Tasmania
- Greer Carland from Quiet Mutiny, Tasmania
- Gilli & Paul Lipscombe from Sailor Seeks Horse, Tasmania
- James Broinowski from Small Island Wines, Tasmania
- Ricky Evans from Two Tonne Tasmania, Tasmania
- Hugh McCullough from Wellington & Wolfe, Tasmania
VIC
- Chris Catlow from Sentio, Beechworth
- Raquel Jones from Weathercraft, Beechworth
- Natasha Webster from Empire of Dirt Wines, Geelong
- Ben Mullen from Mulline, Geelong
- Justin Purser from Dhiaga, Mornington Peninsula
- Glen Hayley from Kooyong/Port Phillip Estate, Mornington Peninsula
- Tara & Matthew Campbell from Mattara Wines, Mornington Peninsula/Grampians
- Alexander Byrne from Noisy Ritual, Victoria
- Chris Bendle from DCB Wine, Yarra Valley
- Tim Perrin from from Oakridge Wines, Yarra Valley
- Hadyn Black from Black & Ginger, Great Western/Grampians/Henty/Pyrenees
- Leighton Joy from Pyren Vineyard, Pyrenees
- Chris Dilworth & Loique Allain from Dilworth & Allain, Macedon Ranges
- Renata Morello from Lyons Will Estate, Macedon Ranges
- Ben Ranken from Wilimee, Macedon Ranges
- Bart Van Olphen from Chalmers, Heathcote/Mildura
- Jonathan Ross from Micro Wines, Geelong/Barossa Valley
WA
- Alexi Christidis from Chalari Wines, Perth Hills, Swan Valley
- Garth Cliff from Vino Volta, Swan Valley/Swan District/Geographe/Perth Hills
- Natasha Arthur from Arthur Wines, Margaret River
- Dylan Arvidson from LS Merchants, Margaret River/Frankland River
- Remi Guise from tripe.Iscariot, Margaret River
- Kim Tyrer from Galafrey Wines, Mount Barker
You can sign up for Young Gun of Wine's Top 50 virtual events here and vote in the People's Choice Award before June 1 here. To purchase the above wines, head to the individual wine label's website or order from online bottle shops such as Drnks, P&V, Vinomofo and Blackhearts & Sparrows.