The winners of the 2020 Australian Women in Wine Awards have been announced, with Cate Looney from the Brown Family Wine Group winning Winemaker of the Year.
The winners were:
- Winemaker of the Year – sponsored by Tonnellerie Saint Martin
Cate Looney, Brown Family Wine Group, Vic - Viticulturist of the Year – sponsored by Wine Australia
Dr Catherine Cox-Kidman, Wynns Coonawarra, SA - Owner/Operator of the Year – sponsored by Bacchus Academy
Melissa Brown, Gemtree Wines, SA - Woman of Inspiration Award
Gill Gordon-Smith - Champion of Diversity & Equality – sponsored by Australian Grape and Wine
Helen Strachan, Pernod Ricard Winemakers, SA - Marketer of the Year – sponsored by denomination
Trish Barry, Mastermind Consulting, NSW - Cellar Door Person of the Year – sponsored by Langton’s
Jess Greatwich, Krondorf Creek Farm, SA
Cate Looney has almost 25 years of experience, joining the winemaking team at Brown Family Wine Group (BFWG) in 2005 (then known as Brown Brothers). She became senior winemaker in 2016 and now leads five people in the winemaking team. Looney is responsible for day to day operations at the 20,000 tonne BFWG Milawa winery, producing both commercial and premium wines across a multi-branded portfolio.
Looney is also responsible for the BFWG traditional method sparkling wine range and has been the driving force behind the exceptional quality of the Patricia and Non-Vintage Pinot Noir Chardonnay wines, two of the most awarded sparkling wines in Australia.
Dr Catherine Cox-Kidman from Wynns Coonawarra was awarded Viticulturalist of the Year. She has been part of the team at Wynns Coonawarra Estates since 2011, overseeing the technical program and implementing R&D. Most recently, she has been exploring vine water status, and the role of climate for early, accurate yield predictions, as well as other trials in an attempt to understand the complexities of the vineyard environment.
Owner/Operator of the Year was Melissa Brown from Gemtree Wines, where she is also chief viticulturalist. She oversees many components of the day-to-day running of the winery as well as the regenerative agriculture philosophies of Gemtree. Brown is a third generation McLaren Vale grape grower and along with her winemaker husband Mike and is a firm believer of passing the land to the next generation in a better condition than it was handed to her.
Brown introduced biodynamic practices in the vineyard and developed the Gemtree Ecotrail, which involved planting thousands of native trees and shrubs on the property. She is regarded as an industry leader in her field for advice and counsel on biodynamics, organics, sustainability and regenerative farming.
The Australian Women in Wine Awards – which are owned and operated by The Fabulous Ladies’ Wine Society – celebrate and reward the work of women in the Australian wine community, and community leaders who champion equality and fairness for all sexes in the workplace. They are the only awards program for women in wine in the world.
The 2020 AWIWA board members are Jeni Port, Toni Carlino, Corrina Wright, Alexia Roberts, Sarah Collingwood, Shirley Fraser and Jane Thomson (Chair).
