MCLAREN VALE BUSHING FESTIVAL

Mr BIGNELL (Mawson) (15:57): It gives me great pleasure to rise today to congratulate all those involved in last week's McLaren Vale Grape Wine and Tourism Association Bushing Festival lunch, where the very best wines of the region are celebrated. Once again, it was a magnificent lunch attended by 600 people at Penny's Hill in a large marquee. It gets bigger and bigger each year and there was another sellout crowd this year.

I pay tribute to those who won awards and will quickly go through the list. The Best McLaren Vale Chardonnay and Blend was the 2011 RockBare Chardonnay. The best McLaren Vale White Wine Other was the 2012 Oliver's Taranga Vineyards Small Batch Fiano. I have to say, it is a magnificent wine. Corrina Wright, the winemaker down there, is a fifth generation member of the family, who have been part of McLaren Vale since the late 1800s. Congratulations to Corrina and all the team at Oliver's Taranga Vineyards.

The Best McLaren Vale Rose or Sparkling Wine: there was a commendation for Fox Creek Vixen. The Best McLaren Vale Shiraz under $25 went to the 2010 Doc Adams Shiraz. Congratulations to Adam Jacobs who is doing a great job. He was very excited last Friday. He was having a great time at the lunch. The Best McLaren Vale Shiraz $25 to $50 was the 2010 Wolf Blass Grey Label Shiraz. The Best McLaren Vale Shiraz over $50 went to the 2009 Serafino Sharktooth Shiraz. Congratulations to Steve Maglieri and all the team at Serafino. The Best McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon went to the 2010 Rosemount Limited Release McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon. The Best McLaren Vale Grenache was won by SC Pannell Grenache from 2010. Steve Pannell is producing great grenache year after year.

The Best Single Red Varietal Other was won by the 2011 Rosemount Nursery Mataro. The Best McLaren Vale Shiraz Predominant Blend was won by 2010 Willunga 100 McLaren Vale Shiras Voignier. The Best McLaren Vale Cabernet Predominant Blend was the 2011 Rosemount Traditional Red. The Best McLaren Vale Grenache Predominant Blend was the 2011 Rosemount Estate GSM. The Best McLaren Vale Red Blend Other the 2011 Rosemount Nursery Project GMG. For the Best Fortified Wine, there was a commendation to Wirra Wirra's Empire Series Muscat.

The Best McLaren Vale Museum Wine was the 2004 Hardys Eileen Hardy Shiraz. The Best McLaren Vale Icon Red Wine was won by Wolf Blass Grey Label Shiraz 2010/2004. The Best McLaren Vale Pre-release Wine was the 2011 Rosemount McLaren Vale Dry Red. The Best Fleurieu Peninsula White, Rose or Sparkling Wine was won by the 2012 Lake Breeze Vermentino, who are our friends down there at Langhorne Creek.

The Best Fleurieu Peninsula Red Wine was won by the 2010 Clarence Hill Grenache Shiraz. The Best Small Batch Wine went to Steve Pannell again with his 2010 SC Pannell Grenache Shiraz. The Best Single Vineyard Wine Any Style was again won by Steve, with is 2010 SC Pannell Grenache; it is a great wine, too. Steve followed it up with The Best Single Vineyard Viticulturalist Any Style Award as well.

The Best Small Producer went to Oliver's Taranga Vineyards for their Small Batch Fiano of 2012. The Most Successful Exhibitor Award of course, having listened to that list, was Rosemount Estate. The International Judges Best Wine was the 2011 Rosemount Nursery Project GMG, and the Chairman's Trophy went to 2011 Yangarra Estate Vineyard Grenache.

It is no surprise, after hearing the amount of times that Rosemount were named there, that the great honour of becoming the bushing king was shared between the very good winemakers out at Rosemount Estate, Matt Koch and Andrew Locke. Congratulations to both of those gentlemen who were crowned the bushing kings for this year, and they looked very good in their robes and crowns. I am sure they will do a great job as leaders in our community, just as others who have gone before them have done.

It is a great tradition, the McLaren Vale Wine Show and the wine lunch, and I think it is in its 48^th year of crowning a bushing king or bushing queen. Long may the tradition continue.