Judging

Cairns Wine Awards

The Cairns Show Wine Awards is one of the highlights on the Australian wine industry calendar in June each year.

June 09

Internationally recognised master of Wine Peter Scudamore-Smith will return to Cairns 17 years after judging the inaugural Cairns Wine Awards.

Like many of us, Peter was first introduced to wine while at university. “All the other students were getting into the bourbon and rum and I developed a palate for wine,” he
laughs. That appreciation has grown into a fruitful career and an extensive wine collection. In 1991 Peter was the second ever Australian to become a master of wine, an esteemed
authority in the wine industry that involves a week-long exam on all aspects of the industry including trading, making and writing.

His first wine show as judge was in 1974 at the inaugural Granite Belt wine show. Since then he has grown his judging list extensively to include Cairns’ very first wine show in 1992
and, now 17 years later, the 2009 show.

How did you come to be involved in the first Cairns Wine Show in 1992?

I was living in Brisbane at the time and was coaching Andrew Corrigan in his master of wine. He is the one who started the show and because of
my experience he asked me to be a judge. I was both judge and chief judge.

What do you look for in a good wine?

A positiveflavour and a flavour that is memorable. An hour after tasting you should eemember what you drank.

Can you give me some tips on tasting wine

properly? Do not read the label. Look at it, smell it then taste it. Move it around in your mouth until it becomes coated The most enjoyable part of drinking a wine is enjoying the
texture. It is a tactile thing like chewing on an aged beef. It is that lovely after flavour.

Which is usually of a higher standard – red or white?

It is all to do with varietal definition, or what we in the industry call shape. There are different shapes to wine just as there are different shape of car like Volkswagen and
Mercedes. We appreciate the different shapes.

What is the best wine you have ever tasted?

It was definitely the oldest wine I have tasted, a 1794 Madeira. It was made before Marie Antoinette lost her head.

Does price suggest quality?

I believe yes. Wine that costs more than $20 for a bottle has inherent difference to wine that costs $10 per bottle.

What new developments in the wine industry excite you at the moment?

People are starting to explore new varieties and many countries are seeing a more food friendly focus. Places such as Spain, Italy and Portugal are more acclimatised to food. By introducing wines that sit
at around 12 to 15 percent alcohol, they are easier to drink. There are many wines with high alcohol levels and enormous power. Two or three glasses and you feel sick. These gutsy,
blokey, heavy reds will not go anywhere though. There will always be a demand for them.