60 wines from 20 makers - in one night!

Clear your palate, because 20 of Australia’s best names in wine are coming to Sydney in July to serve up a wide range of award-winning wines.

The annual Cellarmasters’ Sydney Meet the Makers wine tasting event is taking place in Pyrmont on Friday 13 July, and wine lovers can sample up to 60 prized wines and meet their makers.

Celebrity chef Stefano de Pieri of Mildura Grand Hotel fame will be serving wines from his namesake trophy-winning alternative varieties range, which includes a Nero d’Avola, Fiano and Sangiovese.

“Italian varieties have become popular because wine drinkers are looking for diversity, and there is a high demand for textural whites and light-bodied reds, which happens to be a fitting description for many Italian varieties,” Stefano says.

In 2001, Stefano co-founded the first Australian Alternative Varieties Wine Show in Mildura. Only 27 wines were submitted in 2001. This past year, more than 800 wines competed for the coveted wine awards – a testament to the increase in popularity of alternative varieties.

“I’m looking forward to meeting Sydney customers and getting their feedback on my wine range, and I’m more than happy to help them pronounce the more unusual wine varieties,” he jokes.

Some of the wine makers at the Sydney Meet the Makers event include:

Nick Badrice, Krondorf, Barossa Valley

Nick started his career as a cellar hand at the tender age of 17, receiving a valuable head start in the competitive wine industry. Today he is the Head Winemaker for Krondorf, based in the Barossa, and his renowned Krondorf Symmetry Barossa Shiraz has been awarded several gold gongs, including the Syrah du Monde (competition for best Shiraz in the world) and the International Wine Challenge (IWC) in London.

Gwyn Olsen, BriarRidge and Pepper Tree Wines, Hunter Valley

Gwyn Olsen received the prestigious Gourmet Traveller Wine’s Young Winemaker Medal in 2014, and was recently named one of Australian wine industry’s ‘Future Leaders’ by Wine Australia. In late 2015, Gwyn became the Head Winemaker for the well-known BriarRidge and Peppertree Wines based in the Hunter Valley.

Jeremy McKenzie, Isabel Estate, Marlborough

Jeremy McKenzie is the Chief Winemaker at Isabel Estate in New Zealand’s Marlborough, and the Isabel Estate Chardonnay 2016 was recently named the country’s best wine at the Air New Zealand Wine Awards. Isabel Estate’s Marlborough Rosé 2017 was also named the country's best rosé by Cuisine magazine.

David Lowe, David Lowe wines, Mudgee

One of Australia's leading wine industry figures, David Lowe represents the sixth generation of the Lowe family, graziers who settled in 1829 at ‘Tinja' in the Mudgee region of New South Wales. He runs a premium, innovative winery and vineyard in Mudgee.

The Meet the Makers event is at Doltone House from 6pm.