Over 50 Aussie women in wine demonstrated the quality and diversity of Australian wine - at Australia House

Over 50 female winemakers and winery principals flew into London from Australia in September 2017. Women in the City, one of my professional networks, teamed up with Wine Australia, the marketing body for Australian wine, for this ultra-special event.

On the evening of 26 September, after the Australian Women in Wine Awards (AWIWA) had been held in London, a unique – first of its kind – wine tasting took place in the special setting of Australia House on The Strand, a government building not usually open to the public and one that features in many films including this year’s Wonder Woman.

These female Aussie winemakers and winery principals showcased over 100 Australian wines, demonstrating their quality, diversity and innovation. The wineries represented included over 20 wine regions across Australia – including Adelaide Hills, Barossa Valley, Coonawarra, Margaret River, McLaren Vale and Tasmania.

This event was the largest gathering of Australian women winemakers and winery principals outside Australia. At the tasting, I met Australia’s most prominent women in wine, to try their wines and hear their stories. Attending winemakers and winery principals included Sarah Fagan (De Bortoli), Prue Henschke (Henschke), Virginia Willcock (Vasse Felix), Louisa Rose (Yalumba), Sandra de Pury (Yeringberg), Christie Schulz (Turkey Flat), Corrina Wright (Oliver’s Taranga), Samantha Connew (Stargazer), Stephanie Toole (Mount Horrocks) and Rebekah Richardson (Irvine Wines). Each of these star winemakers only visits the UK every few years, and having them all under one roof was a first.

My find of the evening was a spectacular Sparkling Wine from Tasmania.