Chief winemaker Neil McGuigan was voted ‘white winemaker of the year by the International Wine Challenge (IWC), back in September. Now the company has been voted the ‘world’s best winemaker’ for the third time in four years at the International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC). 

Having already won the award in 2009 and 2011, McGuigan Wines was awarded the title of International Winemaker of the Year at the IWSC awards ceremony in central Londonon on November 14.

In the 43 year history of the competition no winery, whether from the Old World or New World, has ever been awarded International Winemaker of the Year three times.

The key to winning the trophy was McGuigan Wines’ performance across the competition, with a 100% success rate - 39 wines entered; 39 medals received. McGuigan Wines was awarded the International Semillon Trophy in addition to 9 Gold, 22 Silver and 8 bronze medals including eight ‘Best in Class’ awards.

The backbone of the success was the McGuigan Bin 9000 Semillon, with the 2004 vintage taking home the title of International Semillon Trophy. In addition the 1997 and 2011 vintages won Gold ‘Best in Class’ whilst the 2003 and 2005 vintages of the Bin 9000 Semillon were awarded Gold.  The 2009 vintage of McGuigan Farms Shiraz from the Barossa Valleyalso won Gold ‘Best in Class’ as did the 2007 McGuigan Shortlist Semillon.

Neil McGuigan said: “To have won International Winemaker of the Year for the third time in four years is an outstanding result for Australia and the McGuigan brand. We’ve come a long way from our humble beginnings in the Hunter Valley. To be the only winery in the world to have won ‘world’s best winemaker’ three times is a testament to our commitment to quality. We can now proudly say that we are now one of the most awarded wineries in the world.”

“What is particularly pleasing with the latest award is that our 2012 results outshone our previous performance at the IWSC in 2011, which in turn improved on our results in 2009. A 100% success rate is as good as it gets, with 31 wines receiving a silver medal or better. We’ve kept on improving and have continued to strive for excellence in everything we do,” said the suitably pleased McGuigan

McGuigan Wines claims it has racked up a 17% increase in volume sales in the last financial year, and now sells 2.4 million cases world-wide. Value sales grew 23% domestically and 12% across all export markets.