Galafrey Wines named next in line to 2014 Royalty of Riesling crown

Galafrey Wines’ Kim Tyrer was recently crowned the next in line to the Royalty of Riesling title at a special presentation.

The second generation winemaker and Galafrey Wines chief executive said Royalty for Riesling aims to promote and celebrate the Great Southern region in Western Australia as a premium Riesling wine growing area.

“We worked hard at Galafrey during 2014 and so it is a great feeling that a small producer like us can do so well,” Ms Tyrer said.

As Mt Barker Wine Producers Association (MBWPA) president, Ms Tyrer said it felt a bit strange receiving the award as president but Galafrey had a very successful year which included receiving a gold medal at the 37^th Qantas Wine Show, as well as having success at other shows through the year.

West Cape Howe Wines took out the 2013 Royalty of Riesling title which was the first event of its kind created MBWPA. Following its inaugural success last year, Royalty of Riesling was extended in 2014 to include vineyards across the Great Southern.

 “As far as Great Southern wine producers winning trophies – we don’t mind who wins, as long as it is someone from the district that will help us to promote it,” Ms Tyrer said.

Points received by Great Southern wineries for their Riesling during the year entered in the Qantas Wine Show of WA, Royal Melbourne Wine Awards, Perth Royal Wine Show, and International Riesling Challenge are tallied up to determine who has the most awarded Riesling.

The victor’s presentation was made at a special ‘wine-downer’ in late November where each producer submits a magnum of their Riesling for all to taste and discuss as the scores are calculated.

Ms Tyrer said Royalty of Riesling was a friendly way of competing against each other and the presentation night enabled industry members to learn more about what they were doing in the vineyard.

“It really doesn’t matter who wins, the important thing is that we are continually raising the profile of Great Southern wine producers and cements us as the premier Riesling producer in the region,” he said.

Ms Tyrer said there had been a lot of interest generated by Royalty of Riesling in 2013 and MBWPA had responded positively to its inaugural success by opening the event up to wineries from around the Great Southern in 2014.

“Our aim is to encourage more entries from Great Southern wineries and to continually make the event bigger and better,” she said.

ENDS