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 Neil Armstrong, the first man to set foot on the moon in 1969, said, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Neil McGuigan would surely feel as if he were walking on the moon, being theChief Winemaker for McGuigan Wines being the first producer in the world to win the coveted Article for the fourth time. The Winery had won the title previously in 2009, 2011 and 2012, according to Nicolas Heretiguian, General Manager Asia for Australian Vintage Ltd.
‘Having won the title in 2009, 2011 and 2012, McGuigan Wines warded off competition from the world’s wine producing nations including France, Spain, Italy, Germany and the USA to become the first winemaker in the world - let alone an Australian one - to receive the award four times. The win not only reinforces, but enhances, Australia’s reputation as a world-class wine producing country,’ he says.
Chief Winemaker for McGuigan Wines, Neil McGuigan, who is quite elated at the recognition bestowed on him and spoke like a statesman from London; “to be the only winery crowned International Winemaker of the Year four times is extremely humbling. I am immensely proud of this achievement and what this award means for Australia and McGuigan Wines. These awards are as much for the Australian wine industry as they are for us. Every time an Australian wine or producer is acknowledged at an international wine competition it puts our products on the map and forces people to sit up and take notice. We continue to be incredibly honoured to represent Australia on the world stage."
 “Every day you need to have the ambition to craft beautiful, quality wine and make it the hero. This award - and our trophies - is vindication and recognition of this vision. We have a long-standing association with Hunter Valley Semillon, and we’re incredibly proud of it, but we’re now gaining recognition for our super-premium reds thanks to their incredible flavour, lightness, elegance and longevity – which is something I’ve championed for years.”
This is history in the making as no other winery made it in the world so far, says Nicolas, adding, ‘we were also awarded the coveted Australian Producer of the Year title for ‘Australia’s best winemaker’, also becoming the first winery to win the title four times,' adds Nicolas.
Neil has been a renowned winemaker and has been heading the team of winemakers at McGuigan till he was appointed the General Manager for the supply chain and later CEO of the parent company Australian Vintage Ltd. (AVL) in July 2010. A lot of credit goes to Neil for heading the team of winemakers.
Neil McGuigan was invited to be the Guest VIP judge in 2015 by Debra Meiburg MW, Director and Chairperson of HKIWSC. The 8-edition strong wine competition invites only Asian judges-sommeliers, journalists and other professionals. She feels that the Asian judges are not very strong in their winemaking skills yet. Therefore, she tries to bring a special judge who is known for his winemaking craft. She is thrilled that she had spotted a winner when she invited McGuigan last year. “Neil has been a very precision type of winemaker who has done a lot of work to improve the quality of Australian wines at various price points- especially in Semillon. I am very happy for this historical feat –though I am not surprised. After winning 3 trophies for Australian vintages and 63 medals for them this year at HKIWSC, McGuigan Wines had already proved their mettle in Asia. This Recognition is a further affirmation of its capabilities as a winemaker.’
 Neil has never been to India-but Mcguigan has been. When I interviewed Neil McGuigan in Hong Kong last year, I recommended to him to pass through India sometime and have a winemaker dinner of McGuigan Wines with the distributor in Delhi, Mumbai or other cities depending upon the time available and the suggestions made by the importer, Hema Connoisseur. Amit Agarwal of Hema is naturally very happy that one of his principals has been so highly decorated. ‘We believe in importing more of affordable wines that are of good quality. We have been successfully importing several of their labels. But due to limitations by FSSAI, we import only their Black Label Red (Shiraz) and Black Label White (Chardonnay) right now. I was in Hong Kong for the trade fair last week and have already more or less finalised a few other labels. I am sure the tsunami of Awards at HKIWSC and this history-making Recognition will help us convince our customers more easily.’
It looks like the most selling Australian wines are ready to take a quantum leap - earlier with Hardys and now McGuigan supplementing the leadership position of Aussie Wines, thanks to Jacob's Creek of Pernod Ricard.
For earlier article visit
Star Interview: Neil McGuigan of Australian Vintage
HKIWSC 2016 Awards
Subhash Arora |