Collaboration and Innovation Wins the Night at Wine Industry IMPACT Awards
Ten visionary and progressive companies are celebrating the ultimate recognition of excellence as recipients of the coveted 2017 National Wine Industry IMPACT Awards.
Each of the winning businesses introduced innovative developments in the past year that showcase a commitment to improving the competitiveness and capability of the nation’s grape and wine industry while developing exciting new consumer experiences.
Wine Industry Suppliers Australia (WISA) presented the awards last night (Thursday) at a ceremony attended by more than 400 special guests at the Adelaide Town Hall.
Industry experts selected the winners from 15 finalists in categories including grape growing, winemaking, engineering, packaging, distribution and logistics, marketing and communications and tourism along with a new Start-Up category recognising emerging ventures featuring outstanding products, processes or services.
WISA Executive Officer, Matthew Moate, said the national awards were highly regarded by peers in the wine and grape growing sectors with a 70 per cent increase in entries this year.
“The Australian grape and wine industry along the complete supply chain is at the leading edge of innovation with dynamic solutions and products that advance the sector and enhance consumer engagement with our wines and tourism experiences,” he said.
“All entrants presented outstanding qualifications for the award with the judges having a challenging task to short list finalists and select the ultimate winners that are making such a positive impact in the industry,” he said.
The 2017 Wine Industry IMPACT Award winners in their categories are:
Grape Growing (Award partner Bentleys SA)
MaxiCut, developers of hydraulic shears that enable precision removal of vines where disease or new grafting is required to rebuild vineyards to meet the demands of industry.
Winemaking (Award Partner DW Fox Tucker Lawyers)
Lallemand Australia, developer of a multi-faceted strategy to produce higher quality wines while meeting consumer demands for lower sulphur dioxide content.
Packaging (Award Partner Australian Vintage Ltd)
Altvin / Wines by Geoff Hardy, co-nominated to demonstrate the impact of an innovative cloud-based software platform solution for specifying and managing bottling and packaging with real time supply chain collaboration.
Engineering (Award Partner Pernod Ricard Winemakers)
SCE Energy Solutions / Alkoomi Wines, which presented a joint case study of innovative and environmentally friendly voltage stabilising systems to minimise energy costs while bringing new levels of power supply, security and reliability to the winery operations in Western Australia.
Distribution and Logistics (Award Partner MGA Insurance Brokers)
Seaway Logistics, which has introduced advanced efficiencies in storage, distribution and global logistics to significantly enhance grape and wine supply chain partnerships, specifically focused on their Mildura regional intermodal hub.
Marketing and Communications ( Award Partner WBM, Australian Wine Business Magazine)
Monogramme, which has launched WineData, a multi-media tool kit with applications ranging from dynamic product fact sheets to distinctive branding, customised web pages, social media profiling and quality image and video management to maximise consumer awareness and sales.
Tourism (Award Partner AV Plus)
Rezdy, an Australian-owned booking platform that has introduced new marketing and consumer awareness dynamics and unique experiences along with distribution strategies allowing wineries to become more capable and competitive in the wine and tourism sectors.
Start-Up (Award Partner Harding Wealth Management)
James & Nerissa Balzary of Ailytic Ailytic providing software solutions with patented analytical decision platforms and advanced modelling for wine production enabled by artificial intelligence optimisation.
Leon Bignell, the Minister for Tourism and Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, offered his congratulations to the winners.
“South Australia’s premium wine sets us apart internationally and it is fantastic to recognise the suppliers to this important sector,” he said. “The culture of excellence in viticulture and winemaking starts with great suppliers and it keeps us competitive on the world stage.”
David Ridgway, the Shadow Minister for Tourism, Primary Industries and Regional Development, also applauded the winners saying: “I commend you for the support you provide to producers, and your passion for an industry that is so integral to our State.
“South Australia really needs a program that outlines our plan for agribusiness growth over the next decade and wine producers and suppliers obviously play a pivotal role in that.
“I am already in regular communication with bodies like the SA Wine Industry Association, Wine Australia and the Wine Grape Council of SA, and I hope that this is also the beginning of a strong working relationship with the Wine Industry Suppliers Australia.”
Senator Anne Ruston, Assistant Federal Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources, said: “Australia’s wine sector is a perfect example of a thriving, value added industry with the majority of the value chain located right here.
“The Wine Industry IMPACT Awards acknowledge and celebrate the many groups along the value chain that are adding capability and competitiveness to our wine producers.
“The finalists are all outstanding. They are one of the reasons our industry is tracking so well with our wine exports forecast to exceed 800 million litres and $2.5 billion in 2017-18.”
The 2017 Wine Industry IMPACT Awards judges were impressed with the quality of work presented by nominees and finalists saving their highest praise for the winners.
