Kym Richardson (Kingston, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to congratulate a number of organisations, particularly wineries, in what I believe is the greatest wine region in South Australian and in this country—the region of McLaren Vale in my electorate of Kingston. The Jimmy Watson Trophy is an exceptionally prestigious award, and for the second year in a row the award for Australia’s best one-year-old red wine has gone to a wine made in McLaren Vale. The award was won by a family owned and run winery, Singleback Wines. I would like to congratulate the senior winemakers and managing director’s brothers, John and Kym Davey. I would also like to congratulate John Petrucci, who provided over 75 per cent of the grapes for the wine which won the Jimmy Watson Trophy.

I would like to take this opportunity also to congratulate the McLaren Vale visitor information centre, which was recently named best tourism operation in the southern region. The southern region encompasses a large area and includes many important tourist precincts. The tourism centre is an exceptional venue showcasing local wines, food, art and culture, and I am exceptionally proud of their achievement. It was certainly well deserved and the local volunteers who run the centre certainly deserve all the accolades they are receiving.

The congratulations do not stop there. I must also take the opportunity to congratulate Fox Creek Wines, whose 2004 reserve shiraz was crowned the Hyatt/Advertiser wine of the year. In addition, the wine was the No. 1 choice of consumers. In closing, I congratulate Penny’s Hill Winery, which received awards for the best shiraz and the best wine of show at the 2006 Boutique Wine Awards in Sydney. Again, I am exceptionally proud to represent this amazing part of the world. Some of our wineries have now finally been widely recognised for what I already knew: that McLaren Vale is one of the nation’s and one of the world’s premier wine regions. Again, I congratulate the worthy McLaren Vale recipients and everyone involved in the process of making these incredible wines and achieving these wonderful results.