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  1. Royal Agricultural Society of NSW
  2. Sydney Royal Competitions
  3. Competitions
  4. KPMG Sydney Royal Wine Show
  5. Results

Results

Sydney Royal Competitions encourage and reward excellence, with the aim to support a viable and prosperous future for our agricultural communities.

2018 KPMG Sydney Royal Wine Show Trophy winners

Trophy award winners

Bush Telegraph

Bush Telegraph

Going for the trifecta

Going for the trifecta

Some may consider three a crowd but not in this instance. In this case, three is the winning trifecta, with three Sydney Royal Regional Food Competition Champions collecting the coveted title in their first year of entering. Hum Honey, Bunny Chow Down and Hazelbrae Hazelnuts perhaps had a dash of beginners luck along with exceptional products, earning each the title of Champion. Hum Honey took the Champion Regional Food Other Product title home to Queensland’s Sunshine Coast for their Cold Fusion Organic Lemon Myrtle Honey. With a passion of bringing consumers the purest raw honey from their free-range farm, Hum Honey embraces the philosophy of “savour the flavour”, and the Sydney Royal judges certainly did. Cold fusion is a process that allows the introduction of sensational flavours into the raw honey, a specialty that Hum have embraced and won them a hive of Sydney Royal medals. Along with their Champion Cold Fusion Organic Lemon Myrtle, Hum also received Silver for their Cold Fusion Organic Australian Lavender and their Cold Fusion Organic Cinnamon Quill and a Bronze medal for their Cold Fusion Australian Organic Ginger A bunny chow is a traditional curry served by street vendors in Durban, whilst a Bunny Chow Down Rosella Apple Chilli Jam is a Sydney Royal Champion Sweet Preserve. Combining a love of curry with a desire for unusual gastronomic flavour combinations, Bunny Chow Down took off in Queensland in 2013 and now includes an incredible range of chutney, marmalade, pickles and glazes.  Combining apple, sugar, rosella, lemon juice and chilli the Champion Sweet Preserve is bursting with sweet flavours with a bit of a zing and pairs beautifully with chicken. Hazelbrae Hazelnuts produce Tasmania’s very first hazelnut oil, which is also Sydney Royal’s first Champion hazelnut oil, the 2018 Champion Regional Food Specialty Product. This multi-purpose oil can be used for gentle frying, in salad dressing, drizzled over fruit or rice dishes, added to desserts or milk-based drinks and even applied as a moisturiser. With one of the largest hazelnut groves in Australia, the 5,000 hazelnut trees at the family-run farm in Hagley, northern Tasmania, certainly delivered the good oil for the judges.    Discover all the Sydney Royal Regional Food winners here.

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Get your kicks from this pack of six!

Get your kicks from this pack of six!

Much be known to many, it doesn’t cost the world for a good bottle of wine. To think that you have to compromise on quality and taste when buying a bottle that fits into your budget just isn’t the case these days. This is definitely evident with one of these best value wines, being awarded a Sydney Royal Gold Medal and retails for only $10.  Get your hands on this pack of six!   Top Best Value Wines: Houghton: 2016, Shiraz REYNELLA SA 95.0 = $9 Brown Brothers Milawa Vineyard Pty Ltd: 2017, 18 Eighty Nine Tempranillo MILAWA VIC 95.0 =  $15.99 Chapel Hill: 2017, The Parson Cabernet Sauvignon MCLAREN VALE SA 95.0 = $15.99 De Bortoli Wines: 2017, La Bohème Act 4 Syrah Gamay BILBUL NSW 95.0 = $16.70 6/18 De Iuliis Wines: 2018, Semillon CESSNOCK NSW 88.0 = $17 Ingoldby: 2016, Cabernet Shiraz Merlot NURIOOPTA SA 95.0 = $20 Discover more winners of the KPMG Sydney Royal Wine Show  here.  

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Meet Branded Meat Judge, Karen Doyle

Meet Branded Meat Judge, Karen Doyle

Head Chef, Award Winner, Head Teacher, Le Cordon Bleu Australia Program Manager… and Sydney Royal Branded Meat Judge, Karen Doyle From a summer job as a commis chef in a boutique 5-star hotel in Ireland to Le Cordon Bleu Australia, Karen Doyle has followed her passion for quality ingredients and culinary experiences. She has worn many hats in a career that has included Head Chef and restaurant owner to Head Teacher and Program Manager. Karen’s award-winning culinary calling sees her perfectly positioned to judge Branded Meats in the Sydney Royal Fine Food Show. In her seventh year as a judge, Karen will taste an incredible array of 100% Australian farmed lamb, beef and pork including lamb rib racks and boneless pork loin. With a heavy weighting of 30% of each score allocated for tenderness, Karen will be enjoying young cuts of meat that have been quickly seared or grilled. Image from Le Cordon Bleu Australia Facebook Page 

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We fed the girl meat

We fed the girl meat

Two minutes and 40 seconds is all it takes to cook the perfect Wagyu steak. Carefully sliced to 10mm thickness and passing through the cooking chamber before resting for exactly two minutes, the steak was at its optimum flavour point. The fatty, marbled flesh tasted rich and gently sweet, with a lingering savoury taste. The judges only got a slither of wagyu, enough to give it a score but not enough to feel satisfied and full. That was lucky because they had to leave room in their bellies for the Grass Fed Beef and the Grain Fed Beef. Pleased by the very high standard of entries in the Sydney Royal Branded Beef , Branded Lamb and Branded Pork competitions, Chair of Judges George Ujvary was happy to welcome university student Sophie Ward for her first experience as a Sydney Royal judge. Sophie is currently finalising her Honours in Animal Science at Roseworthy College in South Australia and hopes to go on to complete her PHD in Sow Welfare. Sophie’s area of interest is the influence of the living conditions of pigs on the quality of the meat. “It was pretty incredible to taste such sweet flavoursome and tender pieces of pork,” said Sophie, “I would have loved to know about the living conditions from the entries afterwards, as well as the feed they were given as some of the flavours were just incredible.” Christmas dinner is looking good this year with such positive feedback from the Sydney Royal Branded Beef , Branded Lamb and Branded Pork competitions. 

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A few top drops

A few top drops

Wondering what to look for in wine for the rest of 2017? The KPMG Sydney Royal Wine Show judges have done the work for you so no matter which wine region or territory you would like to support, here are some of the top selections by State. For a full list of the 2017 KPMG Sydney Royal Wine Show medal winners visit Australia's Best Producers . NSW STEVENS SEMILLON 2011, Tyrell’s Vineyards Pty Ltd NOBLE ONE 2015, De Bortoli Wines PEPPER SHIRAZ 2013, Montoro Wines VAT 1 SEMILLON 2017, Tyrell’s Vineyards Pty Ltd VAT 47 CHARDONNAY 2013, Tyrell’s Vineyards Pty Ltd BRUT TRADITIONELLE NV, Centennial Vineyards CATO TEMPRANILLO 2015, Moppity Vineyards VIC OLD PREMIUM LIQUEUR TOPAQUE NV, Morris Wines CELLAR ONE LIQUEUR TOPAQUE NV, Morris Wines OLD PREMIUM MUSCAT NV, Morris Wines VP 2013, Morris Wines AMEN BREAK CHARDONNAY 2015, Clonal Brothers PENNON HILL CHARDONNAY 2016, Montalto Vineyard & Olive Grove GREAT WESTERN CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2015, Best’s Wines Pty Ltd SA RIESLINGFREAK No. 3 CLARE VALLEY RIESLING 2017, John Hughes Wines MATTSCHOSS SINGLE  VINEYARD EDEN VALLEY SHIRAZ 2015, St Hallett PEPPERJACK SPARKLING SHIRAZ NV, W Salter And Son THE MARL SHIRAZ 2016, Hentley Farm AGED RELEASE RIESLING 2013, Penfolds Wines Pty Ltd CHRONICLES 7 th GREEN CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2016, Hardys S.C. PANNELL BARBERA 2016, Stephen Pannell Wines Pty Ltd WA SAUVIGNON BLANC 2017, Miles From Nowhere Winemakers SAUVIGNON BLANC RESERVE 2016, Redgate Wines SRS WALLCLIFFE CHARDONNAY 2016, Flametree Wines DJL SAUVIGNON BLANC SEMILLON 2016, Xanadu Wines MERLOT 2016, Amberley Wines REDBROOK  CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2014, Evans & Tate VERSE 1 CABERNET MERLOT 2015, Brookland Valley TAS/ACT GRAND VINTAGE 2008, House of Arras (TAS) PINOT NOIR 2016, Meadowbank Wines (TAS) ESTATE PINOT NOIR 2015, Gala Estate Vineyard (TAS) BRUT ROSÉ 2013, Clover Hill (TAS) 660 CANBERRA SHIRAZ 2016, McWilliam’s Wines Group Pty Ltd (ACT) 1877 SHIRAZ 2015, McWilliam’s Wines Group Pty Ltd (ACT) DEVIL’S CORNER MT AMOS PINOT NOIR 2015, Brown Brothers Tasmania (TAS)

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Sweet Study for Scholar

Sweet Study for Scholar

A 2016 Royal Agricultural Society of NSW (RAS) Foundation Rural Scholar is causing a buzz in apiculture with her research on a disease of economic importance to Australian agriculture. Tara Needham, a final year veterinary science student at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga, has undertaken an independent research project on American foulbrood (AFB), the most serious brood disease affecting honey bees in NSW. The bacterial disease kills larvae in their cells within the hive and current treatments exterminate the entire colony; devastating to an industry contributing approximately $36 million annually to the State’s economy. AFB is an infectious disease and can be spread by interchanging apiary equipment or if bees consume contaminated honey. Beekeepers are required to notify an apiary inspector under the Apiaries Act if their colonies are infected, if left unchecked AFB will eventually kill all the hives in an apiary and will spread to other hives within flying distance. “I expect to find AFB exists at subclinical levels in many hives and that while bees are able to manage those levels, environmental factors like stress and human influence such as pesticides can cause the disease to become pathogenic,” Needham said. The research involved collecting more than 1,000 samples over 5 months along with laboratory work to monitor seasonal patterns and AFB prevalence in the Riverina. Needham is now finalising results and aims to finish the report by her July graduation. “The prospect of publishing a scientific article on a subject I’m passionate about makes all the work completely worth it, it’s amazing seeing it come to fruition,” the 23-year-old said. Needham “fell into apiculture” after joining the Wagga Wagga Bee Keeping Club to learn about the only insect that produces food for human consumption. “I thought it would be a great hobby but it turned into a passion,” she said. “Bees are incredibly fascinating creatures with complex lives. Their world is dictated by smells and seeing ultraviolet; it’s so different from ours.” The NSW Department of Primary Industry supported Needham’s project alongside CSU staff including Veterinary Pathology Lecturer, Andrew Peters, who ensured experiments were correctly designed and the scientific process understood.  “Tara’s research is very significant to the future of this area in agriculture and vet science. Bees are economically and agriculturally valuable, the importance of their health should not be underestimated,” Peters said. Roughly 65 per cent of Australian agricultural production depends on pollination by honey bees, seeing their services valued between $4-6 billion. With more than 3,000 registered beekeepers and over 200,000 hives, NSW is Australia’s largest beekeeping state contributing approximately 40-45 per cent of the national honey crop. “It’s great that young vets are supported by programs like the RAS Foundation Rural Scholarship because it gives them the ability to explore emerging and niche needs within agricultural industries, Australian biosecurity and vet health,” Peters said. RAS Foundation Rural Scholarships assist individuals whose career aspirations benefit rural and regional NSW communities. More than 350 scholarships have been awarded since its inception in 2011 totalling over $1.7 million. Needham was one of 58 scholarship recipients in 2016, which covered her textbooks, apiary equipment and study placement travel costs. “The support of the RAS Foundation has been invaluable,” she said. “I’ve networked with other recipients and was able to dedicate myself to finishing my degree to my full potential without financial stress.” Executive Officer of the RAS Foundation, Kate Ross, said the scholarship re an initiative designed to ensure an increased flow of skilled people to rural and regional NSW communities. “Scholarships support our mission to build strong, sustainable communities by providing vital funding to rural-minded students working towards their educational goals,” Ross said. “We choose students who are passionate about their local communities and have the energy, skills and enthusiasm NSW country areas need to remain sustainable,” Ross said. Applications for the 2018 Rural Scholarships open on 1 August and close 30 September 2017 http://www.rasnsw.com.au/foundation/scholarships-and-grants/ras-rural-scholarships/

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The evolution of Australian chocolate

The evolution of Australian chocolate

Words: Jodie Van Der Velden With the Easter holiday celebration just weeks away, there’s no doubt chocolate consumption in Australia will spike. Chocolate eggs, said to be an ancient symbol of new life and resurrection and celebration of spring returning, have been associated with this religious holiday since the early 19 th century in Europe. With chocolate on everyone’s minds and palates at this time of year, it’s timely to reflect on all things chocolate and where Australia sits in the chocolate world. The Australian chocolate industry has experienced a rapid evolution over the last decade, with Australian artisan chocolatiers producing as beautiful chocolate products as those found in the luxurious chocolateries of Europe. At the 2013 World Chocolate Masters competition, Australia won third place ahead of Italy (first place) and Netherlands (second place) as well as winning Best Architect of the world - globe. These results clearly highlight the quality of training and innovation found here in Australia. Contemporary Australian trends in chocolate are very much in line with current global trends. Consumers are continually becoming more discerning through increased health awareness and education. Whilst there are certainly still consumers that are satisfied with mass manufactured low grade chocolate products, there is a rapidly growing consumer group that is concerned with the ethics and sustainability behind growing and harvesting cacao, and the manufacturing of chocolate.   Consumers are now interested in single origin and single plantation chocolates. These products are made from cacao beans grown in a single location or plantation and contain individual flavour profiles drawn from the cacao bean, rather than the addition of flavours.  As the health benefits of chocolate are continually revealed, astute consumers are very conscious of artificial ingredients. There is a growing trend to choose quality over quantity, with consumers turning towards high-quality dark chocolate rather than milk and white chocolates which contain a high sugar, low cacao content. Favourable consumer attitudes towards higher quality chocolate products have caused a decline in demand for some mass manufactured lower grade chocolate products.  This trend has resulted in more opportunities for boutique artisan chocolatiers to contribute to the market.  Consumers have become more daring than ever before and are trying, and loving, unique flavour combinations, such   as chilli and mango, lime and basil, saffron, and balsamic vinegar. The Sydney Royal Chocolate Competition is an ideal showcase for Australia’s chocolatiers. In my role as Chief Chocolate Judge, I’ve witnessed greater emphasis being placed upon innovation and the use of high quality natural ingredients from producers.  To see beautifully crafted, innovative chocolate products that have been executed with outstanding technical expertise and skill, being rewarded with Sydney Royal Gold Medals is a very rewarding experience in itself.  These awards are invaluable to the winner in acknowledging their outstanding product and encouraging further innovation to lead the Australian chocolate industry into the future.  About Jodie Van Der Velden Jodie Van Der Velden is the Chair of Judges for the 2016 Callebaut Sydney Royal Show and has been Chief Judge of Sydney Royal Chocolate competitions since 2012. Ms Van Der Velden has 10 years’ experience as a professional chocolatier. Her passion for the craft has been rewarded through myriad accolades. Considerable time spent in cacao plantations all over the world, working to understand the raw product in its natural state, has contributed in no small part to Ms Van Der Velden’s superior palate and the success of Josophan’s Fine Chocolates, which she founded in 2005.

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Seafood industry catches technology

Seafood industry catches technology

PHOTO: Fishtales WORDS: Sue White  Article first appeared RAS Times November 2016 Technological advances have caused an trend in the seafood industry resulting in animal husbandry improvements with oysters being a key example. “Oyster growing was historically fairly rudimentary: tar covered sticks in the mud. There are now methods and equipment that maximise the opportunity for the oyster to be at minimal stress during its growing, and have maximum access to food,” says John Susman, Managing Director of seafood marketing company Fishtales. The shift, says Susman, is very much a function of research and development. He thinks the results pay off in terms of taste. “I think the standard of oysters now is much higher than it was fifteen years ago.” He believes there’s another link between taste and traceability. Susman says that consumers’ desire to know a product’s provenance has changed the game for farmers in unexpected ways. “One of the real transformations has been that growers and catchers of seafood have taken a much greater interest in how their seafood tastes. It sounds like a simple principle, but for a long time a lot of catchers and growers were disconnected from where their product ended up,” he says. Susman also thinks that the closing of the gap between ‘catcher and cook’ and ‘water and plate’ has had a significant impact on the way seafood producers are looking at their businesses. “In aquaculture in particular there’s a much greater potential to have an impact or input into the outcome of the product than there is in wild harvest,” he says. It’s a principle with which Dr Belinda Yaxley, Sustainability and Accreditation Officer at Tasmania’s Petuna Group, would likely agree. “In salmon, we’re really getting towards world-class practice. You have automated feed systems, which allow you to feed the fish more efficiently, with little or no feed waste. You have a person sitting in a barge with computer screens; they just press a few buttons and the feed is delivered to the pen,” she says. Those pens now feature ‘in pen’ monitoring, not only to help producers better understand fish behaviour, but to keep a handle on the many environmental variables at play, such as temperature, dissolved oxygen levels or salinity. “That helps us improve our animal husbandry,” says Yaxley. While Petuna’s approach has been proactive, Yaxley says that in salmon, positive attitudes towards innovation are industry-wide. One change, now taken up by all three salmon growers in Australia, has had a multitude of payoffs. “We were the first company to adapt a trivalent vaccine. We’re now vaccinating fish so they don’t get sick, so we don’t actually need to treat them,” she says. Read more about the Australian aquaculture industry and its sustainability .

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