Tonight, Friday 16 June, the top drops of the National Wine Show of Australia (NWS) 2023 will be announced at an exclusive awards dinner at the National Press Club of Australia.
An impressive 965 wines made it to the judging table this year – 80 more entries than last year. Fifty-two wineries entered the NWS for the very first time.
This is a record number of wines for the nation’s premier wine competition that Canberrans know and enjoy today. Only bottles that have been awarded gold or silver at one of 32 qualifying Australian wine shows can enter, and the winners’ catalogue represents a guide to the most prestigious Australian wines for buyers all over the world.
However, one man of the hour remembers when the NWS was an entirely different affair.
2023 marks the last hurrah for John “Chippy” Payne, a true grassroots wine connoisseur who is retiring after 45 years volunteering as a steward.
NWS Chair Andy Gregory said that Chippy’s record years of service is one that will never be broken.
“A lot of people working with the National Wine Show aren’t even 45 years old,” laughs Mr Gregory.
Chippy started in 1978, soon after the Royal National Capital Agricultural Society became involved with the local wine show in Canberra, taking it to the national level.
At 24 years old, he was invited to join the team as a steward through his mate, Jimmy, who would go on to become local alcohol merchant, (the late) Jim ‘Enjoy the Good Times!’ Murphy.
Looking around the Budawang pavilion at EPIC, where judging takes place to this day, Chippy recalls the NWS’s humble beginnings, when there were twice as many entries – including box wine and “wine in a bag”. (Its true name being a four-letter-G-word that Chippy is too much of a gentleman to say.)
The Show has come a long way over the years, weathering, bushfires, drought, floods, hail, trade sanctions, and a pandemic, and cultivating a reputation that means a bottle bearing its medal stamp is the best of the best in Australian winemaking.
One might be surprised to learn that Chippy, the man who has seen it all, isn’t much of drinker and prefers to savour only the occasional glass.
“At 11 years old, my grandfather, on his deathbed, made me promise three things: Never drink alone, never gamble, and don’t follow the horses,” he says.
All these years later, and Chippy has yet to gamble (on horses or otherwise) and has only ever enjoyed a drop in good company.
“My perception of wine is less about pairing it with food, and more about sharing a glass with friends,” says Chippy.
He says one of the great appeals of this year’s show is that there is a wine for every taste.
“You can find wines that you open with your friends and sit on your balcony to watch the sunset with, and you can find wines that will go with any cuisine.”
His favourite drop?
“If I was meeting my best friend, I would bring one of the older styles of Pinot noir. Enjoyable because they are so hard to make, and so hard to get right.”
Chippy’s legacy at the Show will live on through his son Adam, who has also been working at the NWS in recent years.
CW spoke to Chippy in the hours before his colleagues surprised him with a trophy for 45 years’ service. However, he never questioned the true gift he was walking away with.
“I’ll always have a strong cellar, and a very big phonebook of mates to drink with.”
Judging for the 2023 event was conducted from 5 to 8 June. The top award of Prime Minister’s Trophy for Champion Wine of Show will be presented by Minister for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the Hon Senator Murray Watt, on behalf of the Prime Minister, tonight.
An invitation-only tasting of all wines entered in the show, including the 2023 winners, will be held on Saturday 17 June at Exhibition Park in Canberra (EPIC).
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