Wine industry 'bolstered' by Chardonnay Classic Masterclass event

Hosted by The Hotel Canobolas, the NSW Department of Primary Industries rolled out its Viticulture Skills Development Program to boost intel for those in the region's winemaking space.

Following a Riesling special last year, audience feedback went out for the 2023 workshop - Chardonnay trumped the votes.

With Orange being a "predominant" Chardonnay-growing region, NSW DPI Development Officer Viticulture, Darren Fahey said the wine has also "just surpassed" Shiraz in the shipping space.

"[Chardonnay is] our most exported wine in Australia, in two parts that might be somewhat due to Shiraz and cabernet sauvignon not being imported into China at the minute due to tariffs," Mr Fahey said.

"But America, since the end of COVID, seems to be really taking on imports of Australian chardonnay and much of that is coming from New South Wales."

Which is why industry leaders were happy to merge forces with local Central Ranges wine legends, presenting 20-minute classes laden with tips and tricks from those with careers spanning decades.

Vineyard secrets, winery hints and golden advice for networking and marketing, up for grabs was cutting-edge intel for the Central West's white grape variety producers.

And if it takes a village to rare a good product, the masterclass was one "busy and exciting" place where producers wanted to be.

"The good thing is that [experts are] providing information to other members of industry and they're not holding back with information; they're giving of their time and sharing their knowledge, and that's a great thing to bolster everyone across industry," Mr Fahey said.

"If people just stuck to their own thoughts and processes, yeah, they may be successful for a while, but they'll find that other people are coming up behind them with other techniques and management practices.

"By sharing, we're making sure that the industry moves forward as a whole, together."

Which is why the service is ultimately looking at how all of the wine regions can be successful, rather than just one or the other, Mr Fahey said.

And with the wine sector up against the convenience of ready-to-drink tins and other beverages, skills development via the program aims to increase the benefit to the wine industry - including returns back on investment for NSW treasury.

"We've got a lot of people from the new Rootlings project here as well, which are under 35s from across the state," Mr Fahey said.

"We're encouraging more and more young people now to move into this ag-space, all the way to original planters and producers in the region."

The Chardonnay Classic Masterclass presenters featured:

Four reveal and review wine brackets were also woven throughout the event, presented by tasting expert and esteemed wine judge, Adam Walls.

"This is one of our key events of the year," Mr Fahey said.

"Everyone comes out of the woodworks to enjoy the face-to-face learning process."

For more information on this collaboration with NSW DPI and the NSW Wine Industry Association, head online to NSW Wine website.

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