Paul Hotker – James Halliday Winemaker of the Year
August 09, 2017
On Wednesday, August 2nd, the results for the James Halliday annual awards were announced. Mr. Paul Hotker of the Bleasdale wine estate in South Australia won the ‘James Halliday Winemaker of the Year’ award for the 2017-18 period.
Elated with this achievement, Paul commented that neither he, nor his company, and not even the Langhorne Creek wine region can be considered the “cool kids” of the Aussie wine industry. He describes Bleasdale as a conservative wine business striving to do the best the team can.
Paul believes that change in eating habits paved the way for modern red wine styles. As opposed to oaky and heavier reds, wine lovers now prefer fresh, vibrant and medium bodied red wines. According to him, the Langhorne Creek wine region excels in lighter wine styles, owing to the cooling effect of the Southern Ocean as well as Lake Alexandrina.
Before winning the reputed Halliday award, Mr. Hotker received 8 trophies in 5 different wine shows in the year 2015. In 2016, he won 5 trophies for a single red blend – the 2015 Wellington Road Grenache Shiraz, and another 2 for Bleasdale’s Second Innings Malbec. For the past 3 years, Paul Hotker has been on a serious roll!
The other top awards for the night included –
Wine of the Year: Henschke 2012 Hill of Grace
Winery of the Year: Mount Mary
