Wine educator Julia Lambeth wins Tasting Blind Club 2016-17

The winner of Wine Australia’s Tasting Blind Club 2016–17, wine educator Julia Lambeth, will use her prize-winning trip to find new Australian wines to feature in upcoming events.

Julia Lambeth, who runs South London Wine School, was crowned ‘Tasting Blind Club Champion 2016–17’ after topping the list of formidable blind tasters in Wine Australia’s competition.

Her prize, a trip to Australia, is scheduled for 23 October to 3 November 2017. Led by Mark Davidson, Wine Australia’s Global Education Manager, the trip will include visits to Barossa, Adelaide Hills, McLaren Vale, Yarra Valley, Mornington Peninsula, Geelong and Macedon Ranges.

Julia discovered Tasting Blind Club last year whilst looking for local wine events and became a regular attendee throughout the series. Julia said:

“Every month the tastings featured a great selection of Aussie wines, including some top quality and more unusual examples I might not normally have had the chance to try. The club is fun, relaxed and the concept is great. I haven’t come across any other blind tastings for the trade like this.”

This will be Julia’s first trip to Australia’s wine regions and second visit to Australia, having had a holiday on the East Coast before she got into the wine trade.

Julia is looking forward to finding out about the new ideas, trends and styles that are coming out of Australia and she plans to incorporate her findings from the trip into her events. Julia said:

“It’s a fantastic opportunity to gain a greater understanding of Australian wine - to be there in person and see the vineyards, meet the winemakers and hear the stories. As I often feature Australian wines in tastings, the trip will give me a more up-to-date view of the Aussie wine scene to pass on to students, and I’ll definitely be looking for new wines to include in events and to develop more Aussie themed tastings.”

Since its introduction in 2012, Tasting Blind Club has gone from strength to strength. The event now attracts around 70 trade professionals every month, comprising of sommeliers, on- and off-trade specialists, educators, students and media.

“Tasting Blind Club continues to draw a good crowd, with all walks of the wine trade competing to better their scores whilst exploring the diversity of Australian wine. The event is a great way for us to showcase Australia’s outstanding wines to the trade and we look forward to launching the new season in September.”

Wine Australia’s Head of Market EMEA Laura Jewell MW

Tasting Blind Club is held monthly at Australia Centre in London. Up to 20 Australian wines are divided into flights, themed by region or variety, and served blind. At the end of each tasting, participants can answer a list of questions, with the season’s most successful taster winning a trip to Australia.

Past winners include Adam Wander of WanderCurtis Wines (2015–16), Gareth Ferreira at 67 Pall Mall (2014–15) and Matthieu Longuere MS at Le Cordon Bleu (2013–14).

The new season of Tasting Blind Club starts on Monday 11 September 2017. For more information and if you would like to attend, please email uk@wineaustralia.com