Sydney has been watching the building site, and Sydney Scoop is proud to announce that we were one of a select number of guests recently at the first official function for the new International Convention Centre (ICC) Sydney and the launch of the ICC Wine List.
"The International Convention Centre is the best convention centre in the world's best city and I think it is only an appropriate thing that we put together a genuinely world class wine list to make sure people truly enjoy their time here at ICC.
NSW is home to over 500 different vineyards, there is over 320 cellar doors around our great state and I think the ICC is really the apt and most perfect location to become NSW's cellar door to the world.
We've got a wonderful wine list that has been put together to be able to showcase the diversity of wines that are on offer here in NSW and I know that this facility is going to sell over 200,000 bottles of wines every year, that's a huge boost to the local wine industry, and with over 80% of the wine being sold through the ICC coming from NSW that is a massive endorsement of the NSW Wine Industry" announced an elated The Hon. Stuart Ayres, Minister for Trade, Tourism and Major Events.
The International Convention Centre Sydney inaugural wine collection will feature 93 varieties.
ICC Sydney Beverage Operations and Cellar Manager, William Wilson (one of the first Australians to be certified by the Court of Master Sommeliers} developed the collection to shine a spotlight on local suppliers, following a seven day tasting of over 1,000 labels from more than 300 wineries.
"Genuinely, tasting 1,000 wines no matter how good they were, it is actually quite hard work. No one believes me" Wilson explains.
"A team of four of us tasted 150 wines each day for seven days. In the end, we've created a wine list that I'm really really proud of. We set ourselves a target of 80% NSW wine. I was a little bit concerned about that. That is way more than any other venue has ever tried, even restaurants that are very NSW wine focused still don't have 80% NSW. Obviously some cellar doors that are 100% set up on the winery absolutely, but very few venues, no venue set up on this kind of scale has ever attempted this kind of thing before.
We hit 80% with no problems at all. I could have probably gone more. We had a philosophy all the time that every wine had to earn its place. There is not a single wine on that wine list that I wouldn't be perfectly comfortable to put up again any other wine from the rest of Australia or even internationally."
"Unsurprisingly the Hunter Valley had the highest number of entrants, it has the largest number of wineries up there in the region, and it also has the largest representation on the list, very closely followed Orange. Orange is a far smaller region, far fewer wineries, the quality of grapes that is coming out of there is just phenomenal. Other regions that did really well, the Riverina down in the south, New England up in the north, and my favourite Tumbarumba down on the side of the Snowy Mountains. It really shows that diversity of wines. The beauty now to me is the consistency of those wines that are coming out of those regions. As those wines mature, and Orange is a great example, the wines just seem to be getting better and better."
ICC Sydney’s wine collection features numerous standout NSW wines across a wide range of price points, which are set to wow visitors, including:
Sparkling Wines
Printhie Vintage Brut, Orange, NSW
Hungerford Hill Dalliance, Tumbarumba, NSW
White Wines
Philip Shaw no.19 Sauvignon Blanc, Orange, NSW
De Iuliis Semillon, Hunter Valley, NSW
Lark Hill Dark Horse White Blend, Murrumbateman, NSW
Swinging Bridge Mrs Payten Chardonnay, Orange, NSW
Red Wines
Margan Barbera, Hunter Valley, NSW
Allandale Tempranillo, Hilltops, NSW
Toppers Mountain Wild Ferment Shiraz, New England, NSW
Tyrrells Vat 8 Shiraz Cabernet, Hunter Valley, NSW
The International Convention Centre Sydney will open in December 2016 and underline Sydney’s position as one of the world’s most desirable meeting and event destinations for leaders and thinkers, to meet, collaborate, innovate and enjoy.
For more information >> www.iccsydney.com