The 31st Annual Great Shiraz Challenge, at Adelaide’s Edinburgh Hotel, held on June 29th, saw our Brockenchack Wines 2019 William Frederick Shiraz emerge as the crowd favourite, taking the coveted first place.
In addition, our 2016 Jack Harrison Shiraz secured an impressive third place, demonstrating our winery’s standing as a contender in Eden Valley Shiraz production.
The Great Shiraz Challenge, which attracts more than 400 attendees each year, showcases over 200 different Shirazes from some of Australia’s finest wineries. The event stands out for its unique format, with results determined by a public vote. Each guest is invited to taste a selection of the region’s best Shirazes and cast their vote for their two favourites of the day.
Our William Frederick Shiraz won the day quite convincingly, with almost double the amount of votes of the nearest ‘rivals’, with the public’s preference cementing its status as a standout wine. The event is a true celebration of Shiraz, with attendees ranging from wine enthusiasts to industry professionals, all coming together to explore and celebrate the richness and diversity of the varietal.
Our William Frederick Shiraz is named after owner Trev’s father; his inspiration. Our Jack Harrison Shiraz is named after grandson Jack, who resides at the vineyard with his growing young family, and while training to become our future winemaker, also manages our viticulture, our winery and bottling plant, and his Angus cattle side-passion-project.
This result is indeed an honour for our little family-owned winery, up against many big, well-known Barossa names.
The full list of results can be found here: https://edcellars.com.au/pages/2025-edinburgh-hotel-cellars-great-shiraz-challenge-results
“We are absolutely thrilled by the results of this year’s Great Shiraz Challenge. I’m still grinning.” said Trev Harch, proud owner of Brockenchack Wines. “To have our 2019 William Frederick Shiraz voted as the crowd favourite is an incredible honour. To be honest, on the day there wasn’t a bad Shiraz to be found, but to win by a mile in amongst such huge competition, in a people’s choice event, means everything to us. I have always set out to make wines that people will love to drink. And it seems we are on the right track. We are also very proud to see our 2016 Jack Harrison Shiraz in third place, which speaks to the quality of our entire range.”
Our success at the Great Shiraz Challenge highlights our ongoing commitment to producing high-quality wines that honour the heritage and excellence of the Barossa. We are excited to share our award-winning Shiraz with wine enthusiasts around New Zealand and we look forward to continuing to innovate while honouring tradition.
Our 2019 William Frederick Shiraz which was made in strictly limited release numbers, also won the Trophy for Best Australian Shiraz at the 2024 International Wine Challenge (IWC), and is exclusively available in New Zealand through Finer Wines in Katikati, or direct through Brockenchack Wines’ New Zealand online shop, where you can also access our 2020 William Frederick Shiraz.
About Brockenchack Wines:
We are a family-owned and operated winery situated within Australia’s premier wine region, high up in the Barossa’s Eden Valley. Eden Valley’s ideal growing region delivers the optimal balance of warm days and cool nights, resulting in the most desirable acid-tannin-fruit balance and an impressive volume of aroma and flavour captured in each bottle.
Visionary and founder Trev is driven by an unwavering dedication to produce wines he is proud to call his own and to leave a legacy for his family. When they set out on their first vintage in 2008 Trev and Marilyn dedicated their wine venture to their four grandchildren by naming it after them; BROnte, MaCKENzie, CHArli and JaCK (pronounced Brock-en-shack).
We champion the importance of the personal stories behind each of our wines, with every wine in our 15-strong range named after a cherished family member or something of significance to the family.
The Brockenchack family remain dedicated to producing wines that showcase the best of our land, with the majority of our production being single vineyard expressions. While the business and the grandchildren may have grown over the years, what hasn’t changed is Trev’s ethos; simply ‘to continue making great wines, that people love to drink’.
For more information and to explore our range of award-winning wines that are available in New Zealand, visit our dedicated NZ website www.brockenchack.nz.
Brockenchack Wines are also available through:
North Island Wholesale Distribution | Beverage Bureau
Nick Hewitt | +64 276 999 151 | nick@beveragebureau.co.nz | beveragebureau.co.nz
South Island Wholesale Distribution | Palate Fine Wines
Andie Pearce | +64 274 117 184 | palatewines@gmail.com