Last Thursday night five Bendigo wineries took home awards from the prestigious Concours des Vins de Victoria event held in Melbourne at Etihad Stadium.

The award-winning wineries were BlackJack Vineyards, Glenwillow Wines, Harcourt Valley Winery, Sandhurst Ridge Winery and Turners Crossing Wines.

Concours des Vins de Victoria is a unique wine competition in Australia in that it involves a panel of French wine experts and commentators judging Victorian wines. It is organised by the French-Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Since its inception in 1990 the annual Concours des Vins de Victoria has been bringing together two proud wine-producing cultures, French and Australian, in a place where Victorian terroirs and aromas meet the French palate.

For head judge, Bernard Burtschy, the event is a “wonderful window into changing wine trends” and represents “promising perspectives” for the future of Victorian wines.

The event featured a line up 478 different Victorian wines from over 100 wineries enjoyed by an enthusiastic crowd of close to 1,000 guests including winemakers, judges, sponsors and French-Australian Chamber of Commerce members.

In the highly competitive field, Glenwillow Wines won a prestigous trophy for Best Shiraz 2012.

BlackJack Vineyards received two Bronze medals; Glenwillow received a Gold and Bronze medal; Harcourt Valley Winery received eight Gold medals, four Silver and four Bronze; Sandhurst Ridge Winery won a Bronze medal and Turners Crossing won a Silver medal.

“This is a strong result for the Bendigo Wine region, being recognised like this for quality wines is always a boost for the region,” said Bill Blamires, President of Bendigo Winegrowers Association.