Andrew Wigan named ‘Winemaker of the Year 2009’
02 October 2009
Andrew Wigan, Chief Winemaker at Peter Lehmann Wines has been named Winemaker of the Year at the prestigious Gourmet Traveller WINE & Wine Australia ‘2009 Winemaker of the Year’ Awards, announced in Melbourne.
A humble winner, Andrew said
“This award is without doubt, one of the highlights of my career. None of what we have achieved as a group would have been possible without Peter & Margaret Lehmann and their dogged persistence to save our Barossa growers and build a quality winery of international fame. Peter’s guidance throughout has been critical to the success of the company and that is what this is all about. We have a great team at the winery and a great bunch of growers providing us with some amazing fruit. I thank them all as well as my parents for their help and encouragement to point me in this direction, and my wife Wendy for her wonderful support over all the years.”
Andrew has had a remarkable career as a winemaker with over 37 vintages to his credit in the Barossa Valley. In 1976 as a trained winemaker, he joined Peter as a member of the winemaking team at Saltram, a decision he describes as the “the best he ever made!” Peter says that his decision to employ Andrew “was one of the best decisions he ever made!”
Andrew has been with Peter from the very first day at Peter Lehmann Wines as Chief Winemaker, and amongst the many other accolades that he and his winemaking team have achieved some highlights include:
- ‘International Winemaker of the Year’ in 2003 & 2006 at the IWSC in London.
- ‘Australian Producer of the Year’ in 2003, 2006 & 2008 at the IWSC.
- 1990 Jimmy Watson Trophy winner.
- ‘White Winemaker of the Year’ in 2006 at UK International Wine Challenge.
- ‘Red Wine of the Year’ at the 2000 UK International Wine Challenge.
While his family, the Barossa Valley and its fine wines are his first passions, a round of golf and the Essendon Football Club also hold a special place in his heart.
