When Salvatore Trimboli entered the 2020 Salvatore Trebbiano into the state wine awards he didn't expect to be bringing home the trophy for Best Other White Variety.
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It wasn't the first taste of success for the wine, with the Trebbiano picking up a gold medal earlier this month.
"It's the first time we entered a Trebbiano," Trimboli Family Wines owner Salvatore Trimboli said.
Mr Trimboli has previously enjoyed success with his Vermentino in the Other White Variety category.
"A lot of people haven't tried the Trebbiano, but it's still the number one white wine consumed in Italy," he said.
With the Trebbiano being shown for the first time, Mr Trimboli said the category gave the chance for the wine to stand out from more common grape varieties including Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay and allow it to be judged on its own terms.
The Other White category includes Vermentino and Fiano.
"There's been good growth in alternative grape varieties, we've seen it over 10 years," Mr Trimboli said.
"It's good to see different varities come up, there's more to choose from."
Mr Trimboli said he hoped the win would help encourage growers to keep some of the Trebbiano variety grapes in the ground.
"I'm hoping now that Trebbiano has done well not only in NSW but other wines show, we'll start to keep this variety alive," he said.
The only other winery to win a trophy at the NSW Wine Awards was Lillypilly Wines.
They won the Best Sweet Wine Trophy for their 2017 Noble Blend.
"The best sweet wines were dominated by the luscious wines from the Riverina, which effortlessly balanced sweetness and acid," NSW Wine Awards judging panel chairman David Brookes said.
"The alternative ... or as we like to call them ... the 'appropriate' varieties again shone with the overall winning Trebbiano from the Riverina and Mourvedre from the Hunter Valley looking fantastic and making them stand apart from the others."
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