Bites

FORMER IT executive and one-time cheese maker, Mark Lane, was named Australian Winemaker of the Year at the recent Winestate annual wine awards.

Mr Lane launched Margaret River winery Swings & Roundabouts four years ago after working in Victorian wineries.

Winestate publisher Peter Simic said Mr Lane had consistently achieved high results during tastings by the magazine's wine judges during 2008.

The award follows tastings of more than 10,000 Australian and New Zealand wines by Winestate over the past year.

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Margaret River winemaking veteran David Hohnen won the Di Cullen Award for Outstanding Contribution by an Individual to the WA Wine Industry at the 2008 Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA Awards.

Mr Hohnen is a pioneer of the Margaret River and Marlborough wine regions. He was the first in Margaret River to produce a labelled semillon-sauvignon blanc blend, and for almost 20 years worked on the development of single-vineyard cabernet sauvignon.

He also established Cape Mentelle in the 1970s and Cloudy Bay in New Zealand in the 1980s.

His latest venture is McHenry Hohnen Vintners, driven by Murray McHenry, Mr Hohnen's daughter and winemaker, Freya Walsh, her partner, Ryan, and Mr Hohnen.

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MadFish Wines has just launched a new sparkling wine release with Vera's Cuvee sparkling white, in recognition of the contribution made by Vera Hook over 11 years as the cellar door manager of Howard Park Denmark.

Ms Hook died last May.

Vera's Cuvee is a blend of chardonnay and pinot noir made by methode traditionelle champenois