Porongurup winery Castle Rock Estate is raising a glass to the Perth Royal Food Awards after winning the trophy for best wines of provenance for its A&W riesling.
The category rewards consistency as the wines entered have to be of three different vintages: current; at least five years old; and at least 10 years old.
It’s a tough category to conquer according to Rob Diletti, the winemaking son of Castle Rock Estate founders Angelo and Wendy Diletti.
“It judges the age-ability of the wine and consistency of style,” he said.
“In terms of the award category, it’s hard to win.
“But it’s rewarding because it shows the consistency of our wine.”
The estate is celebrating the 40th anniversary of its first vintage and is putting on tastings around the country’s capital cities before a bigger event back home.
Much has changed over the four decades since Angelo and Wendy started operations.
“If you look at viticulture over the last 40 years, it’s vastly different now,” Rob Diletti said.
“However, it has been a constant evolution over that time rather than overnight change.
“You have to keep up or be left behind.”
The winning vintages entered in the Perth show were from 2011, 2018 and 2024 while the estate also won a silver and several bronze medals for other entries.
It has been a successful year with the 2026 Skywalk riesling earning silver at the Sydney Royal Wine Show.
According to Sam Palmer, the estate’s winemaker along with Mr Diletti, the winning trio are something special.
“Great riesling is rich and generous and delicious to drink as a young wine yet will age gracefully and reward patience of cellaring,” he said.
“There is not any other variety that does that so well and Castle Rock Riesling achieves that vintage after vintage.”
The Perth competition attracted entries from all over Australia, with 59 classes spanning chardonnay, chenin blanc and riesling to cabernet sauvignon, shiraz, sparkling, fortified wines and more.
In total, judges awarded 89 gold, 136 silver and 288 bronze medals, alongside 21 champion trophies.
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