The Australian Wine Industry’s most prestigious award, the 2012 McWilliam’s Maurice O’Shea Award, was last night awarded to the Australian Screwcap Initiative.

Jeffrey Grosset, a long-time advocate, educator and adopter of the screwcap closure, accepted the award on behalf of all supporters and in front of more than 250 guests at a gala dinner in Melbourne.

McWilliam’s Wines Group Chairman, Doug McWilliam, said the Australia’s Wine Industry’s early trials and later endorsement and widespread use of the closure throughout the 2000s was a unique and significant achievement that advanced both the quality and perception of Australian wine.

“This year’s award celebrates collaboration, from those that collectively undertook the trials and research, to those across trade and media which supported the closure’s introduction and then the consumers who embraced it,” he said.

In accepting the award, Jeffrey Grosset emphasised that a greater benefit from this initiative is yet to be realised. “What are we saying to the Chinese, the biggest potential export market ever for premium Australian wine, when we send them our wine under cork?” he said. “Unlike Japan, where we made an effort to explain our initiative, in China we have not.”

Jeffrey Grosset’s full speech is reproduced below.

“I sincerely thank McWilliams Wines for this prestigious and most significant award. I also want to acknowledge and express my appreciation of the twelve award sponsors.

“I would like to acknowledge the previous winners, particularly those here. I feel privileged to be in their company

“I am delighted and honoured to accept this award on behalf of those who have shown the vision and the determination to make this initiative such a success.

“The transition to screw caps in Australia seems to have occurred effortlessly. The truth is that it’s only through the tireless and, until tonight, the thankless work of a few that this has happened in this way.

“The first group to acknowledge consists of 4 people who got together in 1999: Andrew Hardy who at the time was at Knappsteins and also chairman of the CVWI, led 13 Clare Valley wineries to release wines under Screw cap in 2000, and his contribution is generally under-appreciated. The other three of that group were Stephanie Toole of Mount Horrocks Wines, Andrew Mitchell of Mitchell’s  and myself.

“Together with the extraordinary salesman Peter Dunlop from Classic Packaging, whose contribution at the time was paramount, we designed a new bottle and tweaked the existing screw cap closure so that it would work more effectively and so that those who adopted it would have an aesthetically impressive and uncompromised package.

“Importantly, we clearly communicated exactly why we were doing this, essentially that this closure worked, and that the old closure, cork, did not (at least not consistently).

“I handled all the press releases and between this group, occasionally referred to as the Gang of Four, we dealt with all trade, industry and press communication.

“I also travelled to NZ in 2000 to brief he New Zealanders on our prioress before they started, as in this case our success and theirs were linked.

“I remember less than two years later I had logged more than 1000 hours of unpaid time dealing with this and concluding that we needed help to get information out more effectively.

“In 2003. I addressed the NSW Press Club, now Wine Communicators. I talked about how Australians were leading the world in our ability to produce great wine, but the international significance of this seemed to have eluded us. Nine years later as an industry I believe we are still struggling with this.

“In 2004 I established the Australian Closure Fund to promote research into the very specific technical area of closure permeability which remains poorly understood.

“In 2005, Tyson Stelzer, who had already written quite a bit about this subject, wrote and published the book ‘Taming the Screw’. This became the technical manual for all those wanting to know how and why they should use this closure.

“Without this manual the technical side of its introduction may well have been compromised.

‘The book was co-edited by Dr Jon Forrest of Forrest Estate Winery, Michael Brajkovich, MW of Kumeu River Wines in New Zealand, and myself.

“The introduction of screw cap still represents the most significant advancement in quality and consistency of premium wine in recent times.

“What I want to emphasise tonight is that it is also testament to the power of individuals to cause change, the power of a simple message when there is a receptive audience.

“The audience was Australian wine producers, press, trade and consumers. They either understood the message or trusted what we said, and embraced it.

“One could be forgiven for assuming that tonight we could all congratulate ourselves for a job well done. That’s why the timing of tonight’s award is perfect. It’s not done.

“While 95% of Australian premium wine consumed in Australia may be under Screw cap that is not the case for the wine we export.

“French wine is associated with history, tradition, prestige and quality. Australian Wine has less, but significant, history. It has less prestige but produces examples at least equal in quality. The difference is- we have the closure. You could say: – We can supply great wine, they can only offer great bottles.

“Along with New Zealand we have taken ownership of this initiative. And to me it says a lot; that we’re not afraid to lead, we care about our customers and we have integrity.

“So what then are we saying to the Chinese, the biggest potential export market ever for premium Australian wine, when we send them our wine under cork?  Unlike Japan where we made an effort to explain our initiative, in China we have not. Australian producers are of course meeting the market or supplying them what they want.

“Yet Steve jobs former head of Apple said ‘people don’t know what they want until you show it to them’.

“I supply a tiny amount of wine to China in screw cap.   I say I’m passionate about the wines, which are exciting expressions of variety and place, they are unique and we use a closure that works.

“If the Chinese accept screw caps as Australians have done, they will want to buy Australian wine.

“So, we can change tradition. We can lead the world and in this case that’s what we’re doing. I think its imperative that we tell the world not just ourselves, what we have done and why.

“What I am saying is; a greater benefit from this initiative is yet to be realised.

“Finally I want to thank all producers, trade, press and consumers who were quick to support this initiative, especially those who didnt necessarily understand it all, as was the case with many consumers, but who nevertheless put their trust in us. Thank you.”

Jeffrey Grosset