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Australian Wine Industry Awards event recognises Mount Pleasant’s Maurice O’Shea Award and the new McWilliam’s Wines Excellence in Action award.

The prestigious Maurice O’Shea Award returned in 2022 under the new Australian Wine Industry Awards event, in partnership with McWilliam’s Wines and Mount Pleasant Wines.

The History of the Maurice O’Shea Award

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Founded in 1990 by the McWilliam family, the triennial awards ceremony commemorates and pays homage to Mount Pleasant's legendary Maurice O’Shea. This significant industry award recognises an individual, group, or organisation for their incredible service or contribution to the industry through winemaking, cultivation, innovation and technology.


Described by leading wine critic, James Halliday as “…the highest honour the Australian wine industry (through McWilliam’s) can confer on one of its members,” the Maurice O’Shea Award was presented every two years at an event attended by more than 250 friends of the wine industry. 


Under the new ownership, the tradition of the Maurice O’Shea Award will carry on to honour O’Shea’s legacy in partnership with McWilliam’s Wines.

The New McWilliam's Excellence in Action Award

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This new award, presented on the same night as the Maurice O’Shea Award, will recognise the significant challenges currently facing the wine industry - challenges like climate change, diversity and equality, and international market access - and the important people or industry bodies that have tackled these obstacles head-on for the betterment of the industry.


McWilliam’s has faced a number of challenges in its 143-year history, but the perseverance of this winemaking family, and their commitment to the industry, will live on through this important industry recognition. 

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