Roundup: 2008's Most Exciting Wine


Updated November 19, 2008

The Annual Roundup of The Year's Most Exciting Wine

Each year, Wine Spectator editors survey the wines they reviewed over the past 12 months and select the most exciting for the Top 100. Over 19,500 wines from around the world were reviewed by blind tastings. Here are the top 10.

Sharing the same vision with the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF), Australian winemaker Michael Hope from Hope Estate, and Winesellers, Ltd., the US importer, have once again teamed up to created a special ‘Pink’ label Shiraz to help aid in the fight against Breast Cancer. This year, the Hunter Valley “Pink Awareness” Shiraz Reserve will generate a $60,000 donation to the NBCF. This donation will be used to help educate women for early detection and for much needed research in finiding a cure.

Brinkmann's Wine & Spirits is proud to offer its customers this wine in conjunction with Breast Cancer Awareness month. The Hope Estate “Pink Awareness” Shiraz Reserve 2007 is available for $13.99. So make your way to Brinkmann's today and aid in the fight against breast cancer.

Janelle Hail, president of the National Breast Cancer Foundation, is excited on the efforts of Hope Estate: “Our special thanks goes to Hope Estate for the care and concern they have for their customers. We appreciate Hope Estate and all they do to help us get the life-saving message of breast cancer early detection out to women.”

Being born with a last name of Hope has brought some welcome benefits to Australian winemaker Michael Hope. With a background as a pharmacist, he moved into the wine industry with the purchase of his first Hunter Valley vineyard in the mid 90’s. Not long after he released his first wines into the U.S. market, he began receiving numerous requests for support of cancer charities due to his namesake - Hope.

Michael notes, “Having lost my own mother to cancer, I’ve always done all I can to support the numerous requests that came to me. I then thought ‘why not try and do something meaningful and drive a whole campaign ourselves where we strive to raise a substantial amount of money and not just a donation of some wine."