SAWOL Round 9: the South Australian Wine Options League, our monthly blind tasting at Bar Septimus.
South Australian Wine Options League · 2026 Season
Round 9 fell on the long weekend. Eleven people upstairs, six wines poured blind, then cheese and free tastings downstairs afterwards.
Upstairs
Most people booked a single seat. A few came in pairs. There are no teams at Wine Options, so you sit with whoever is next to you, and by the second wine the table is arguing about the first.
Each wine has four options for grape, region and vintage. Five points for the grape, three for the region, two for the year. One tick per line.
It was dark by the third wine. Candles on the tables, answer sheets everywhere.
The six wines
We put on a strong line-up for this one. A Grand Cru grower Champagne, Rockford Basket Press and an old Rutherglen Muscat among them, six glasses for $40. It is the best-value night we run.
Chardonnay · Champagne · 2021 base
Guiborat is a grower in Cramant, on the Côte des Blancs. They farm their own Grand Cru Chardonnay and make the wine themselves. Extra Brut, so very little sugar added. Most of the room had it as Pinot Noir or Chenin Blanc.
Grüner Veltliner · Adelaide Hills · 2025
Grüner Veltliner is Austria’s main white grape. This one is from the K1 vineyard in the Adelaide Hills. Pepper and green apple. Five people got the grape. Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gris were the usual guesses.
Fiano · Langhorne Creek · 2025
Fiano comes from Campania in southern Italy and does well in South Australia. Four people put it in Campania.
Sangiovese · Adelaide Hills · 2024
Koerner’s Adelaide Hills Sangiovese. Savoury and light on its feet. Two people found the grape. Nebbiolo was the popular call.
Shiraz · Barossa Valley · 2019
Old vines, pressed in Rockford’s basket press. Nine of eleven called Shiraz and eight had it in the Barossa.
Muscat · Rutherglen · NV
Yalumba bought this Muscat from Rutherglen and aged it. Raisin, toffee and walnut.
Downstairs
We finished at eight and most people stayed. Our suppliers had dropped off a selection of wines for the team to try for the next by-the-glass list, so we opened them on the bar downstairs and anyone could taste them for free. The cheese came out. People who had come in on their own were still at the Marble Bar an hour later with the people they had sat next to.
Some of those wines will be on the list by the glass soon. Ask us which ones.
Results
William Abbott won on 40, with full marks on the Fiano, the Rockford and the Muscat. Andrew Munro was second on 35 and Dom Vu third on 34. The average was 26.8.
The Champagne was the hardest wine of the night. Three people got the grape and one got the region.
| Rank | Competitor | W1 | W2 | W3 | W4 | W5 | W6 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | William Abbott | 0 | 5 | 10 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 40 |
| 2 | Andrew Munro | 5 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 7 | 35 |
| 3 | Dom Vu | 2 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 34 |
| 4 | Alex Stone | 0 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 31 |
| 5= | Natalia Hubczenko | 5 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 30 |
| 5= | Alex Hubczenko | 3 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 30 |
| 7 | Mengqi Zhou | 5 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 25 |
| 8 | Stu Bates | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 5 | 23 |
| 9 | Roy | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 2 | 21 |
| 10 | Patrick | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 14 |
| 11 | Andy Steere | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 12 |
How the room went (of 11)
| Wine | Variety | Region | Vintage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Guiborat Tethys.21 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| 2 CRFT Grüner Veltliner | 5 | 4 | 6 |
| 3 Varney Fiano | 5 | 4 | 5 |
| 4 Koerner Sangiovese | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| 5 Rockford Basket Press | 9 | 8 | 5 |
| 6 Yalumba Antique Muscat | 6 | 6 | 8 |
Season standings after Round 9
Alfred Yapp missed this round and still leads on 253. William’s 40 takes him to second on 228, two points ahead of Stu Bates. Best eight of eleven rounds count.
| Rank | Competitor | After R8 | R9 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alfred Yapp | 253 | – | 253 |
| 2 | William Abbott | 188 | 40 | 228 |
| 3 | Stu Bates | 203 | 23 | 226 |
| 4 | Petra | 171 | – | 171 |
| 5 | Mengqi Zhou | 115 | 25 | 140 |
| 6 | Alex Stone | 105 | 31 | 136 |
| 7 | Abraham Halim | 131 | – | 131 |
| 8 | Andrew Munro | 85 | 35 | 120 |
| 9 | Roy | 86 | 21 | 107 |
| 10 | Dom Vu | 65 | 34 | 99 |
| 11 | Alex Hubczenko | 57 | 30 | 87 |
| 12 | Amy Leask | 80 | – | 80 |
| 13 | Will Schmidt | 45 | – | 45 |
| 14 | Malcolm Short | 37 | – | 37 |
| 15 | Mahara Esplugues Silva | 31 | – | 31 |
| 16= | Kat | 30 | – | 30 |
| 16= | Natalia Hubczenko | – | 30 | 30 |
| 18 | Jamie | 28 | – | 28 |
| 19 | Dee Tran | 27 | – | 27 |
| 20 | Sam Watkins | 25 | – | 25 |
| 21= | Annika Phillips-Hughes | 22 | – | 22 |
| 21= | Greg Wilkie | 22 | – | 22 |
| 21= | Nat | 22 | – | 22 |
| 21= | Sophie Liao | 22 | – | 22 |
| 25 | Alex Phillips-Hughes | 20 | – | 20 |
| 26 | Dylan Smith | 19 | – | 19 |
| 27 | Jeremy Reep | 18 | – | 18 |
| 28= | Anita Wilkie | 17 | – | 17 |
| 28= | Avi Weiss | 17 | – | 17 |
| 30 | Victoria | 16 | – | 16 |
| 31= | Cynthia Koch | 15 | – | 15 |
| 31= | Inyeong Jeong (Oliver) | 15 | – | 15 |
| 33= | Bernie | 14 | – | 14 |
| 33= | Jae Hyun Park | 14 | – | 14 |
| 33= | Michel Neale | 14 | – | 14 |
| 33= | Patrick | – | 14 | 14 |
| 37= | Emily Schweiger | 13 | – | 13 |
| 37= | Sam Kurtz | 13 | – | 13 |
| 39 | Andy Steere | – | 12 | 12 |
| 40 | Kris Saw | 11 | – | 11 |
| 41 | Roxanne Kloppers | 10 | – | 10 |
| 42 | Karlie Reichelt | 4 | – | 4 |
| 43 | Shaye | 3 | – | 3 |
| 44 | Kate Gelsthorpe | 2 | – | 2 |
Round 10: Monday 2 November
Two rounds left before the December final.
Monday 2 November, 6:30pm to 8pm, upstairs at 220 Grenfell Street. Six wines, $40, 24 seats. Come on your own or bring someone. You don’t need to know much about wine.
The South Australian Wine Options League
SAWOL is our monthly blind tasting championship at Septimus. Six wines poured blind, points for guessing grape, region and vintage, and prizes on the night.
Catch up on the season
Book a seat for Round 10
After SAWOL Round 9
The league runs on the first Monday of the month: six glasses poured blind, 24 seats, points for variety, region and vintage. See the upcoming rounds and the rules.