Bill Chambers OAM
Wine judge - Bill Chambers has been a familiar face at the Royal Melbourne Wine Awards for many years. Born in Rutherglen in 1933, Bill became the fifth generation winemaker in his family.
Bill Chambers has been a familiar face at the Royal Melbourne Wine Awards for many years. Born in Rutherglen in 1933, Bill became the fifth generation winemaker in his family. After studying at Roseworthy Agricultural College where he specialised in winemaking, he first became involved with the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria (RASV) in the late 1950s as an associate judge assisting with the Royal Melbourne Wine Awards. In 1962, Bill was asked to become a judge. ‘It was a great honour to be asked to be a judge’, he remembers. ‘I was lucky, I’d learned a lot from the other judges. They were very good and very patient.’
Bill gained a reputation as an excellent judge and when Doug Seabrook, Chairman of the Royal Melbourne Wine Awards judging panel, left, Bill was asked if he would take on the role. Bill served as Chairman of the Royal Melbourne Wine Show judging panel for the next 21 years.
In 1994, Bill was awarded the President’s Medal as well as being made a life member of RASV in honour of his valuable contribution over many years.
Well it was a great honour to be appreciated. I was doing the best I could … trying to be the servant of the committee, not push myself. And the idea was to try and make it easier for the judges to get the best result, that was my aim anyway.
A few years later, he was awarded a Distinguished Service Award by the Victorian Wine Industry Association. In 2004, Bill was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia ‘for service to the wine industry as a wine maker and judge’.