The ASVO Awards for Excellence recognises the most dedicated and professional individuals in the Australian wine industry that show exceptional leadership, ability and vision.

Mr Cassegrain received the award in recognition of his work in developing solutions for the widespread smoke taint issue which impacted Australia's grape harvest in 2020.

His wide-ranging positive contributions to the Australian wine industry and innovative work in trialling techniques and procedures to find the best possible solutions for the effects of smoke taint in wine grapes both contributed to receiving national recognition at the awards.

"It's a bit of a shock. It's a really big award to win and I'm just incredibly proud and honoured to have won," Mr Cassegrain said.

"I don't think it has sunk in yet, I'm still on cloud nine."

Mr Cassegrain said it was a team effort in trialling innovative ways to treat smoke taint in wine following the devastating 2019 bushfires.

"All of the regions we source our grapes from were impacted by the bushfires or by smoke taint," he said.

"We've all worked exceptionally hard on developing solutions on the impact of smoke taint on grapes and I'd like to acknowledge the collaborative approach taken by some of the industry's prominent experts and institutions, and in particular to our staff and growers for all their support and efforts during this difficult time.

"Receiving this award gives me the confidence to always push the boundaries and to continue to be innovative. A big thankyou to the ASVO committee for everything they do for the industry. I feel like this marks the beginning of a brighter future going forward."

NSW Wine President Mark Bourne congratulated Mr Cassegrain on winning the award.

"This award is very well-deserved recognition of Alex's contribution and commitment to our industry and we extend him our ardent congratulations," he said.

"These awards highlight how the NSW wine industry and the new generation of winemakers and growers are collaborating and embracing innovative practices that will help lead the Australian wine industry into the future."

Cassegrain Wines received a grant under the Federal Government's 2020 Cooperative Research Centres (CRC) grants program which supports short-term, industry led research collaborations into the effects of smoke taint on grapes, a significant industry disruptor that has had a devastating impact in many grape growing regions.

"Obtaining the Cooperative Research Centres Projects grant enabled us to be part of leading-edge techniques and innovations, and I'm confident that further development of some of the techniques we've trialled will lead to worldwide availability of these techniques," Mr Cassegrain said.

"What could have been a disaster for our industry has turned into a potential internationally recognised innovation."

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