Terms & Conditions

REGULATIONS GOVERNING EXHIBITS TO THE VICTORIAN WINES SHOW

1. All classes are open for competition to winemakers and vignerons.

2. For a wine to be eligible to be entered into a class it must contain 85% of the variety or blends of specified varieties and vintage of grapes grown within Victoria in that class in compliance with Australian LIP regulations.

3.  Each wine entry shall consist of 4 x 750 mL bottles or equivalent as specified in the Schedule of Conditions.

            3.1 All entries must be commercially bottled at the time of entry

            3.2 Unbottled wines are not permitted

4. The same wine may not be entered more than once. No exhibit may be entered in more than one class.

5. Exhibits will be judged on points and the points will be set out in a list of awards.

6. Trophy, Gold, Silver and Bronze certificates will be issued to award winners upon request.

7. Entries should be made through the Showrunner website: https://wineshow.awri.com.au

8. Exhibitors must indicate eligibility for the Best Small Producer Trophy and Best Single Vineyard Wine (see conditions for eligibility in items 25 and 26 below).

9. In all classes the stock as required to be held according to the class requirements may be inspected and checked by a representative of the Victorian Wines Show Committee or its nominee before the Presentation of Awards ceremony and for up to one month after this time. Samples of award-winning wines must be held for at least one month after announcement of awards. The representative may procure one bottle of such inspected entry for comparison with the original entry.

10. Exhibits are to bear the labels supplied by the Victorian Wines Show for the purpose and must show:

            10.1 The number of the class and the name of the grape variety or varieties.

            10.2 Distinguishing mark to enable exhibits to be positively identified.

            10.3 The year of vintage or, if blended, the approximate age of the blend

            10.4 Sugar content in g/L in classes where the sweetness level is specified

            10.5 The commercial name of the wine if the entry includes words other than the name of the maker and the variety.

NOTES:

A.  All bottles, either unlabelled or commercially labelled, must bear labels supplied by the Victorian Wine Show.

B. Commercially labelled bottles are permissible

C.  Branded bottles and corks are permissible

D. Exhibitors are requested to remove capsules from cork-sealed bottles for entry.

11. After the close of entries, no person will be permitted access to the exhibits except the stewards, secretary and staff, until the awards have been made.

12. Each exhibit must represent stock as set out on the entry form and be the bona fide property of that exhibitor.

13. Exhibits of blended wines must represent the prescribed quantity already blended.

14. All exhibits become the property of the Victorian Wine Show.

15. The Victorian Wine Show committee may request up to one (1) dozen of any exhibits for awards presentation function or other promotional activity by donation. We will make contact to arrange delivery.

 16. All exhibits must be made from at least 85% Victorian grapes and, where required, conform to the respective Acts of the State of Victoria and the Commonwealth of Australia which govern the production of Australian wine, these to include the Health Act regulations, and any others. The Victorian Wine Show reserves the right to have any exhibit inspected and/or analysed.

17. No correspondence with respect to any decisions will be entered into and no protest will be entertained.

18. An exhibitor breaking any rule or regulation may be disqualified from this show or any future shows conducted by the Victorian Wine Show. The length of this disqualification is at the discretion of the VWS Committee.

19. No entry will be received from any disqualified exhibitor during the period of such disqualification. Should any such entry be accepted it shall, when discovered, be deemed void and the entry fee and exhibit and any awards or trophies will be forfeited.

20. Judges shall not at any time prior to the announcement of the awards have any access or knowledge as to the identity of the exhibits.

21. No exhibitor shall advertise or allow to be advertised by any means whatsoever, whether by broadcasting, pictorially, or in writing, the fact that any exhibit has won any prize in this Show unless such advertisement shows clearly:

23. Exhibitors have no restriction on number of entries per class as long as the same wine is not entered more than once20. Exhibitors have no restriction on number of entries per class as long as the same wine is not entered more than once.

24. A refund of Entry Fees shall not be made unless a notification of withdrawal is received by the VWS before the Closing Day of Entry.

1. Judges will judge each class without collaboration and on receipt of all result sheets applicable to any one class, the Chair of the Judges shall have the points totalled, checked and determine the awards.

2. Judges will not have access to exhibits apart from the glass of each placed in front of them by the stewards.

3. Exhibits will be judged using the 100-point scale.

4. Awards will be made as follows:

Gold Award       95 points and over

            Silver Award      90-94 points

            Bronze Award    85-89 points

Only gold medal wines shall be eligible for a trophy.

5. Most successful exhibitor will be judged on the aggregate total of an exhibitor's five (5) highest pointed wines.  Only one wine from any class will be counted towards the aggregate total in the first instance. In the case of a tie, the result will be determined by the next highest award(s) in any class.

6. Best Small Producer will be judged on the aggregate total of an exhibitor's three (3) highest pointed wines.  Only one wine from any class will be counted towards the aggregate total in the first instance. In the case of a tie, the result will be determined by the next highest award(s) in any class.

7. To determine trophy awards where more than one class is involved only the highest pointed award from each class will be eligible. In the case of the Most Successful Exhibitor award, only one wine from any class will be eligible, except as outlined in item 5 in the case of a tie of points.

8. The Chief Judge shall have the power to disqualify, dismiss or relocate as being not eligible for judging, any exhibit which, in their opinion, does not comply with the regulations in every respect, and such action shall be accepted as final.

9. Awards may be withheld in any class where exhibits are considered unworthy.

2026 TROPHIES AND TROPHY SPONSORS

PREMIUM TROPHIES

Most Successful Exhibitor

COLIN J. RICHARDSON MEMORIAL TROPHY

Presented by TAHBILK

Best Wine of Show

Presented by PLASDENE

Best Sparkling Wine

Presented by OZPAK

Best White Table Wine

Presented by WINEQUIP

Best Red Table Wine

Presented by LABELHOUSE

Best Small Producer

Presented by TBC

Grower Best Single Vineyard Wine

Presented by TBC

TROPHIES

Best Riesling (Classes 1, 2) - Presented by PLUMM

Best Chardonnay (Classes 11, 12) - Presented by COOPERAGES 1912

Best Other White Table Wine (Classes 3-5, 9, 10, 13) - Presented by ENARTIS

Best Pinot Noir (Classes 17, 18) - Presented by CLASSIC OAK

Best Shiraz or Shiraz Viognier (Classes 19, 20) - Presented by SEYMOUR A&P

Best Cabernet Sauvignon (Classes 21, 22) - Presented by WINEQUIP

Best Other Red Varietal or Red Blend (Classes 26, 27) - Presented by HAHN CORPORATION

Best Rosé (Class 14, 15) - Presented by VICTORIAN WINE SHOW

Best wine from varieties with Iberian heritage (Classes 6, 23) - BRUNCH

Best wine from varieties with Italian heritage (Classes 7, 24) - Presented by MCC LABELS

Best wine from Rhone varieties (Classes 8, 25) – Presented by STRATHBOGIE SHIRE 

Best Fortified Wine (Classes 31-35) - Presented by WINEMAKERS OF RUTHERGLEN

Best Museum Wine (Classes 36, 37) - Presented by WINEMAKERS OF RUTHERGLEN

SPECIAL AWARDS

THE PREMIER'S TROPHY for BEST VICTORIAN WINE

The Best Wines of Show from Victoria's regional wine shows will be assessed by a specially-convened panel. The winning wine will be awarded the Premier's Trophy. Entry is by invitation only

THE VICTORIAN WINE SHOW SCHOLARSHIP

To student of Melbourne Polytechnic

INTERNATIONAL JUDGES AWARD - presented by GLOBAL VIC

Awarded by the International Judge from their gold medal awarded wines

1. OPEN SECTION

No limit of entries per class.

Minimum quantity at time of entry 600 litres.

4 bottles per entry (750 mL) or 8 x 375 mL.

In classes where more than one variety and/or blend is eligible wines will be grouped and judged by variety and/or blend as far as possible. LIP blending rules apply.

White wines

Class number

1. Riesling (2026)

2. Riesling (2025 and older)

3. Sauvignon Blanc (Any vintage)

4. Pinot Grigio/Gris (2026)

5. Pinot Grigio/Gris (2025 and older)

6. Iberian white varieties and blends (Any vintage)

7. Italian white varieties and blends (Any vintage)

8. Rhone white varieties and blends (Any vintage)

9. Other white varieties (Any vintage)

10. Other white blends (Any vintage)

11. Chardonnay (2026 and 2025)

12. Chardonnay (2024 and older)

13. Sweet white wines (Any vintage)

Red Wines

Class number

14. Rosé (2026)

15. Rose (2025 and older)

16. Early-drinking red styles (Any vintage)

17. Pinot Noir (2025)

18. Pinot Noir (2024 and older)

19. Shiraz and Shiraz Viognier (2025)

20. Shiraz and Shiraz Viognier (2024 and older)

21. Cabernet Sauvignon (2025)

22. Cabernet Sauvignon (2024 and older)

23. Iberian red varieties and blends (2025 and older)

24. Italian red varieties and blends (2025 and older)

25. Rhone red varieties and blends (2025 and older) Shiraz must not exceed 49% of any blend

26. Other red varieties (e.g. Petit Verdot, Malbec etc) (2025 and older)

27. Other red blends (2025 and older)

Sparkling Wines

Class number

28. White and Rose sparkling wines from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier (Any vintage or non-vintage)

29. White and Rose sparkling wines from other varieties or blends e.g. Prosecco (Any vintage or non-vintage)

30. Sparkling red wines (varieties and percentages to be stated on entry form) (Any vintage or non-vintage)

Fortified Wines

Class number

31. Apera (Any vintage or non-vintage)

32. Vintage fortified red (Any vintage)

33. Tawny (Any vintage or non-vintage)

34. Muscat and Topaque--Australian and Classic (Any vintage or non-vintage)

35. Muscat and Topaque--Grand and Rare (Any vintage or non-vintage)

Wines of Provenance Section - An entry is a set of 3 wines of the same label

Class number

36. White varietals and blends

37. Red varietals and blends

Set must cover a minimum spread of 8 vintages

Within the set there must be a minimum 2-year gap between each vintage

Wines are judged as a set - individual scores will not be published

Repours will be allowed for corked wines

Minimum quantity for the youngest wine is 50 dozen

Limit of one entry per exhibitor (per class)

One trophy will be awarded for the top set of three wines

After winning the WOP - that label wine cannot be entered again for three years

4 bottles per entry (750 mL) or (8 x 375 mL)

LIP blending rules apply

Entries in the WOP classes are only eligible for the WOP Trophy and will not be included in any calculation for Most Successful Exhibitor award or any other award except as specified in this schedule

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