RULES 2023

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

The Tumbarumba Wine Show is only open to finished wines i.e. wines that have been bottled during a commercial bottling run with a seal/cork that the consumer will break to consume. THEY NEED NOT necessarily bear a commercial label or be available for sale at the time of judging. Where a finished wine is not commercially labelled, the exhibitor must list on the entry form the commercial brand under which the wine will be sold. Failure to do so may see the wine disqualified. Commercial labels should NOT be removed from exhibits.

1. All classes are open for competition to winemakers and distillers and wine and spirit merchants. A wine merchant shall mean any person, association or company buying wine and brandy for re-sale or wholesale. A winemaker shall mean any person or firm manufacturing wine from grapes.

2. An Exhibitor shall mean the person(s), business or company as designated on the Wine Show entry form and also includes an agent and anyone acting or purporting to be acting on the Exhibitor’s behalf, whether or not employed by the Exhibitor.

3. The Committee means the Riverina Wine Show Committee convened under the Riverina Winemakers Association Inc.

4. “Tumbarumba” means the geographical indication registered as “Tumbarumba”. The Tumbarumba wine show is conducted on behalf of Tumbarumba Vignerons by the Riverina Winemakers Association Inc.

5. Entry fee is $55.00 (inc. gst).

6. Entries shall comprise FOUR bottles.

7. There is no limit to the number of entries in any Class.

8. An exhibitor may be awarded more than one medal in any Class.

9. No exhibit may be entered in more than one class, and no exhibit may be entered in the show by more than one exhibitor.

10. MINIMUM QUANTITIES: 100 by one-dozen cases (900 litres) or equivalent at the time of entry. 

11. Up to 1 dozen of any medal winning wines may be requested at wholesale price for the presentation function. 

12. Medals will be awarded as follows, based on the agreed score of the judging panel:

    Bronze Medal 85 - 89 points

    Silver Medal 90 - 94 points

    Gold Medal 95 - 100 points

13. Entries are to be made via the AWRI Showrunner online form only

14. No person will be permitted to inspect an entry form after receipt by the Secretary. No person will be permitted access to the exhibits, with the exception of the Judges, Stewards, Secretary and staff, until the awards have been determined.

15. EXHIBIT LABELS WILL BE GENERATED VIA THE ONLINE SHOWRUNNER SYSTEM. Exhibits are to bear the labels supplied by the Committee. Commercially labelled wines should retain commercial labels. Please apply Committee labels on the entries in a manner that allows the organisers to ascertain product descriptions and other label matters

16. Varietal wines must comprise at least 85% of the nominated variety. Wines must contain at least 85% Tumbarumba fruit. Labelling of blended wines must conform to the Australian Food standards and the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation Acts and Regulations as amended from time to time.

17. Still table wines may contain a small amount of residual sugar to balance the palate. However they must have a dry finish and exhibitors should refer to the wine style descriptors. All still table wines entered with a residual sugar greater than 7.5g/L must declare the level of residual sugar on the entry form.

18. All exhibits shall become the property of the Committee. Exhibits must be solely the produce of Australian grapes and conform to the respective Acts of the States and the Commonwealth, which govern the manufacture of Australian Wine and Brandy. 

19. The Committee reserves the right to have any exhibit inspected and/or analysed by one or more persons appointed for that purpose.

20. No protest will be entertained unless made within seven (7) days of the announcement of the awards.

21. No entry will be received from any person or persons disqualified by this or any other similar Wine Show Organisation. Should any entry be accepted, it shall, when discovered, be deemed void, and the entry fee and exhibit shall be forfeited.

22. All persons exhibiting shall accept the decision of the Judges appointed by the Committee, as to the merits of the exhibits.

23. Exhibitors agree that their results can be published in the catalogue of results.

24. Audit of exhibits and use of medals will be undertaken. This may involve establishing minimum stock levels and consistency between exhibits and commercially obtained products. It is a condition of entry that exhibitors will co-operate with auditors acting at the request of the Riverina Wine Show. If requested, exhibitors will provide samples from company warehouses.

    TROPHY AND MEDAL ASSESSMENT

25. Trophies will only be awarded where a wine has first won a gold medal in the Show.

26. Judges will judge each Class without collaboration. 

27. The Chair of Judges shall have the final power to arbitrate the Awards. Judges will not have access to the exhibits apart from the glass placed in front of them by the Stewards. Judging will be conducted in accordance with the rules of the show.

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

29. Awards may be withheld in any Class where exhibits are considered unworthy.

    DISPLAY OF AWARDS

30. Awards received by an individual wine will bear the year of the award and the class description and shall only apply to wines bearing the name under which the exhibit was entered.

31. Compliance by a producer to the WFA’s Code of Practice for the display of awards is a prerequisite for entry to the Riverina Wine Show. Any exhibitor making improper use of Awards for Advertising purposes may be disqualified from any future shows.

    CLASS DESCRIPTIONS

    STILL WHITE TABLE WINE

    32. Should be in brilliant condition, pale to medium straw in colour, preferably with a slight green tinge. Light to full-bodied, medium to high acidity with a fresh bouquet, clean after taste, no lingering sweetness. In the wooded classes, the oak should be balanced and in harmony with the body and flavour of the wine.

    STILL RED

    33. Colour medium to deep red. According to age, a blue or purple tint may be present in a young wine or a light brown edge may be present in an aged wine. Aroma and bouquet – varietal aroma may occur in varying degrees. It should be fruity and in harmony with the body and flavour of the wine. The bouquet may show evidence of maturation in oak and in older wines, bottle age. Palate soft, rounded and generous in mid palate. Body medium to full and in balance with the acidity. Finish clean, with tannin from maturation in wood but this should not predominate.

    SPARKLING WHITE & ROSÉ

    34. Colour should be pale to straw or pink. Should have good acidity and not be too light in body. Bouquet should be fresh without particular varietal character and may indicate some years in the bottle. Entries in the dry class should have a dry finish but show no astringency. Bubbles should be fine and persistent. Carbonated wines are not permitted in the dry class.

    
    

    SPARKLING RED

    35. Colour should be light to medium ruby. Older wines may show a trace of amber but no more than a trace. Bouquet fruity but may show bottle age. Fairly pronounced acidity.  Entries in the dry class should have a full flavour and body, some sweetness but with a dry finish, and may show slight oak character. Bubbles should be fine and persistent.   Carbonated wines are not permitted in the dry class.