Rutherglen Wine Show and Australian Fortified Wine Show return

The Rutherglen Wine Show, held in conjunction with the Australian Fortified Wine Show, has attracted entries from every Australian state to the Rutherglen Showgrounds this week.

Rutherglen Wine Show chairman Chris Pfeiffer said almost 1000 entries were received overall, with 130 entries in the fortified wine show alone.

"Rutherglen is the spiritual home of fortified winemaking in Australia, so to have the show here is fantastic," he said.

Mr Pfeiffer said the Australian Fortified Wine Show, which split from the main show to become its own competition seven years ago, has grown from strength to strength in recent years.

"It's probably the most important exhibition of those wines in the country, and it certainly has the most support of any wine show," he said.

"Some of our classes are bigger than the whole section in other fortified wine shows, which is great, and that's why we get so many good judges wanting to come here."

The judging, spearheaded by Gapsted Wines chief executive Andrew Santarossa, commenced on Monday, September 18 and will finish on Thursday, September 21, when the judges will assess the finalists.

A presentation dinner will be held next Thursday, September 28, followed by a public tasting on the 29th.

"Monday was our big day," Mr Pfeiffer said. "Most of the judges tasted about 150 wines in 12 hours."

"You've really got to concentrate when you judge, and you have to be both physically and mentally fit because wine knocks your mouth around and it is actually physically tiring, which is quite surprising."

Mr Pfeiffer, a former wine judge of 40 years, said the wines are categorised by variety and vintage.

"The common things you look for in all wines are the fruit flavour and the balance within the wine," he said.

"But ultimately, it is all about how it smells and tastes, and that's subjective, which is why we have multiple judges."

The Rutherglen Wine Show is one of the longest-running in the country, pausing only during World War I, World War II and the global pandemic.

This is the first year since the pandemic that they've been able to put on a full program, after the presentation dinner was cancelled due to a National Day of Mourning was called following the death of Queen Elizabeth II last year.

The Rutherglen Wine Show public tasting will offer hundreds of wine styles paired with canapes at the Henderson Pavilion next Friday, September 29, from 6.30pm.

You can book your tickets to the public tasting and the presentation dinner on The Rutherglen Wine Show's website.

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