RULES 2024

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

The Australian Sweet Wine Challenge 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. Entry is only open to sweet table wines – fortified wines are not permitted. 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 Australian Sweet Wine Challenge Committee convened under the Riverina Winemakers Association Inc

4. Entry fee is $60 (inc gst.) 

5. Entries shall comprise THREE bottles 750 ml sized totalling 2250 ml. Smaller sized bottles can be sent as long as it is equivalent in mls required.

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

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

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

9. MINIMUM QUANTITIES: With the exception of the MUSEUM CLASS, the minimum quantity is 50 by one-dozen cases of 750 ml bottles (450 litres) or equivalent at the time of entry or at the time of judging.

10. MUSEUM CLASS: This class is for wines which are no longer commercially available. For this class there is only a trophy winner and no medals are awarded. There are no minimum quantities. Wines must bear the commercial label.

11. Exhibits will be judged on the 100 point scale with medals being awarded as follows:

    Bronze Medal 85 - 89 points

    Silver Medal 90 - 94 points

    Gold Medal 95 - 100 points

12. 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.

13. 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.

14. All exhibits shall become the property of the Committee.

15. No protest will be entertained unless made within 7 days of the announcement of the awards.

16. 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.

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

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

19. Audit of exhibits and use of medals may 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 cooperate with auditors acting at the request of the Committee.

    TROPHY AND MEDAL ASSESSMENT

20. Judges will judge each Class without collaboration. The Chairman of Judges shall have the final power to arbitrate the Awards. Where possible wines will be judged in ascending order of sweetness within a class.

21. 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.

22. 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.

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

    DISPLAY OF AWARDS

24. The Sweet Wine Challenge adheres to the Winemakers Federation of Australia Code of Practice governing the display of awards. This states that producers will not use medals, stickers, symbols or other devices on a bottle in order to misleadingly convey the impression the wine has received an award at an open, objective and independent competition.

25. 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.

26. Any exhibitor making improper use of Awards for Advertising purposes may be disqualified from any future shows.

CLASS DESCRIPTIONS

OFF DRY STYLES: Residual sugar of up to 18g/l where offset by suitable acidity.

MEDIUM SWEET STYLE: Should be in brilliant condition, straw to light golden colour, medium to full bodied with a bouquet which is aromatic or complete and distinctly sweet in flavour. It should not show excessive sulphur dioxide or volatility. Sweetness less than 100 gL-1.

SWEET WINE: Should be in brilliant condition, straw to light golden colour, medium to full bodied with a bouquet which is aromatic or complete and distinctly sweet in flavour. It should not show excessive sulphur dioxide or volatility. Sweetness equal to or greater than 100 gL-1.