The Riverina Wine Show is a broad umbrella that covers several smaller shows, the open show, Australian Italian Varieties, Sweet Wine Challenge, Tumbarumba GI and Riverina GI. Hosted in Griffith, it leans more to wines produced by the local wineries that fit into the various categories. One solid rule is that a wine can only be entered in one show category.
I’ve recently returned from my third year as a panel chair at Riverina. Of the many shows I’ve judged, the Riverina has a lot to like. They bring in a wide and diverse range of judges, complemented by local expertise, and the associates are taken from a pool of younger local winemakers. Progressing their palates and talking with outside influences will help set the region up for future success.
The top wines of the region will tick all the boxes for their style and will provide great value drinking along with it.
Chair of the show is Gwyn Olsen, Henschke senior winemaker, with Aaron Mercer of Mercer Wines, Louella Matthews, group sommelier for Trippas White, and myself as panel chairs. It is a big call to have two non-technical panel chairs but in my mind, for a region that is wanting to break into more of the fine wine category, it makes sense to have people who bring a more consumer focused palate to the table.
Over my time judging there I have
This Article was originally published on The Real Review
