A PROMINENT local event is set to go ahead later this year with the 48th Riverland Wine Show planned to proceed in October.
The show will go ahead five weeks later than originally planned with a range of COVID-19 safety measures in place, with the consumer tasting portion of the event still up in the air.
Committee consultant Shirley Fraser said safety was a “big factor” for organisers of the show.
“We needed to make sure we were meeting all the requirements for COVID safety, and there’s a lot of guidelines that come through from the Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology (ASVO)” she said.
“We’ll be checking judges’ temperatures and ensuring they are social-distanced, there’s cleaning products and personal spittoons, and other measures like that.
“We also pushed out the date by five weeks to allow extra time… so hopefully by October we might be in a slightly better place and what’s happening in other states doesn’t come across the border.
“We hope it will be smooth sailing from that perspective.”
Ms Fraser said the committee would introduce some new additions to this year’s show, including Riverland specific classes and a 100-point scoring system.
“In previous years there wasn’t anything specific for the Riverland, so we’ve now added a couple of classes for 85 per cent single vineyard Riverland wines, and there’s a white and a red category,” she said.
“By using the 100-point system we are able to award both medals and points for winners to use internationally and as the inland regions make up a massive part of the export market, we feel this is a good thing we can deliver for these exhibitors.
“We really want to embrace the regional communities and make sure people have the opportunity to show their wines this year, and we felt if we didn’t go ahead with the show it would be a lost opportunity for those who want their 2019 or 2020 vintage to be reviewed.
“We’re really confident we’ll be able to pull it off.”
The show assesses wines from the Riverland, Swan Hill, Murray Darling, Riverina and Rutherglen regions.
Entries for the show are open until August 28, with judging to take place at the Loxton Research Centre on October 7 and 8.
The presentation dinner will be held at Ruston’s Restaurant and Functions in Renmark on October 15.
For more information, visit www.riverlandwineshow.com.au.