Welcome to the Rutherglen Wine Show and the Rutherglen Agricultural Show

2020 Wine Show Update

It is with considerable regret that the Committee of the Rutherglen Wine Show and The Australian Fortified Wine Show have, today, made the decision to cancel the shows in 2020.

The Rutherglen Wine Show was established in 1880 and in 2020 it would have been the 132nd Wine Show. The Rutherglen Wine Show has a long history of which we are extremely proud.

The committee was keen to run the show this year, providing something positive in these challenging times. It would have provided an opportunity for celebration of our great wine industry.

The committee considered the health and wellbeing of our staff and judging panel in coming to this decision. The safety of our team was paramount in our decision making. Also, there was no confidence that the current Stage 3 Restrictions in place in Victoria would be lifted by the end of October, the time the committee was hoping to transfer the judging to. This would also have created a problem with our judging pavilion, which is designated a community building and is out of bounds in Stage 3 lockdown.

In its proud history, the Rutherglen Wine Show has only been cancelled 8 times. These times were during World War 1 and World War 2. Now we have to add the Covid – 19 Pandemic to the list, surely a measure of the difficult and challenging time we are travelling through.

The Rutherglen Wine Show and the Australian Fortified Wine Show would like to thank all our supporters, sponsors and exhibitors alike, for their understanding at this time.

The Committee undertook a significant rework of our schedule this year, including the introduction of a new section highlighting Iberian Varieties. We look forward to building on this work to provide an even better wine show in 2021.

Stay safe and wash your hands

Chris Pfeiffer

Chairman

The Rutherglen Wine Show

The Australian Fortified Wine Show.