There was cause for celebration on Friday night as the region's wineries came together to celebrate the best of the best the area has to offer.
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The Riverina Wine Show awards night packed out Yenda Memorial Hall to recognise the region's top drops as well as toast those who contribute to the success of the local industry.
The awards night handed out trophies for five wine shows managed by the Riverina Winemakers Association.
Calabria Family Wines came out as one of big winners on the night, with the winery picking up six awards, including the Most Successful Exhibitor in the Riverina GI Show along with the Australian Italian Varieties Wine Awards Champions trophy for their Private Bin 2018 Montepulciano.
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De Bortoli Wines walked away with five awards under their belt, including the Popular Premium Sparkling Wine Riverina Open Show award for their Lorimer NV Chardonnay Pinot Noir and the Popular Premium Red Wine Riverina Open Show award for their Woodfired 2018 Shiraz.
McWilliam's Wines and Australian Vintage also came away with several accolades on the night, with local wineries picking up 18 of the 32 awards on offer this year.
Calabria Family Wines sales and marketing director Andrew Calabria said he was pleased with the winery's success on the night.
"It was a good spread of awards for all the wineries but we are really happy with the accolades we got," Mr Calabria said.
"We're lucky in the Riverina to have a lot of variety and variation with all the grapes and selection we have... it's a huge achievement for all the staff."
This year's awards saw the introduction of a Riverina Legend award, which recognises an individuals contribution to the local wine industry.
Wine Show head steward Russell Cody said the implementation of such an award was long overdue.
"We should have had this ages ago," Mr Cody said.
"The people need to be celebrated for the work they have done.
"They've done a great job to keep this area going."
Les Worland took out the inaugural award in recognition of more than three decades of service to the local industry.
Mr Worland has been involved with the Riverina Wine Show for more than 30 years as well as being a former president of the Riverina Winemakers Association and working at a number of different wineries over the course of his career.
Mr Worland said he was humbled by the accolade.
"Its quite surprising really, because there's a lot of deserving people here," Mr Worland said.
"Many I've worked with, many are very good winemakers.
"But I love the area... I like the wine industry and I got across to it and they've been very good to me, very good to my family and i'm very proud to accept this award, particularly the inaugural one.
"The wines here are as good as anything else that's around and it's only a matter of people finding out and i'm sure we go from strength to strength from here."
List of Winners - Local Wineries
Open Show
- Best Pinot Noir - Calabria Pierre D'Amour 2018 Pinot Noir
- Sean Hampel Trophy for Best Shiraz - McWilliam's 2018 Single Vineyard Shiraz
- Best Dry Red (Other) - McWilliam's Alternis 2017 Tempranillo
- Best Red Wine of Show- McWilliam's 2018 Single Vineyard Shiraz
- Best Popular Premium Red - De Bortoli Woodfired 2018 Shiraz
- Best Popular Premium Sparkling - De Bortoli Lorimer NV Chardonnay Pinot Noir
- Ian Bicego Memorial Trophy for Best Still Wine of Show - McWilliam's 2018 Single Vineyard Shiraz
Riverina GI Show
- Best Riverina Dry Red - Dee Vine Estate 2019 Estate Range Shiraz Cabernet
- Best Riverina Durif - Calabria ALDI Venturer 2018 Durif
- Most Successful Exhibitor - Calabria Family Wines
Australian Italian Varieties Wines Awards
- Best Italian White Wine - De Bortoli Rutherglen Estate 2019 Fiano
- Best Pinot Grigio - De Bortoli La Bossa 2019 Pinot Grigio
- Best Italian Red Wine - Calabria Private Bin 2018 Montepulciano
- Chief Judges award for 'Most Exciting Wine' - Trimboli Wines Salvatore 2019 Trebbiano
- Champion of Show 2019 - Calabria Private Bin 2018 Montepulciano
Sweet Wine Show
- Best Sweet Fruity - Calabria Family Wines 3 Bridges 2017 Semillon
- Best Museum Class - De Bortoli Wines 2008 Noble One Botrytis Semillon
Tumbarumba Wine Show
- Best Young White - McWilliam's 2018 Single Vineyard Chardonnay
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