However, Riverina Winemakers Association wasn't going to let 45 years of the Riverina Wine Show tradition be interrupted.

A small army of judges and wine show staff moved into the Yenda Hall to complete the judging of wines from the Riverina, Tumbarumba and Hilltops areas, as well as the open show, Australian Italian Varieties and Sweet Wine Challenge.

"We had no one to reference when it came to managing a show under these conditions as no one else of our size show had done it yet," wine show manager Carrah Lymer said.

"Our primary focus was to ensure we took our duty of care to the community very seriously and we ran every element of our show under the highest safety standards we could think of.

"It added a lot more time and cost to the event but we didn't want to look back and say, we should have done hat one thing differently.

"I'm very proud of everyone involved who respected and enforced these measures for the good of the show."

As well as making sure everyone was appropriately distanced, had gloves and plenty of hand sanitiser, a number of Victorian judges had to be replaced at short notice.

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Ms Lymer said a crack team of stewards helped keep the process moving smoothly as well as strong support from the area's wineries.

The Riverina Winemakers Association would usually announce the winners of prizes and trophies with a black-tie dinner, however this year the event was pre-recorded and streamed online at riverinawinemakers.com.au/2020awards.

"Whilst we technically could have hosted an event, under the restrictions it would have not been very fun to attend an awards ceremony where you can't get up from your table to collect your trophy or mingle with your peers and celebrate your success," Ms Lymer said.

The Sean Hampel Trophy for Best Shiraz: Berton Vineyards 2019 Metal Label Shiraz

The Riverina Legends Award: Jim and Keith McWilliam

RIVERINA

AUSTRALIAN ITALIAN

SWEET WINE

TUMBARUMBA