A 2019 Grenache from McLaren Vale and a 2017 Riesling from Eden Valley will take pride of place on the dinner table at South Australia’s Government House after winning the Governor’s Trophies at this year’s Royal Adelaide Show.

Henschke’s 2017 Julius Riesling won the Governor’s Trophy for Best South Australian White Wine, as well as the Best Riesling title, while Robert Oatley’s 2019 Signature Series G-19 McLaren Vale Grenache took out the Governor’s Trophy for Best South Australian Red Wine, as well as the Best Grenache title.

Introduced in 2019, the Governor’s Trophies recognise the importance of the South Australian wine industry to the history and economy of the State.

The winning wines will be served at Government House to international, interstate and local visitors in the following 12 months.

The prestigious Gramp, Hardy, Hill Smith Outstanding Wine of Provenance was awarded to Leo Buring for their Leonay Riesling 2005, 2015 and 2020 vintages, while Margaret River’s Flametree took out the Most Outstanding White Wine in Show and Best Chardonnay in Show trophies with their 2019 SRS Wallcliffe Chardonnay.

The coveted Max Schubert AM Trophy for Most Outstanding Red Wine in Show and Best Cabernet Sauvignon in Show was awarded to Blackstone Paddock’s 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon from Margaret River.

The Royal Adelaide Wine Show was one of few wine shows around Australia to proceed in 2020 due to COVID-19.

Chair of judges Louisa Rose said the Australian wine industry supported the committee’s decision to proceed with the Show, and the number of entries was up by 200 on the previous year – the highest number recorded since 2012.

“The Royal Adelaide Wine Show committee and RA&HS should be commended for persevering and holding a complete competition,” she said.

“Staging a wine show during the pandemic required a significant amount of extra work, with new procedures introduced to make sure the wines were treated fairly, and that people involved in the event were safe.”

Rose said the judging panel tasted between 100 and 120 wines per day, with panels often revisiting 20- 30% of each class with fresh pours and discussion.

“This level of engagement, scrutiny and deliberation ensured that not only the best wines on the day were given the chance to shine, but the associate judges had the best opportunity to learn and be mentored by the senior judges,” she said.

The most popular varietal was Shiraz with nearly 700 entries and 41 gold medals awarded. The Best Shiraz in Show trophy went to Montrose for their 2018 Black Shiraz.

Two other red wines to win trophies included St Hugo Cabernet Shiraz 2018 (Best Traditional Australian Red Blend), Pipers Brook Estate Pinot Noir 2019 (Pinot Noir), Deep Woods Estate Shiraz Et Al 2019 (Best Other Varietal Red Blend), and Bleasdale Generations Malbec 2019 (Best Other Varietal Red).

Margaret River’s Deep Woods Estate also took home the Best Dry White Blend for their 2020 Ivory Semillon Sauvignon Blanc and Xanadu took home Best Rosé for their 2020 DJL Rose.

Adelaide Hills wineries also performed well in the white wine classes, including Deviation Road which won the trophy for Best Sparkling (Beltana Blanc de Blancs 2013), Riposte Wines who won the Sauvignon Blanc class with The Foil 2020, and Wines by Geoff Hardy who took out the Best Other Varietal White class with their Gruner Veltliner 2019.

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