Victorian Wine Show director Tobias Anstead says the show was all about showcasing the great wine the state has to offer.
Photo by
Billie Davern
Tucked away in Nagambie was a room full of wine and wine tasters, and as glasses were poured, the top Victorian contenders were decided.
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Since it began in 1981, the Victorian Wine Show has been housed in central Victoria, drawing attention to the region as a jewel of the industry.
“It was originally set up in conjunction with the Seymour Agricultural and Pastoral Society, they were one of the original groups involved,” Victorian Wine Show director Tobias Anstead said.
“It’s where it started, and it’s just stayed in the region ... It’s just the home of the show, this part of the world.”
Judging began for the 2025 show on Tuesday, October 28 and ran until Thursday, October 30.
The days consisted of tastings upon tastings, with a team of local and interstate judges, as well as an international judge from Singapore, each evaluating over 200 wines.
Stewards Frank Dawson and James Hall helped the day run smoothly.
Photo by
Billie Davern
While held locally, the category is open to wineries across Victoria.
“That means we get a real diversity of wines and styles from across the state, and that’s one of the great things about Victoria as a state: we have all those regions and climates, and varieties and styles,” Mr Anstead said.
“It looks like a pretty easy job, but it’s actually really hard. We have over 600 wines that we judge across two days.
“It’s all done blind, so they know what the variety and vintage of the wine are, but they don’t know who made the wine.”
Once the judging is complete, each variety of wine will have a winner, as well as ‘best red’, ‘best white’, ‘best overall wine’, and an exhibitor prize.
All will be revealed on Thursday, November 13 at the awards ceremony to be held at Tahbilk Estate, where trophies will be dealt out to the top performers.
Mr Anstead said, beyond recognition, the judging was all about feedback for the submitting wineries.
“It’s also an opportunity for people to have their wines benchmarked against other wines in the state, and other people making those same sort of wines,” he said.
“All the people entering get feedback from the judges about their wines so that they can go away and improve.
“Wine shows were originally set up, like a lot of agricultural shows, as a way of improving what we do.”
With judging complete, the wineries are now waiting in anticipation for the final result.
And when the winners collect their prizes, all eyes will be on the state as a front-runner of the wine industry.
“Really, it’s a celebration of Victorian wine,” Mr Anstead said.
“That’s what it’s about as much as anything.
“It’s about promoting what Victoria does and showcasing what Victoria can do.”
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