Wine Competition History

The Society’s support for the wine industry 

The Agricultural Society of NSW was founded in 1822 to improve the practice of agriculture in the Colony and offer suitable rewards and marks of distinction to persons excelling in different branches of agriculture. The Society promoted the development of new crops and imported seeds, plants and textbooks to encourage these endeavours. The Society’s original 1822 prospectus noted, ‘We are just in the latitude of the finest parts of Europe where the vine, the olive, the fig and the mulberry grow…’ It added:

No body of men can more effectually assist us than the Merchants and their Captains, by bringing us from foreign countries what is adapted to our climate. Vessels, touching in the winter months at the Madeira, or the Cape, and other countries noted for their wine, their figs, or their olives, might bring what, in a few years hence, may constitute the grand sources of the wealth of this Colony. The foundation of a fine vineyard, for instance, may be brought in cuttings of the vine from the Madeiras, the Canaries, or the Cape, in a rejected empty water cask.

In the earliest days of the Colony, grapevines were planted in the Governor's gardens in Sydney and Parramatta. Larger estates then followed suit. The first President of the Agricultural Society, Sir John Jamieson established a vineyard at his estate in Regentville in 1826. In the fourth anniversary address to the Society, he reported on the state of the wine industry; James Busby's "Treatise on the Culture of the Vine and the Art of making Wine" had been published the previous year and his expertise in local conditions was acknowledged.

In 1826 the Society ran its first wine competition at what was its fourth annual Show. A small gold medal was offered ‘to the Cultivator who produced the best sample of Colonial Wine, not less than ten gallons, certified on oath to be from the vintage of 1826, and purely of the juice of the grape.’  It is not known who won this medal but there were very few in the Colony producing wine at that stage.

Society member Gregory Blaxland was one of the first to cultivate the vines to the extent of making a few casks annually. In 1823 and again in 1828, he was awarded a medal for the best sample of Australian wine by the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce in London. In 1826 Blaxland succeeded in introducing a species of small black grape which resisted blight. But viticulture in NSW did not take hold until 1828, when James Busby returned from Europe with a large collection of cuttings from the most celebrated vineyards of France, Spain and Germany.

During the mid-1830s the Society lapsed. When it re-formed in 1857 (briefly as the Cumberland Agricultural Society before resuming its old name) it quickly renewed its interest in the wine industry.

An important development occurred in 1868 when the Society established a Scientific Committee. The Committee studied wine diseases, imported scientific literature on wine, and published articles in the Society's Annual, circulating the most up-to-date information to members. Taking on an advocacy role, the Society drew up the "Vine Disease Prevention Bill" and arranged for it to be submitted to Parliament, along with a petition signed by upwards of 800 vignerons.

As the wine industry in the colony grew, so did the achievements. Prizes were awarded to New South Wales wines at the Paris exhibition of 1878, which was followed by a series of successes at the Exhibitions of Philadelphia, Sydney, Melbourne and Amsterdam. But nowhere was the excellence of New South Wales wines more fully recognised than at the Bordeaux Exhibition of 1882, where the wines were classed by the most competent judges in the category 'grand vins'.

In 1890 the NSW Department of Agriculture was established, lessening the need for the Society to play such an active scientific role. However, the Society continued to advise winemakers and promote improvements in wine making. Expertise in the art of judging wines was also developed, with local and overseas judges working together.

The profile of wine at the Show was significantly raised in 1902 when a purpose-built exhibition space called the Wine Kiosk was constructed at the Moore Park Showground. Prior to that, wines were displayed in an annexe to the Main Pavilion on the eastern side of the grounds. The RAS provided the new accommodation at the suggestion of the Central Australian Wine Association (now known as Wine Australia).

When construction of the Kiosk commenced in 1901, a cache of papers, wine and coins was placed under the foundation cornerstone as a time capsule, laid there by the Hon J Kidd, Minister for Mines & Agriculture. In 1995 the corner stone was removed and the objects retrieved. Unfortunately, when the corner hollow was bricked in, care was not taken with the cement and the objects were damaged. The RAS Heritage Centre had the items conserved to stop further deterioration.

The Wine Kiosk opened in time for the 1902 Show and was refurbished in 1936. It was located on Park Road, between Burgundy Street and Claret Street on the south-western side of the grounds.

Over the years the Wine section has gone through various changes of names as the competition experimented with including different types of alcoholic beverages. In 1986 the section was renamed the Royal Sydney Wine Show. In the year 2000 it became the Sydney Royal Wine Show, separating away from the Easter Show to become a discreet competition held in February each year. In 2016 it moved to its present July/August spot on the calendar.

Timeline

1822                     The Agricultural Society of NSW is formed.

1823                     Society holds its first annual show. Wine is not listed as one of the classes judged.

1826                     The third anniversary address to the Society by the president notes that a medal was awarded to member Gregory Blaxland by the Royal Society, London, for the best sample of Australian wine.

1826                     First record of wine being judged at the Society’s shows. 

1828                     At the Society’s annual meeting, exhibitions of wool, wine and tobacco are praised by all present. 

1834                     Decline of the Society.

1857                     Reformation of the Society (known as the Cumberland Agricultural Society between 1858-1859 and thereafter as the Agricultural Society of NSW).

1858                     Minute book of the Society contains a schedule for the 1858 Show which includes a wine section. Each exhibit was to consist of 3 bottles; however no prizes were awarded. This indicates there were no entries, or no entries of sufficient merit.

1860                     Wine is shown. Appointed judges were TS Mort, I William and I Lackey.

1863-1864        No wine shown due to drought.

1865                     Wine is shown.

1869                     The catalogue for this year (the oldest held by the RAS Heritage Centre) contains a substantial wine section. Annual wine competitions are held continuously from this point onwards barring cancellations due to pandemics and war.

1890                     Fruit Wines appear in the Fermented Drinks section and remain until the demise of the section in 1906.

1900                     Minister for Agriculture grants £100 pounds to the RAS to provide new wine prizes, open to growers and merchants for wines produced solely in NSW.

1907                     Wine Section becomes ‘Wines, Spirits, Beers, &c’ and is split into two subsections – one for wines, one for the rest.

1920                     Section renamed simply ‘Wine’. Contains classes for wine and brandy only.

1941                     A subsection is added to Wines called Australian Spirits, Liqueurs, and Cider. This section includes classes for Whisky, Rum, Gin, Liqueurs, Cider, and Brandy.

1947                     Wine section now called ‘Wines, Australian Spirits, Liqueurs, and Cider’ but is split into two sub-sections – A for Wines and B for the others.

1948                     A strike at the brewery results in a beer-less Show and many patrons ‘discover’ wine for the first time.

1951                     The Wine Section’s longest running perpetual trophy, the McCarthy Shield Perpetual Trophy, is first awarded.

1951                     Sub-Section A becomes ‘Wine and Brandy’.

1958                     Section is renamed ‘Wines, Brandy, Australian Whisky, Rum, Gin, Liqueurs, and Cider’.

1959                     Vodka is added.

1968                     Gin is removed from the section, making it ‘Wines, Brandy, Australian Rum, Vodka, Liqueurs, and Cider’.

1970                     Gin returns.

1978                     Gin and Vodka are removed from the section title, but classes for both remain in the competition.

1982                     Section is renamed ‘Australian Wines’ with classes for wines and brandy only.

1986                     Section is renamed the Royal Sydney Wine Show

2000                     The section becomes the Sydney Royal Wine Show and separates from the Easter Show, becoming its own competition, held in February each year.

2007                     Almost 300 exhibitors compete in 60 classes.

2014                     The Wine Experience begins – an event where paying members of the public can taste the wines judged at the Sydney Royal Wine Show for themselves.

2016                     The Wine Show moves along the calendar to occur in July/August each year instead of February.

2018                     First year of the Grape, Grain & Graze Festival, which replaces the previous Wine Experience.

For a list of Best of Show winners since 1996 click here.