Sydney Royal Wine Show celebrates 200 years as judging gets underway

Posted on 29 JULY 2026

Australia’s oldest wine show is celebrating an incredible milestone today as the Sydney Royal Wine Show marks 200 years since the competition first awarded a medal for Australian wine back in 1826.

Today, that legacy lives on with 1500 wines set to be assessed by 30 of Australia’s best judges as the 2026 Sydney Royal Wine Show gets underway in Sydney.

Over the next four days, 10,000 glasses will be poured and assessed, with wines judged across 55 different classes.

In 1826, during its fourth annual agricultural exhibition, the Agricultural Society of NSW offered a small gold medal for the best sample of colonial wine - at least 10 gallons, certified on oath to be from that year’s vintage.

By 1828, there were four classes for wine, despite the colony only having a handful of serious growers. The show system had started small but gained momentum. By 1901, a purpose-built exhibition space called ‘the wine kiosk’ was being built at the Agricultural Society of NSW’s home at Moore Park, giving exhibitors the chance to showcase their wines.

This year, the RAS is also honoured to welcome Matthew Jukes from the United Kingdom as its International Guest Judge. Jukes last visited as an international judge for the competition in 2006.

Following judging, the RAS will host Sydney Royal 200: The Wine Show Conversation, an industry symposium on 31 July which will offer robust discussion around the history and value of wine shows in Australia and where they are heading.

Trophy winners of the 2026 Sydney Royal Wine Show will then be announced at an awards lunch on 21 August.

Interview opportunities include:
International Judge, Matthew Jukes (UK).
Sydney Royal Wine Show Chair of Judges and Owner of De Iuliis Wines, Mike De Iuliis.
Sydney Royal Wine Show Committee Chair, Angus Barnes.

Key historical facts:

  • The Sydney Royal Wine Show is Australia’s oldest wine show and one of the world’s oldest non-continuous wine shows. The competition paused judging in 1919 and from 1942 to 1946 due to the impacts of the First and Second World Wars.
  • 19,938 wines have been entered from 2015 to 2025.
  • There are 31 perpetual trophies awarded annually, including the McCarthy Shield which is the longest-running perpetual trophy, dating back to 1951.
  • By the 1870s, the quality of NSW wines was being recognised far beyond the colony’s borders, with prizes awarded to Australian wine at the Paris Exhibition of 1878.
  • The biggest achievement, however, came at the Bordeaux Exhibition of 1882, where NSW wines were classified by the most competent judges in the category of ‘grand vins’, the highest designation in the world’s most demanding wine cultures.
  • The Wine Kiosk at Moore Park opened in 1902 on Park Road – fittingly between Burgundy Street and Claret Street – on the south-western side of the grounds.
  • By 1907, the competition expanded to include not just wine but spirits, beers and more, reflecting the full range of what NSW producers were making.
  • In 1947 the wine show was taken out of the Sydney Royal Easter Show and established as its own dedicated competition.

Media Kit attached. 

Photo library available here:https://rasnsw.canto.com/v/Wine200years

200 year video https://youtu.be/ViALp2WbaeQ?si=uhWQKVEFSMMrmZ0K

Media Contact:

Nicola Dalby
0434 579 906
ndalby@rasnsw.com.au