2026 Judging (and everything new)

Can you believe the doors are nearly open for the 44th Australian Inland Wine Show?

The dates have been officially set, so make sure to block out 9 to 10 October 2026 in your calendar. You can also head over to our Entrants Page for a full breakdown of all the key deadlines and dates you need to know.

Our regulations have been updated for the 2026 season. While not a lot has changed from last year, please note we have introduced a new class. On the plus side, entry fees are staying exactly the same! You can view the 2026 Regulations here.

But while we are on the subject of new stuff, the committee is pleased to inform you of two large changes this year. The first is the introduction of the new Australian Spritz Class - more can be read about this here on our news page.

The other big news is the new state of the art entry portal (well at least that's what our Webby thinks it is - and who are we to disagree with him). This new online entry system can be found here and is the place to go to enter your wines. We are sure there will be bugs (but you didn't hear that from us ok). And so we need your help. We are running a beta program for 3 weeks where wineries who opt in can enter their wines, give us feedback on the functionality of the site, even help design it, before we open to regular entries after July 27. If you think you have what it takes, please use either the sign up page here or go to the Portal and either register (if you haven't entered before) or get credentials if you are already in our system.

As a reminder, under the 100-point system:

• Bronze: 85 to 89 points

• Silver: 90 to 94 points

• Gold: 95 to 100 points

Outside of judging preparation, we had a fantastic time at the Swan Hill Food and Wine Festival (where we display the medal winning wines from the year before), which continues to go from strength to strength each year. You can check out more details on the Swan Hill Food and Wine Festival website.

Finally, the Show simply wouldn't go on without the incredible support of our wineries. Thank you to everyone who has backed us over the last 44 years, and we look forward to your continued support for the 2026 Show.