Delivery

Wines must be consigned to:
The 2024 Great Australian Shiraz Challenge
c/- Fowles Wine
Cnr Hume Fwy and Lambing Gully Rd
Avenel Victoria 3664

Important dates for exhibitors

• Open for Entries: Monday August 5th.
• Closing date for Entries: Friday September 13th.
• Entries must be delivered by: Friday September 20th.
• Show Judging: Tuesday October 1st – Thursday 3rd.
• Trophy Winners announcement: Friday November 2nd online here and on Facebook.
• Medal winning wine results will be will be announced online here, Friday November 2nd and on the Challenge Facebook page.

General Information

The 2024 Great Australian Shiraz Challenge is unlike other wine awards. It is aimed specifically at commercially available Shiraz of any vintage, so that the wines are accessible to the consuming public.

• Judging is based on the 100 point system, with Judges points aggregated and averaged. All wines scored at Gold medal standard are rejudged in the second round for Trophies selection.
• All entrants will be advised of point scores and medal winning wines will be published on The Great Australian Shiraz Challenge website www.shirazchallenge.com.au  Medal winning wines will have unrestricted branding rights for labels, packaging and wine marketing materials.

Audit Procedure

• Before judging, any entry or record relating to an entry as, stated in the Application for the competition, may be inspected and checked by an auditor appointed by The Great Shiraz Challenge.
• After the judging of entries, all trophy winners, random medal winners and non-medal exhibits which entries have been received will be selected for audit. The auditor may inspect the records relating to each exhibit from the nominated licensed outlets, to determine that at the time of entry the exhibit complies with the conditions of entry for the wine entered.  The auditor may purchase at least one sample bottle for comparison with the exhibit at the time of judging.

• The Shiraz wine(s) / Sparkling Shiraz must be commercially labelled as Shiraz / Syrah (not a Shiraz / other varietal blend).
• The Shiraz wine(s) / Sparkling Shiraz entered must be commercially labelled and available at a nominated point of sale at the time of entry and judging.
• Wine/s submitted without capsules or commercial labels will be considered to be unfinished tank/barrel samples and as such will not be eligible for judging.
• IMPORTANT: Commercially available is understood to mean the wine is available for purchase through retail outlet/s, cellar door sales or mail order at the time of entry and judging.
• An Australian sales licensed outlet for the Shiraz wine(s) / Sparkling Shiraz must be nominated on the entry form as a guarantee of current consumer availability.
• There are two classes: 1. Shiraz; 2. Sparkling Shiraz. No vintage restrictions apply.
• A wine can only be entered once.

• The Shiraz wine(s) / Sparkling Shiraz must have been produced in a quantity of at least 100 dozen.
• There is no restriction on the number of entries per winery.
• An entry must comprise of the following number of bottles: 6 bottles of 750 mL each or equivalent of each wine entered for Judging. Please note: IMPORTANT: No extra exhibitor labelling is required.
• The decision of the judges is final and no discussion will be entered into.
• The Great Shiraz Challenge Pty Ltd reserves the right to market and promote Shiraz wine(s) / Sparkling Shiraz entered in this event.
• All exhibits, press and promotional wines become the property of the The Great Shiraz Challenge Pty Ltd
• The Great Shiraz Challenge Pty Ltd cannot be held responsible for lost/damaged entries.
• Prizes are not redeemable for cash.

ORGANIC AND BIODYNAMIC Organic wine is described by the Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology (ASVO) as wine made from grapes grown in accordance with principles of organic farming, which typically excludes the use of artificial chemical fertilisers, pesticides, fungicides and herbicides. Biodynamic wine is described as being made in line with the Demeter‐International Biodynamic protocols.

Entries must be certified by a registered authority in Australia against Australian Standards 6000‐2009 – Organic and biodynamic products, and entrants will be required to provide a copy of their certificate during the entry process.

Approved Practices The National Association for Sustainable Agriculture Australia Limited (NASAA) Organic Standard 10.12.1 (December 2004, Amended February 2016, page 89 of 120) outlines the practices approved for organic wine production and processing: The Standard can be found here: https://www.nasaa.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/NASAA-OrganicStandard-Feb-2016.pdf Organic Standard 10.12.1

The following practices are approved for wine production and processing:

• Crushing in food grade construction material (food grade plastic or stainless steel)
• Clarification with approved products (refer to Annex 4 “Acceptable Additives of Non-Agricultural Origin and Processing Aids” and Table 10 – Packaging)
• Fermentation with naturally occurring yeasts on fruit and non-genetically modified yeasts
• Fining with bentonite, diatomaceous earth, food grade gelatine, casein and physical processes such as chilling
• Maturation and storage in food grade inert materials, including new barrels, dedicated organic barrels or barrels that have been cleaned to remove interior residues under cover of an inert gas such as nitrogen
• Stabilisation using approved products (refer to Annex 4 “Acceptable Additives of Non-Agricultural Origin and Processing Aids” and Table 10 – Packaging)
• Sulphur dioxide (Preservative 220) for preserving wine to a maximum level of 100mg/l (total)
• Bottling or packaging in new containers sealed with non-contaminated cork or other inert materials or in Tetra Paks
• Processing methods that include: settling, centrifugation, chilling, heating, filtration with approved media, treatment with inert gas

Entry Fees

• $155 (incl. GST) per Exhibit submitted using the GASC online entry facility
• No entry will be accepted until receipt of the entry fee in full.
• Electronic entries will not be officially processed until payment is received.
• The Great Shiraz Challenge may at its discretion refund the entry fee less any administrative costs incurred in processing the entry, if any entry is withdrawn. Refunds will not be issued for entries that do not arrive on time.

Delivery of exhibits

Judging samples must be delivered and received by 4.30pm, Friday September 20th and, if received after this date, may not be accepted for judging in this competition.

Exhibitors arranging their own courier of choice must ensure that wine is delivered to:

2024 Great Australian Shiraz Challenge
c/- Fowles Wine
Cnr Hume Fwy and Lambing Gully Rd
Avenel Victoria 3664

Note:
Failure to meet the entry criteria may result in disqualification from the competition

*The Great Shiraz Challenge Pty Ltd cannot be held responsible for lost/damaged entries.

Notes for exhibitors regarding results and awards

• Medal winning wine results will be posted here on our website and the Challenge Facebook page on Wednesday November 1st.

Press and Promotional Events

• Should entrant’s wine(s) be selected for a press tasting, an additional 12 bottles of 750 mL or equivalent may be requested and are to be supplied at entrant’s cost.
• Should entrant’s wine(s) be selected for a promotional tasting, another 12 bottles of 750 mL or equivalent may be requested and are to be supplied at entrant’s cost.
• Call for Awards presentation dinner wines: If a Shiraz is selected for the Awards Presentation, up to a further 2 dozen bottles are to be provided to The Great Australian Shiraz Challenge at the exhibitors cost including freight.

Trophies

• All delivery costs, including transport and insurance will be the responsibility of the trophy winner.

Advertising of Awards

• An exhibitor must comply with The Winemakers Federation of Australia Code of Practice for the Display of Awards in relation to any award won for any exhibit in this show. An exhibitor must not advertise or allow to be advertised by any means, the fact that an exhibit has won an award in the show unless the advertisement shows clearly;
  a) The year of the award
  b) The award won
  c) The correct name of the competition, that is, The 2024 Great Australian Shiraz Challenge.
  d) The correct Trophy names
  • Saint Martin Great Australian Shiraz Challenge Trophy Best Shiraz of Show
  • Leocata’s Transport Trophy for Best Shiraz Over Five Years Old
  • Filchem Trophy for Best Victorian Shiraz
  • Orora Glass Trophy for Best South Australian Shiraz
  • MCC Labels Trophy for Best New South Wales Shiraz
  • Best Tasmanian Shiraz TBC
  • Winetitles Trophy for Best Western Australia Shiraz
  • Best ACT Shiraz TBC
  • Best QLD Shiraz TBC
  • Melbourne Royal Trophy for Best Organic Shiraz
  • Interpack Trophy for Best Sparkling Shiraz
• A product must not be marketed bearing any reference to any award won at this show unless the product is the winner of the award. Reference to any award on a label or sticker attached to a bottle must relate to the contents of the bottle.

How To Enter

Entries for 2024 open online on Monday August 7th.

Entries close Friday September 15th.

Entries are currently closed for the Great Australian Shiraz Challenge; for further information please email: [email protected].

Payment Options

Direct deposit:
National Australian Bank.
Account Name: The Great Shiraz Challenge Pty Ltd
BSB Number: 083 798
Account Number: 49 167 7488

Credit Card
Mastercard, Visa

Privacy Statement

The Great Shiraz Challenge Pty Ltd do comply with the Privacy Amendment (Private Sector) Act 2000 and meet the ten National Privacy Principles (NNP’s) as spelt out in the Privacy Act which cover:

• Collection, use and disclosure of information.
• Storage of information.
• Access to information.

The Company will not keep a record of credit card information.