More than just a wine show for over twenty years

In 1999 Stefano de Pieri and Bruce Chalmers, along with Dr. Rod Bonfiglioli, initiated the Sangiovese Awards and continued in 2000 with the Australian Italian Wine Show. Following the success of these shows, the first Australian Alternative Varieties Wine Show was held in Mildura in November 2001 and now in 2021, #covidwilling, we hope to celebrate our 20th anniversary with you, our AAVWS Family.

For twenty one years the AAVWS has been more than a forum for wines that fall outside the mainstream. We continue to encourage cutting-edge judging procedures and provide a host of social and educational events that promote knowledge sharing and the ferment of ideas. We have been innovative and adventurous and over time have introduced a custom built Show software system WineShowPro, looked into sponsoring new varieties, developed an International Judge program, including tours of Victorian wineries, and instigated a Fellowship for passionate candidates to visit Mildura to experience the show and become new alternative variety ambassadors.

CELEBRATING 21 YEARS

In 2022 we celebrate our 21st Birthday and have a fabulous program including a Talk and Taste 'Coming of Age' session reflecting on 20 years of the AAVWS and an upcoming announcement about an exciting project to celebrate the collective achievements of the AAVWS Family.

We look to bouncing back and celebrating together