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Australian Wine Shows Shock: Buffets Banned

By Wednesday 27 May 2020May 31st, 2021No Comments

The body temperature of stewards and judges at Australian wine shows should be taken at the start of the day.

Buffets and self-service foods should be avoided and judges and stewards should wear lab coats or aprons.

These are some of the recommendations contained in an addendum to the 2015 ASVO Wine Show Best Practice Recommendations (BPRs) which provides a series of best practices recommendations that apply to hygiene requirements for wine shows amid concerns around Covid-19.

Other recommendations include:

• Wine glasses should not be shared by judges. This includes call-back wines and trophy judging.

• Stewards involved in emptying of spittoons should wear face masks and rubber gloves.

• Stewards and judges should regularly wash their hands for a minimum of twenty seconds.

“With the recent challenges associated with Covid-19 the Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology (ASVO) Wine Show Technical Advisory Committee has prepared an Addendum to the 2015 ASVO Wine Show Best Practice Recommendations (BPRs) which provides a series of best practices recommendations that apply to Hygiene Requirements for wine shows to conduct wine shows with concerns around COVID-19,” Chris Waters of the ASVO says.

“The BPRs provide an up-to-date guideline for use by wine shows when compiling regulations and planning the conduct of shows.

“The Standards also address many issues identified as challenges within the current wine show system, including class sizes, numbers of entries, judge fatigue, varying regulations between shows, judge training and entry criteria.

“The Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology (ASVO) continues to play an important role in the development of Best Practice Recommendations for the Australian wine show system with a revised version of the Best Practice Recommendations due be released later this year.”

See the new recommendations here.

Will the buffet ban stop you from being involved in wine shows? Let us know. Email info@madiganmedia.com.au.

Photo: Barossa Wine Show (John Kruger).

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