Devastating week for family winery ends with trophies

919 Wines won two trophies at the Riverland Wine Show on Thursday night – just days after having their vineyards extensively damaged by severe frost.

The 919 Reserve 2023 Touriga Nacional won Best Organic/Biodynamic Wine in Show, and the 919 Classic Topaque was awarded Steward’s Choice.

“These awards are particularly special this year, especially since we lost the entire Touriga Nacional crop for the 2025 harvest to the widespread and devasting frost earlier this week,” proprietor and chief winemaker Eric Semmler says.

“The Touriga Nacional highlights the excellent wines the Riverland can produce, and we look forward to making this again in 2026.”

Eric says the fortified Topaque is a blend of many years, a taste of history, and a celebration of past vintages.

“So represents a beacon of hope for the future,” he says.

“After keeping a long, cold and lonely vigil for frost mitigation in the Loxton vineyard every night for over two weeks, we have been able to save most of the commercial varieties for our Ella Semmler’s Orchard brand, but we have lost most of the specialist varieties there.”

Their Glossop vineyard was hit with successive frosts over several nights, taking out secondary growth from the first frost and burning the new buds off completely.

“It has taken us a few days to come to grips with the impact of this, and we won’t know the full extent of the loss for another week or so,” Eric says.

“It was good that the Riverland took out most of the trophies at the wine show, and a validation of our belief in the ability of our region to produce world-class wines.

“Our thoughts go out to the many growers who have been similarly affected and who have supplied fruit for these wines.”

It was a similar story for Ricca Terra, which had several vineyards badly damaged by frost and then won eight trophies at the Riverland Wine Show.

Riverland Wine Show Trophy Winners

JMA Engineering 2024 Riverland Wine Industry Person of the Year
Andrew and Bronny Caire

Riverland Wine Trophy Best Single Vineyard Riverland Wine
Ricca Terra 2023 Soldiers’ Land Shiraz

Multi-Color Australia Trophy Most Successful Exhibitor
Ricca Terra

Croplands Trophy Most Successful Riverland Exhibitor
Ricca Terra

Sustainable Winegrowing Australia/Riverland Wine Trophy Best Sustainable Wine in Show
Mallee Estate 2024 Kati Alo Vermentino

Wine Movement Trophy Best Organic/Biodynamic Wine in Show
919 Wines 2023 Reserve Touriga Nacional

Oak Solutions Trophy Best Wine in Show
Ricca Terra 2023 Fiano

Ricca Terra Trophy Best Alternative Wine in Show
Ricca Terra 2023 Fiano

AP John Coopers Trophy Chief Judge’s Choice
Angove 2024 Long Row Riesling