Cupitt's won their first gold medal and trophy for the best wine produced in a Shoalhaven Coast winery for their 2012 Semillon. 

Cupitt's also won a silver and bronze medal.

Other Shoalhaven Coast wineries to win medals were Two Figs Winery (five bronze medals and a certificate for the best chambourcin - 2013 vintage), Fern Gully Winery (two bronze) and Roselea Vineyard (one bronze). 

Wines from the South Coast zone which includes the Shoalhaven Coast and the Southern Highlands wine regions were judged on Thursday before the public wine tasting on Friday at the Mollymook Golf Club.

This year, 86 wines were entered from 18 vineyards and wineries, six of which were from the Shoalhaven Coast Wine Region.

The judging panel was chaired by David Morris of Morris Wines, Rutherglen.

He has judged at the National Small Winemakers, Rutherglen, Cowra, Griffith, Swan Hill and Melbourne wine shows.

“It was a very strong show on the South Coast,” he said.

“There’s a lot of good wines there.

“I think the strike rate for medals is about 60 per cent, which is pretty high being of medal quality.

“One of the other things was that medals, even at the top end, were spread over such a wide variety of wine styles.

“I think from the wines that won awards there was sparkling, semillon, riesling, verdelho and chardonnay were just some that got silver and gold, and that’s just in the whites,” he said.

Mr Morris said another point of interest for him was that this region was having success across a number of wine styles.

He said whites were stronger than reds, with a subtle fruit-driven style.

“I think the fruit produced in that area probably supports that style.

“It’s delicate in flavour. You get a lot more summer rainfall in that area and which might influence it.

“There were very few winemaking faults, the winemakers are all doing the right things and from what we saw it was a very good show,” he said.

The Shoalhaven grapes that will go toward the next vintage have already started being picked in what is shaping up to be a good season.

Shane Bricker from Two Figs winery has picked and fermented one batch of whites with more to come in what he said is looking like some good quality fruit.

“It is pretty early but we are well and truly under way,” he said.

“I’m really happy the consistency of my wines. Everything I entered in

the show won something,” he said.

Ben Wallis from Coolangatta Estate said they had 40 people lined up ready to harvest verdelho on Thursday if the weather held out.

“We held off to make the most of this weather. So far the season has been pretty good to us,” Mr Wallis said.

He said the verdelho was the biggest pick of the year but expected the team would complete the half-hectare pick in one day.

“We will aim to get about 500 cases of wine from that.

“Semillon will go next but that will be done over a couple of picks,” he said.

For full results visit www.southcoastwineshow.blogspot.com.