The Riesling is from the 2003 vintage and is about $20 a bottle. It won a gold medal and the ACT Government and Qantas Airlines Award for The Best Riesling from Australia and New Zealand and the ActewAGL award for the Best Museum Class Riesling.

The family owned and run business, with Noel Smith and his two sons Scott and Shane, are thrilled with the success of the wine.

The awards ceremony was held at the Hyatt Hotel Canberra on Friday, October 16, where Scott and his wife Vicky attended.

“We were sitting at the same table as Orlando and they won the first three awards and we won the last three awards,” Scott Smith said.

The 2003 vintage in the Clare Valley looked dismal after devastating frosts wiped out 51 percent of the crop at Cardinham Estate.

But, tireless and persistent work by winemakers Scott Smith and Emma Bowley produced an award-winning wine. “It was always looking to be a good wine,” Emma said.

Tasting the grapes before we picked them, they really had a taste of their own, the vineyard has always been above the others.”

Noel, Shane and Scott believe attention to detail helped win the award.

“We have been winning silver medals with this wine and we knew that one day it would get gold and it did,” Shane said.

The Riesling was competing against all benchmark Rieslings in the world.

“It is the first Australian Riesling to win in this competition in its 10-year history,” Scott said.

“It completes the accolades for the valley, we can grow Riesling from this end of the valley to the other end. We want people to try the small wineries, discover something new and don’t be a follower and check out what the little guys have to offer,” Shane said.