Four Winds Vineyard at Murrumbateman won the top medal and ''best riesling of show'' at the event, which is open to vignerons who produce wine from no more than 500 tonnes of grapes a year.

Judges said the gold medal wine was a cracking example of a young riesling with fruit, drive, texture and excellent balance.

Four Winds business manager Sarah Collingwood said winemakers Bill and Jaime Crowe were unaware of their success. Mr Crowe hails from the Napa Valley in California, and before moving to Murrumbateman, spent each off-season in America as a river guide.

This year the Crowes resumed that tradition and were out of phone range, camping on a river trip.

"We figure it will be a nice surprise when they are back in range," Mrs Collingwood said.

It may not come as a complete surprise. Mr Crowe had been pleased with the wine throughout the whole process. ''Bill had said it was the best wine he had ever made,'' Mrs Collingwood said.

''We had a really good season. The grapes were clean, there was no disease, it was a good season for ripening.

''We didn't have any rain. So everything just lined up for it being a good season.''

Entries came from several award-winning regions including Young, Orange and Mudgee, as well as the Canberra district.

Statewide, winemakers had to deal with extreme heat and heavy rain. Judges said most wines in the dry white table wine, riesling class, suffered premature advancement, with most silver medal wines missing out on gold due to this.

Four Winds opened a new cellar door in May and, after receiving 94 points for its 2012 riesling, was named a five-star winery by James Halliday in July.

Mrs Collingwood said buds on the 13-hectare vineyard wouldn't shoot for another two or three weeks.

''We have just finished pruning, so this is a nice time of year because there is essentially nothing to do.''