Roam Rutherglen Winery Walkabout draws 9000 plus at 50th celebration

More than 9000 gathered at Australia's longest-running wine festival, Roam Rutherglen Winery Walkabout, to enjoy clear weather, local bands, food and crafts - and of, course, locally made fine drops.

A highlight on Sunday, June 11, was the "grape stomp" where three teams of two fought it out to squeeze as much juice as they could in three minutes from three buckets of grapes.

With Northern Victoria MP Jaclyn Symes an early scratching in the competition due to illness, Nationals MP Bridget McKenzie took first prize, with Indigo mayor Sophie Price a close second and the Rutherglen Rotary Club's president Chris Grimes third.

Organisers said no incidents were reported, just the expected odd case of overindulgence, and a revamped hop-on, hop-off 40-bus loop provided easy access from vineyard to vineyard.

Albury teacher Josie Green was one of 400 designated drivers to the enjoy the event, now in its 50^th year.

"It's been an absolutely amazing day - I drove a bus full of hairdressers from Albury," Ms Green said.

"The hairdressers are family and friends and they had a fantastic time, I was just happy to be here, it's such a good day. Because I'm a designated driver I got free entry and coffee and soft drinks, that sort of thing, at the four wineries we visited.

"One of the great things about the day was seeing local bands playing here - so good to see local bands get exposure like this."

Rock and country outfit, Brook Chivell and Band, played at Chambers Rosewood winery.

"They have been around for years and they remembered us from when we all saw them in 2016, so that was definitely the highlight for me," Ms Green said.

Winemakers of Rutherglen executive officer Annalee Nolan said numbers on the weekend were on par with last year's event.

"The buses worked really well for us," she said. "We had about over 3000 people bussed in from surrounding townships Albury, Wodonga, Yarrawonga, Chiltern and Beechworth.

"One one of the things we did this year was allow the tickets give access to both days so we've seen a lot of repeat visitation which is great."

Rutherglen Apex Club treasurer Mark Chandler, who competed in the grape stomp with Indigo Shire mayor Sophie Price, said the event always drew interest.

"It's just a lot of fun," he said. "There were some questionable techniques used this year, but all's fair in that competition."

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