Big bungle: Sorry, but you didn't win a trophy after all

Imagine celebrating for a week after winning a major drinks show trophy and then being told you didn't win after all. 

Red faces all around at the national 2026 Australian Cider Awards, billed as "Australia’s largest and most prestigious cider competition". 

  

The Apple Thief, in Batlow, NSW was last week named the trophy winner for Best Single Varietal. 

Cider Australia then announced they were "accidentally named the winner last week". 

The mistake was due to "an unfortunate scoring error". 

Organisers said "the Best Single Varietal Trophy winner has been updated. We have had a review of the scores and the true winner is Small Acres Cyder for their Femme Fatale 2026 Rosé Cider - made with Red Moon apples. 

"Our sincerest apologies go out to the team at The Apple Thief, in Batlow, NSW who were accidentally named the winner last week, and we thank them for their understanding."

Oh dear. 

And it took several days to discover the error. 

A suggestion. There are new-fangled gadgets called calculators. 

Image: Australian Cider Awards judges. Supplied.