The class categories and descriptions for the 2018 Small Vigneron Awards are:
| Class | Variety, Region & Vintage |
| 1 | RIESLING (85% & greater) 2018 vintage |
| 2 | RIESLING (85% & greater) 2017 vintage |
| 3 | RIESLING (85% & greater) 2016 or older vintages |
| 4 | SEMILLON (85% & greater) 2018 vintage |
| 5 | SEMILLON (85% & greater) 2017 vintage |
| 6 | SEMILLON (85% & greater) 2016 or 2015 vintage |
| 7 | SEMILLON (85% & greater) 2014 or older vintages |
| 8 | SAUVIGNON BLANC (85% & greater) 2018 vintage |
| 9 | SAUVIGNON BLANC (85% & greater) 2017 or older vintages |
| 10 | CHARDONNAY (85% & greater) 2018 or 2017 vintage |
| 11 | CHARDONNAY (85% & greater) 2016 vintage |
| 12 | CHARDONNAY (85% & greater) 2015 or older vintages |
| 13 | PINOT GRIS (85% & greater) 2018 vintage |
| 14 | PINOT GRIS (85% & greater) 2017 or older vintages |
| 15 | FIANO (85% & greater) Any vintage |
| 16 | GRÜNER VELTLINER (85% & greater) Any vintage |
| 17 | VERDELHO (85% & greater) Any vintage |
| 18 | VIOGNIER (85% & greater) Any vintage |
| 19 | OTHER SINGLE WHITE VARIETIES (Must be 85% or greater of that variety) Any vintage |
| 20 | BLENDS OF SEMILLON & SAUVIGNON BLANC (Must have at least 15% of each variety, and the total percentage of semillon & sauvignon blanc combined must be at least 85%) Any vintage. |
| 21 | BARREL FERMENTED SEMILLON AND/OR SAUVIGNON BLANC OR BLEND OF THESE TWO VARIETIES Note: This is a class for which any semillon, sauvignon blanc or blend of the two varieties with a barrel-fermented component greater than 15% is eligible. Producers with wines of >15% barrel ferment also have the option of entering in classes 5-9, or 20 instead of this one. Any vintage. |
| 22 | OTHER DRY WHITE BLENDS (Must not be 85% or greater of any single variety and must not be eligible for Semillon-Sauvignon Blanc classes) Any vintage |
| 23 | SWEET WHITE: SEMI-SWEET & OFF-DRY (that is, greater than 7.5 gm/litre residual sugar and less than 45 gm/litre residual sugar) Any vintage. |
| 24 | SWEET WHITE All other styles. Any vintage |
| 25 | ROSÉ 2018 or 2017 vintage. |
| 26 | PINOT NOIR (100% only) 2017 vintage. |
| 27 | PINOT NOIR (100% only) 2016 vintage. |
| 28 | PINOT NOIR (100% only) 2015 or older vintages. |
| 29 | SHIRAZ (85% & greater) 2017 vintage. |
| 30 | SHIRAZ (85% & greater) 2016 vintage. |
| 31 | SHIRAZ (85% & greater) 2015 vintage. |
| 32 | SHIRAZ (85% & greater) 2014 or older vintages. |
| 33 | CABERNET SAUVIGNON (85% & greater) 2017 vintage. |
| 34 | CABERNET SAUVIGNON (85% & greater) 2016 vintage. |
| 35 | CABERNET SAUVIGNON (85% & greater) 2015 vintage. |
| 36 | CABERNET SAUVIGNON (85% & greater) 2014 or older vintages. |
| 37 | GRENACHE (85% & greater) Any vintage |
| 38 | SANGIOVESE (85% & greater) Any vintage |
| 39 | NEBBIOLO (85% & greater) Any vintage |
| 40 | OTHER ITALIAN RED VARIETALS (85% & greater) Any vintage |
| 41 | TEMPRANILLO (85% & greater) Any vintage |
| 42 | MERLOT (85% & greater) Any vintage |
| 43 | OTHER SINGLE RED VARIETIES – Any wine eligible for classes 26-42 is excluded (Must be 85% or greater of that variety) Any vintage |
| 44 | AUSTRALIAN CLASSIC BLEND (Must contain at least 85% of cabernet sauvignon & shiraz combined) Any vintage |
| 45 | CABERNET BLEND (Must contain at least 85% of a combination of cabernet sauvignon and any of the following – cabernet franc, merlot, petit verdot, malbec) 2017 or 2016 vintage |
| 46 | CABERNET BLEND (Must contain at least 85% of a combination of cabernet sauvignon and any of the following – cabernet franc, merlot, petit verdot, malbec) 2015 or older vintages. |
| 47 | “RHÔNE” BLENDS (Must contain at least two of the following varieties – shiraz, grenache, mourvèdre (mataro) – and those varieties must make up at least 85% of the blend) Any vintage |
| 48 | OTHER DRY RED BLENDS (Must not be 85% or greater of any single variety and must not be eligible for the other blend classes) Any vintage |
| 49 | SPARKLING WHITE OR ROSÉ Any vintage or non-vintage. |
| 50 | SPARKLING RED Any vintage or non-vintage. |
| 51 | FORTIFIED Any. |
NOTE: Wines with greater than 7.5 gm/litre residual sugar must not be entered in Classes 1- 22.