This year marks the 17th annual edition of the Young Gun of Wine Awards – created for young wine labels and winemakers on the rise. Since 2007, we’ve scoured the country for the best emerging talent, always looking for new approaches to wine, for mavericks, and for those whose commitment to their vision helps lead the way. These winemakers are forming a new fabric in Australia’s wine culture and community. The annual list has become the go-to guide for drinkers looking for cutting-edge wines and the stories behind them. And now, the time has come to reveal our Top winemakers for 2023.
“When we first started the Young Gun of Wine Awards in 2007, the premise was about making wine more relevant to young adults,” said founder Rory Kent. “Then it quickly became about providing a platform for young winemaking projects. While it’s always fascinating to spot the new trends that emerge each year, I think what’s really striking now is to see the immense depth and diversity of the projects – people’s journeys into and through wine – and how the layers in the community and culture continue to build.
“Australian wine today looks nothing like it did in 2007 – be it the grape varieties grown, or the winemaking techniques used, or the fashion in which wine is presented and engaged with. Reading through the profiles of this year’s winemakers shows just that.”
The finalists in this year’s awards were selected from a long list of entrants. Over two days of intensive judging, a panel of leading industry figures from across the country tasted their way through the wines to select who was in the running for the six trophies: Young Gun of Wine, Best New Act, People’s Choice, Winemaker’s Choice, Danger Zone, and the Vigneron.
Rory Kent was joined on the 2023 judging panel by Ben Ranken of Wilimee (the inaugural YGOWA Vigneron trophy winner); Jeremy Shiell from Winespeake; Meg Brodtmann MW; wine critic Nick Stock; Abby Moret of Atlas Vinifera; Sophie Carbonneau, National Sales Manager Bibendum Wine Co.; and Ryan Ponsford from Entropy Wines, the 2022 Young Gun of Wine.
The panel gathered at the Prince Dining Room. Uniquely for a wine show, wines are not tasted ‘blind’, and concepts beyond the wine in the glass come into consideration for the panel.
“We are now seeing sophisticated and considered projects that are so well executed. We have here wines that are shaping the leading edge of Australian wine and enhancing its perception and reputation.”
All applicants submitted wines that were all tasted and discussed at length, but their project and its achievements and aspirations as well as their place in their region and the broader wine landscape were given equal airtime.
“With winemakers submitting two wines that are tasted side by side, and not blind, the YGOW judging process is totally unique,” said Master of Wine, Meg Brodtmann. “It was my first time on this panel, and I loved how assessing the wine takes everything into consideration. Obviously, the wine in the glass needs to be delicious, but the conversation about the maker and their place in the Australian wine story and all the context around that, is so beneficial. At times, the panel challenged one another’s thinking about wine – it was quite a forum for fostering creative projects.”
Opposite: Nick Stock has been with the Awards since inception in 2007. “Through these makers, we not only see a greater bandwidth of possibility being explored, but at the same time, the styles and concepts are being explored with such focus and precision. It’s so inspiring.” Above: Abby Moret joined the panel for the first time in 2023. “One of my favourite themes was makers just having a go with varieties that may have an uncool reputation – like semillon, viognier, gewürztraminer, sauvignon blanc – without inhibitions. They’re crafting great products with under-utilised grapes.”
“I was really impressed by the high quality of the submissions; there are some really exciting things happening here in a global context,” said Moret. “One of my favourite themes was makers just having a go with varieties that may have an uncool reputation – like semillon, viognier, gewürztraminer, sauvignon blanc – without inhibitions. They’re crafting great products with under-utilised grapes. It’s a chance for revival for these varieties, and an opportunity to see their potential in the hands of enterprising and bold producers.”
“At times, the panel challenged one another’s thinking about wine – it was a quite a forum for fostering creative projects.”
Above: Master of Wine, Meg Brodtmann, “With winemakers submitting two wines that are tasted side by side, and not blind, the YGOW judging process is totally unique.” Opposite: Jeremy Shiell of Winespeak joined the panel for the third consecutive year.
“This has always been a highly competitive field but what we are seeing now is a shift in the quality and resonance of this emerging winemaker group,” concluded Stock. “We are now seeing sophisticated and considered projects that are so well executed. Through these makers, we not only see a greater bandwidth of possibility being explored, but at the same time, the styles and concepts are being explored with such focus and precision. It’s so inspiring. We have here wines that are shaping the leading edge of Australian wine and enhancing its perception and reputation.”
We now have our top winemakers of 2023. And, like every year, the finalists are a diverse lot.
We have career winemakers and others abandoning careers for winemaking
We have career makers who fell in love with wine from early on, to those that had the lights switched on and tumbled headlong into the world of wine, abandoning more lucrative paths. The finalists include a Collins Street lawyer, a corporate accountant gone rogue and an established artist that returned to the family vineyard, while there are also makers taking the baton from established stars and rewriting the narrative.
Above: Corporate refugee Sven Joschke has made a semillon as tribute to his friend – and “Amsterdam’s top somm” – Lotte Wolf, who sadly passed away unexpectedly in 2018, with proceeds going to the The WineWolf Foundation. “The aim is to keep Lotte’s presence in the industry going but importantly, to support new entrants in wine in the form of scholarships, with a focus on women in wine.” Opposite: Emily Kinsman, of ECK Wines, started her career as a Collins Street Lawyer, ending up with a long commute after she moved to the country. “It wasn’t until I moved to the Macedon Ranges in 2016 that the idea of making a living from the land started to form,” she says.
Makers are honouring the past
We have a finalist honouring the garage winemaking of the parents, celebrating the lo-fi methods and harking back to their heritage, including a new take on Retsina (traditional Greek method of infusing wine with pine resin), while also exploring new territory. We have makers with multi-generational legacies sensitively reshaping the image of hero varieties of their region, and we have those that are bringing long grape-growing histories to the foreground, fashioning wines that break the regional norms.
Opposite: Tony Zafirakos of Aristotelis Ke Anthoula. “I started my wine label as a gift to my parents,” says Zafirakos. “They moved here from Greece to raise their family and went through a lot of hardship to give us a good life.” His father, Aristotelis, and mother, Anthoula, like many Greek immigrants, made wine at home. Above: Tom Daniel’s Chouette is a tribute to the Swan Valley – he is seeking to preserve the heritage and the precious resource of old vines, while making styles that are distinctly modern.
We have sommeliers jumping the fence
It’s not unusual that sommeliers dabble in making wine, but the story is shifting, with fine dining somms embracing everyday expressions, chasing immediacy and pure engagement, pushing against elitism. They’re championing ‘unfashionable’ varieties and delivering democratic value.
Makers are shrinking their carbon footprint
We have makers going all in on alt-packaging, embracing bag-in-the-box options and cans, eschewing glass entirely. In the process, fossil fuel use, volume of waste and CO2 emissions are squashed. We also have vignerons turning their land into carbon sinks, while also switching off the mains power and water and going totally off grid.
Opposite: Honky Chateau is pitched as a democratic ‘fun’ wine, made by Chris Ryan who was awarded the Sommelier's Australia title of “Australia’s Best Sommelier for 2021”. Above: Gonzo Vino is the cask wine project of Marcus Radny – ex Vue de Monde sommelier.
We have makers narrowing in and those casting the net
There are makers taking single varieties and testing their limits, while others riff on a roster of the classics. There are others dabbling in emerging stars or making eclectic blends to fashion new styles that fit better with the way we eat, drink and make merry.
Above: Raquel Jones of Weathercraft has replanted a Beechworth vineyard to map a future that is occupied substantially by Spanish grape varieties. Opposite: Rowly Milhinch of Scion honours the traditions of Rutherglen but recasts them through his own lens.
They’re making wine from the ground up
Whether leased or owned outright, we have more makers farming the land to make better wine. They’re crafting wines from the ground up, investing in soil health, biodiversity and kicking inorganic chemicals to the curb. And for those that don’t lease or own the sites they work from, they’re working hand in glove with growers to farm better.
Opposite: Turon White of Turon Wines has planted a high-density pinot noir vineyard with 5,556 vines per hectare. Above: Andrew Kenny launched his Kenny Wine in 2021 and has purchased a vineyard in Clare Valley. “We threw away all herbicides, insecticides, systemic fungicides and inorganic fertilizers,” he says. “The worms are back and thriving. We’ve seen an increase in soil microorganisms and beneficial ‘weeds’ since taking over – less dry earth and better water inception, and the vines are healthier and producing a more-even fruit set.”
Emerging varieties are taking centre stage
While established varieties are still strong, emerging grapes are taking big strides, making wines of distinctly individual character. Those grapes are also finding pockets where they thrive, matching the changing climate to flourish in the heat and rely less on irrigation and other inputs.
Above: Nick Dugmore’s Stoke label is a tribute to the largely untapped potential of Kangaroo Island as a premium wine-growing region. Opposite: Jordan Hein’s (Moorak wines) vintage abode at a collaborative facility in McLaren Vale is a distinctly Australian version of a Chateau.
There are new labels and those reimagined
We have makers going out on their own, risking it all. And we have others reshaping established brands as employees, taking on a legacy and shaping a new future.
Above: Samuel Renzaglia developed the di Renzo range under his family’s eponymous wine label, sourcing fruit throughout the Central Ranges of NSW. Opposite: Lauren Langfield has taken Orbis Wines in a brighter and more drink-now direction, along with adding new lines that embrace vibrant immediacy.
Try the wines, People’s Choice voting and prizes
If you want to have your say on who is Australia’s best winemaker, you can purchase the winemakers’ wines via the Finestro cellar door platform.
People’s Choice online voting is via this link. Everyone that votes will go into a draw to win a Liebherr wine cellar and a year’s supply of wines (52 bottles) from the 2023 finalists.
People’s Choice voting will be open until Monday 19 June.
In 2023, 24 winemakers are new to the list of finalists. Here is the complete list:
The winners of the six trophies – the Young Gun of Wine, Best New Act, People’s Choice, Winemaker’s Choice, Danger Zone, and the Vigneron – will be announced on Monday 19 June.
This year marks the 18th annual edition of the Young Gun of Wine Awards. Since 2007, we’ve scoured the country for the best emerging talent, winemakers on the rise who are reshaping the wine landscape by creating their own no-compromise projects or reimagening established brands with a new vision. They’re the glitteringly bright future of Australian wine. The annual list has become the go-to guide for drinkers looking for cutting-edge wines. The Top 50 winemakers for 2024 have just been announced, and they’re an exciting lot.
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