Entries for the sixth Annual Vineyard of the Year Awards are now open (until end of October). Join us via this page. With the new registration format for the awards, it takes less than two minutes get involved – look for the ‘register now’ button.
The awards are designed to strengthen the connection between the wine in your glass, the place that it comes from, and the way the grapes are grown by placing vineyards and growers across the nation at the heart of the Australian wine story and wine community.
Wine writer Max Allen has curated the awards since their inception in 2020 alongside a panel of Australia’s leading winegrowing professionals and academics with expertise in viticulture, grapevines and sustainability.
“While it’s called the Vineyard of the Year Awards – and yes, there are four trophies – really, the trophies are just a by-product of the bigger picture and intent of the program,” Allen said.
“The ‘awards’ process enables us to dig deep into the best practices and share learnings. There are so many great growers out there and we want to share their stories. These awards are a celebration of a large group and a collective mission each year, and our focus is around curating leading vineyards and growers to promote the common objective.”
“The ‘awards’ process enables us to dig deep into the best practices and share learnings. There are so many great growers out there and we want to share their stories. These awards are a celebration of a large group and a collective mission each year, and our focus is around curating leading vineyards and growers to promote the common objective.”
Viticulturist Richard Leask has featured in previous awards, and joined the panel for the last two editions.
“I first entered the Vineyard of the Year Awards in 2020 as it was a new and much-needed initiative to promote the role of the grower in making wine of provenance, as well as the value of the viticulture profession, sustainability and to advance these topics,” he said.
“Gathering for the latest awards event in Melbourne, what really struck me was the value of meeting fellow growers from around the country – sharing ideas and forging new friendships. There’s nothing like it. I hope to participate again in the coming year and I encourage all growers and viticulturists to get involved.”
Finalists can take part in a series of optional events following vintage 2026. The idea is to build connections between growers and vignerons from around the country, promote sustainable best-practice viticulture and strengthen the understanding of the sense of provenance in wine. It will also promote sales of the wines that come from the vineyards.
Above and opposite: scenes from the fifth annual Vineyard of the Year Awards trophy presentation dinner.
“Gathering for the latest awards event in Melbourne, what really struck me was the value of meeting fellow growers from around the country – sharing ideas and forging new friendships. There’s nothing like it. I hope to participate again in the coming year and I encourage all growers and viticulturists to get involved.”
Above and opposite: scenes from previous Vineyard of the Year Award trophy presentation dinners.
All finalists are profiled in editorials at younggunofwine.com and on social media. You can see the list of past finalists here.
“Gathering with so many inspiring winegrowers for last year’s awards was truly wonderful,” said Max Allen. “Making connections is what this event is all about: connecting wine lovers with the places where our top wine are grown; strengthening the link between all the hard work that goes into growing grapes with the flavours and quality of the wine in our glass; and bringing passionate, hard-working, deep-thinking viticulturists, vignerons and vineyard managers together, to talk, learn and encourage each other to continually improve what they do.”
We’re calling all growers, viticulturists and vignerons to step forward. These awards celebrate viticulture. By championing top vineyards and their stewards, we can build awareness of their core role in shaping the wines we love. This collective industry benefit is the great outcome of these awards. The path forward is through participation.
Entries for the sixth Annual Vineyard of the Year Awards are closing September 2025. Join us via this page. With the new registration format for the awards, it takes less than two minutes get involved – look for the ‘register now’ button.
GET FIRST ACCESS TO THE NEXT WINE ICONS – DELIVERED
This year’s Top 100 includes Top 20 lists in Sydney and Melbourne, Top 10 lists in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, and Top 5 lists in Canberra and Tasmania, with regional locations around the country rounding out the numbers. It’s a fantastically mixed bunch, but one thing they all have in common is they love wine, and they want to share that love with you. Whether you’re in for the long haul or a quick drink and a snack, these Wineslingers just want to see you, and to share what they know, share what they love.
Adelaide’s wine culture is seen clearly in its best wine shops. Here’s our round up of the best retailers the city has to offer – the places that you’ll find winemakers and wineslingers shopping for themselves.
With wine tasting, much thought is put into getting all the elements right: the serving temperature of wine, the type of wine glass used, whether to decant a wine before serving. And when it comes to dining, food and wine pairing is an occupation all to itself. But have you ever considered the effect water has on the palate? We gathered together some leading winemakers and sommeliers to test how different types of water affect our palate.
Subscribe to our newsletter
Young Gun of Wine is your shortcut to cutting edge wines, the places to go, and the people behind it all.
Subscribe to be amongst the first to know of our latest discoveries in wine.
We'll bring you the inside running from the growers, the makers, the wholesalers, the retailers and the sommeliers, too.
