4th Annual Vineyard of the Year Awards (2023-2024)

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The 4th Annual Vineyard of the Year Awards list of Australia’s top winegrowers has just landed landed.

2023 is the fourth annual Vineyard of the Year Awards...

As winemakers frequently say, “great wine is made in the vineyard.” The Awards are designed to place vineyards and growers across the nation at the heart of the Australian wine story, and the heart of the Australian wine community. We want to strengthen the connection between the wine in your glass, the place it comes from, and the way the grapes are grown.

The awards are about sustainability, innovation and the pursuit of vine health and wine quality. We want to hear what viticulture approaches are being incorporated, and shine a light on the work of our best growers.

These awards are a celebration of viticulture, and it is through the championing of top vineyards and their stewards, that we can elevate the awareness of their unique role in shaping the wines we love.

Criteria

Our definition of a vineyard

Our use of the term vineyard is about the vines growing in the land. The vineyards we are acknowledging will include both pure grape growers as well as wine producers, or vineyards with wineries attached.
A vineyard is a single property. It may include multiple blocks of vines on one property, but it is not a collection of multiple properties in a region.
A business may wish to showcase multiple vineyards in the one year of our awards by entering a new application for each vineyard.

The base criteria

First and foremost, these awards are about championing the pursuit of grape and wine quality.
Vineyards will need to name a viticulturist or grower responsible for the vineyard, as these awards recognise the place and person hand-in-hand.
These awards are open to grape growers who sell fruit to winemakers, as well as wine producers who grow their own fruit.
Growers will need to be able to name wines that are made from the grapes grown on that vineyard. Wine products which are blends of multiple fruit sources are acceptable.
We are looking for viticulturists who are committed to improving vineyard health.
To that end, “sustainability” will be a fundamental element of these awards. Sustainability encompassing one or all of the following: environmental, economic and social endeavours.

New Vineyard of the Year

For a vineyard ten years old or younger at time of entry.
This award exists to talk about entirely new vineyards. A new block of vines planted as part of an established vineyard is not considered a new vineyard.
Top-working/grafting an existing vineyard to new varieties is not considered to be new vines.
Re-planting a vineyard is not considered a new vineyard, unless a majority of the vineyard has been replanted, and the vineyard name has not previously been used on bottled wines.
The entrant needs to be able to point to wine produced from that vineyard that has been, or is to be, available in the marketplace.

Old Vineyard of the Year

Old vines must constitute at least 50% of the vineyard, and the average vine age must be at least 35 years at time of entry.
The entrant needs to be able to point to wine produced from that vineyard that has been available in the marketplace over multiple vintages within the last five years. Blended products from multiple vineyard sources are acceptable (e.g. the grapes from this older vineyard were blended with fruit from other, younger vineyards).

Innovative Vineyard of the Year – The Groundbreaker

This trophy singles out innovative methods, processes and ideas being applied in the vineyards. Beyond the pursuit of wine quality and vineyard health, as a commercial imperative, a sustainable vineyard should take also take into account economic, social and environmental responsibilities.
For instance, finalists/winners may be recognised for novel approaches to carbon capture; water efficiency; biological farming practices; cover cropping; alternative (non-chemical) disease and pest management; varietal/clonal selections, as well as co-planting, pruning techniques, etc. This award can also single out broader environmental initiatives, or interconnected activities (such as tourism) that add to the sustainability of a vineyard when the broader economic and community benefits are considered.

Vineyard of the Year

The “open” category. Please see ‘base criteria’ above.

Calendar

Registrations open, August 19, 2023
Finalists announced, February 29, 2024
Trade event, Brisbane, Monday May 27th, 2024
Trade event, Sydney, Tuesday June 4th, 2024, 1–4pm
Trade event, Melbourne, Tuesday June 11th, 2024, 1–4pm
Finalists and trophy presentation dinner, June 11th, 2024