Halliday Wine Companion is the leading authority on Australian wine. This year, the Halliday Tasting Team has reviewed over 7500 wines across more than 1100 wineries. The Shortlist celebrates the best of the best in Australian wine right now, with this year’s nominees spanning Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania, and Western Australia.
The Halliday Wine Companion Awards judging was conducted in March. Over two days, across a blind tasting, the winners were determined collaboratively by the full Halliday Tasting Team.
The Halliday Tasting Team includes founder James Halliday, chief editor Campbell Mattinson, Dave Brookes, Jane Faulkner, Jeni Port, Marcus Ellis, Mike Bennie, Philip Rich, Shanteh Wale, and Toni Paterson MW.
The 2025 Companion sees over 60 new producers submit their wines for the first time, along with thousands of tasting notes and scores for wines reviewed throughout the year.
While the annual Halliday Wine Companion Awards recognise the best of the best from across Australia's wine industry, the Halliday Wine Companion People's Choice Award honours the best winery experience from around the country.
Wine lovers can cast their vote for the 2025 People’s Choice Award on winecompanion.com.au. Nominations are based on criteria including standout cellar door experiences, outstanding restaurant offerings, friendly and knowledgeable staff, scenic views, and overall quality of wines. Submissions are open until 11.59pm on Wednesday July 24, 2024. Entrants will go in the running to win a prize pack valued at over $1200. The 2025 People’s Choice Award winner will be announced on Saturday August 3, 2024.
The 2025 Halliday Wine Companion Awards ceremony will take place at Ormond Hall at The Commons Collective in Melbourne on Wednesday August 7. The event will also be broadcast via livestream at winecompanion.com.au.
Seven major trophies will be awarded on the night, including Wine of the Year, Winemaker of the Year, Winery of the Year, Viticulturist of the Year, Best Value Winery, Best New Winery, Dark Horse Winery, together with the second inductee into the James Halliday Hall of Fame: Australian Wine Industry. The winners of 16 varietal categories will also be announced, including Sparkling of the Year, Shiraz of the Year, and Riesling of the Year, alongside White Wine of the Year and Red Wine of the Year.
The 2025 Halliday Wine Companion Awards will also celebrate James Halliday AM, who recently announced his retirement. There is no one who has given more to the Australian wine industry than James Halliday. We look forward to celebrating his remarkable career on the industry's night of nights.
The Halliday Wine Companion is the bestselling and definitive guide to Australian wine. The Companion has become a touchstone of the industry that helps readers drink the very best of Australian wine.
The 2025 Halliday Wine Companion is available to pre-order now and will be on sale from August 8, 2024. For more information about the 2025 Halliday Wine Companion Shortlist and to cast your vote in the People’s Choice Awards, please visit winecompanion.com.au/peoples-choice-voting
@winecompanion winecompanion.com.au
For almost 30 years, the Halliday Wine Companion has served as the definitive guide to Australian wine. Today, a dedicated team of wine authorities collectively taste around 7x000 wines each year.
With more than 170,000 tasting notes from over 3500 wineries, winecompanion.com.au is Australia's most comprehensive collection of wine reviews and ratings. Halliday magazine is printed quarterly and offers a uniquely approachable take on wine, food and travel, and in 2022 both Halliday Wine Club and Halliday Wine Academy were launched to serve the Australian wine community. We also publish the Halliday Wine Companion – the bestselling annual guide, which sets the benchmark for winemakers, collectors, and wine lovers alike.
With Halliday Wine Companion you'll never drink a bad bottle of wine again.
2025 HALLIDAY WINE COMPANION SHORTLIST
WINERY OF THE YEAR:
Alkina Wine, Barossa Valley Brokenwood, Hunter Valley
Giant Steps, Yarra Valley
House of Arras, Northern Tasmania Oakridge Wines, Yarra Valley Silkman Wines, Hunter Valley
WINEMAKER OF THE YEAR:
Colin McBride, Adelina, Clare Valley
Jacinta Jenkins, Balnaves of Coonawarra, Coonawarra
Andre Bondar, Bondar Wines, McLaren Vale Gareth Belton, Gentle Folk, Adelaide Hills Melanie Chester, Giant Steps, Yarra Valley Simon Osicka, Paul Osicka, Heathcote
Liz Silkman, Silkman Wines, Hunter Valley
Liam McElhinney, Tasmanian Vintners, Southern Tasmania
Virginia Willcock, Vasse Felix, Margaret River
VITICULTURIST OF THE YEAR:
Troy McInnes, Chalmers, Murray Darling Steve Faulkner, Oakridge Wines, Yarra Valley Justin Jarrett, See Saw Wines, Orange
Rhys Thomas, Swinney, Frankland River Nigel Blieschke, Torbreck, Barossa Valley Bart Molony, Vasse Felix, Margaret River Bernard & Wayne Smart, Smart Vineyards, Various
BEST VALUE WINERY:
Billy Button Wines, Alpine Valleys Bleasdale Vineyards, Langhorne Creek Bremerton Wines, Langhorne Creek De Bortoli, Yarra Valley
Forest Hill Vineyard, Great Southern Mulline, Geelong
Stella Bella Wines, Margaret River Trentham Estate, Murray Darling
BEST NEW WINERY:
Dilworth & Allain, Macedon Ranges Granjoux, Beechworth
HATCH, Barossa Valley
Iggy, Barossa Valley
Jane Eyre, Yarra Valley
Sami-Odi, Barossa Valley Utzinger, Tasmania
Vinya Vella, Barossa Valley
DARK HORSE WINERY:
Amour Wines, Orange
ChaLou, Orange
Samson Tall, McLaren Vale
See Saw Wines, Orange
Solum, Mornington Peninsula
The Pawn Wine Co., South Australia
Contact details:
For all media enquiries please contact Tide Communications:
Mimi Gibson - Senior Account Director | mimigibson@tidepr.co
Sara Stockdale - Senior Account Manager | sarastockdale@tidepr.co
