This Just In: Victoria and Tasmania Just Swept Australia's Biggest Wine Awards — Turns Out We're All About Cool Climate Now
The 2027 Halliday Wine Companion Awards handed almost every major trophy to Australia's two coolest wine states, and the numbers make a pretty convincing case for why.
It was a big night for the cool (climate) kids at last night's 2027 Halliday Wine Companion Awards in Melbourne. The annual awards are held to mark the release of The Halliday Wine Companion 2027, the country's most trusted wine guide, which handed out its major trophies — and Tasmania and Victoria walked away with almost all of them.
Tasmania's House of Arras took out the night's top prize, Winery of the Year, and also claimed Sparkling Wine of the Year for its EJ Carr Late Disgorged 30th Anniversary 2006. The Tasmanian sparkling specialist is fronted by Ed Carr, widely regarded as Australia's most decorated sparkling winemaker.
Halliday's Head of Tasting, Katrina Butler, said the win was "surely overdue, but never more deserving," adding that the judges were "delighted to acknowledge the tireless efforts of Ed Carr, and endorse the sentiment that Tasmanian sparkling wine is at the apex of quality wine in this country and primed for the world stage."
Victoria didn't miss out on the big prizes either. The soon-to-be-released Mount Mary Triolet 2024, from the Yarra Valley, was named both White Wine of the Year and the overall Wine of the Year — the night's biggest individual honour. Victorian producers went on to claim nine of the 18 varietal trophies on offer, from Chardonnay (Kooyong, Mornington Peninsula) and Sauvignon Blanc (Gembrook Hill, Yarra Valley) to Fortified Wine (All Saints Estate, Rutherglen).
Steve Flamsteed picked up Winemaker of the Year, splitting his time — and now his trophies — between both states. He was recognised for his new Tasmanian label Decades (which also picked up Best New Winery), his Yarra Valley side project Salo, and his work for Eldridge Estate on the Mornington Peninsula. Butler described him as someone whose "authenticity and quiet leadership have created a tidal wave of impact that has swept across the entire wine industry," pointing to his earlier role establishing the Yarra Valley's Giant Steps.
Halliday's tasting team reviewed more than 7,000 wines from over 1,000 wineries this year, and when you zoom out, Victoria's dominance goes well beyond the trophy cabinet. Nationally, the Barossa Valley has the highest number of five-star wineries, followed by the Yarra Valley and McLaren Vale — but measured by concentration rather than raw numbers, Victoria's cool-climate pockets lead the country. Seventy-nine percent of Beechworth's wineries earned a five-star rating this year, followed by 73 percent in the Yarra Valley and 72 percent in Rutherglen. The Yarra Valley alone also produces about 26 percent of all the elite 97-to-100-point wines reviewed nationally.
The rest of the country didn't go home empty-handed. Western Australia's Xanadu Wines took Red Wine of the Year for its Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 (Margaret River), while South Australia's Ashley Ratcliff, of Ricca Terra in the Riverland, was named Viticulturist of the Year. McLaren Vale's Down the Rabbit Hole won the People's Choice Award from more than 8,000 public votes, praised for its "incredible social atmosphere" and "scenic views." And in a genuine first, Queensland's Granite Belt claimed a major Halliday trophy for the first time ever, with Balancing Heart named Dark Horse Winery. Halliday taster Mike Bennie called it "a boon for the Granite Belt, which often misses the gaze of wine enthusiasts."
Hunter Valley legend Bruce Tyrrell AM was also inducted into the James Halliday Hall of Fame, becoming only the fourth person to receive the honour, recognised for his decades-long advocacy for the ageability of Australian semillon.
'The Halliday Wine Companion 2027', the guide's 41st annual edition, is available now for $50 via the Halliday Wine Companion website
Images: Supplied
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