Australia’s top 50 vineyards vie for Vineyard of the Year Awards

Australia’s best vineyards are being recognised in a new award designed to highlight the nation’s best soils and the farmers tending to them. Here are the 50 contenders among 6000 entrants.

Alexandra Laskie

@alexandracottee

2 min read

December 11, 2020 - 2:41PM

The Weekly Times

Koonara Wines’ Dru and Nicole Reschke with their daughters. Their vineyard Ambriel’s Gift at Coonawarra, SA, is a finalist in the Vineyard of the Year Awards.

GREAT wine starts in the vineyard.

It’s a philosophy repeated and adhered to the world over, yet the blood, sweat and tears spent tending to the canes and tendrils is rarely glorified.

That’s about to change this year with the Young Guns of Wine’s newest addition to its awards line-up, singling out the vineyard and the acclaim it deserves in producing Australia’s finest wines.

The 50 finalists in the inaugural Vineyard of the Year Awards have been announced in an effort to put vineyards at the heart of the nation’s winemaking story.

There are four awards to be won, one for vineyard innovation highlighting novel approaches to farming grapes, a “new vineyard of the year” that’s fewer than 10 years old, an “old vineyard of the year” that’s more than 35 years old and a final category recognising Australia’s most outstanding vineyard.

The finalists have been narrowed down from 6000 entries by a panel of judges whose expertise ranges from viticulture and agronomy to sustainability.

Drinks columnist and judge Max Allen said the top 50 were selected based on their pursuit of fruit and wine quality, vine health, innovation and sustainability.

“It’s so heartening, in a year when our lives have been mired in challenges, setbacks and uncertainty, to celebrate the resilience and long-term thinking and optimism demonstrated by this group of winegrowers,” Mr Allen said.

Irina Santiago-Brown, who sits alongside Mr Allen on the judging panel, said there was a trend away from scheduled sprays and many farmers were investing considerable effort into soil health.

Young Guns of Wine judge and renowned sustainable viticulturalist Irina Santiago-Brown at McLaren Vale, SA.

“They are choosing to use less harmful chemicals to try to create a healthier environment for a more ‘self-balanced’ vineyard, with beneficial insects, healthier and more alive soil, as well as being healthier for the people who work there,” Dr Santiago-Brown, a world leader in sustainable viticulture, said.

“Many innovations are being used to reach this end … from more suitable grape varieties, to state-of-the-art technology to measure vine and soil status in order to make better decisions.”

The winners will be announced in February next year.

The Top 50 Finalists in the Inaugural Vineyard of the Year Awards

(In state and alphabetical order)