The highly anticipated 2024 Halliday Wine Companion Awards have been announced this week, along with the inaugural inductees to the James Halliday Hall of Fame.
Hosted at the prominent St Kilda restaurant the Stokehouse in front of 125 industry guests from across Australia, the awards recognise the nation’s top wines, winemakers, viticulturists and wineries across the country’s wine regions.
Inducted into the Hall of Fame: Wine is Seppeltfield’s 100-year-old Para Vintage Tawny 1923 from the Barossa Valley (100 points), while the Hall of Fame: Wine Industry accolade winner is Prue Henschke of Henschke Wines in Keyneton.
These new awards honour a wine that has won its category on five occasions or more and individuals in the wine industry deemed to be of the highest regard and significance.
"This year’s awards and honorees underpin the strength and diversity of Australia wine among our regions,” says Halliday Wine Companion Editor, Campbell Mattinson. "As a collective tasting team, we were in awe of the value that was represented in this year’s winners.
"We’ve unearthed some gems and honoured the very best of the best Australia has to offer. Our love for wine has only become stronger after tasting more than 8500 wines across the year – it was a pleasure to taste alongside our expert judges. Congratulations to all the winners.”
Other members of the Tasting Team are founder James Halliday AM, as well as expert judges Dave Brookes, Jane Faulkner, Jeni Port, Philip Rich and Shanteh Wale.
The major award winners are:
Winery of the Year – Bleasdale Vineyards, Langhorne Creek, SA.
Winemaker of the Year – Kate Goodman, Penley Estate, Coonawarra, SA.
Viticulturist of the Year – Mark Walpole, Fighting Gully Road, Beechworth, Vic.
Best New Winery – Joshua Cooper Wines, Victoria Dark Horse – Anderson & Marsh, Alpine Valleys, Vic.
Best Value Winery – Oakridge Wines, Yarra Valley, Vic.
Wine of the Year – Yangarra Estate Vineyard Old Vine Grenache 2021, McLaren Vale, SA.
For the full list of award-winners, click here.
