Exclusive: Australia’s top winery has just been revealed

Emily Murphy Emily Murphy
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The 2026 Halliday Wine Companion Awards have crowned Australia’s best in wine, from breakthrough newcomers to a Hunter Valley icon taking the top honour.

Australia’s most prestigious wine awards have toasted the nation’s top drops for 2026, with Hunter Valley heavyweight Brokenwood taking home the coveted title of Winery of the Year.

The announcement was made at Ormond House in Melbourne, where the 2026 Halliday Wine Companion Awards unveiled winners across seven major categories, alongside varietal champions that spanned the country’s leading regions.

The big winners

Brokenwood Wines cellar door, Pokolbin in the Hunter Valley wine region
Brokenwood won Winery of the Year. (Image: Destination NSW)
  • Winery of the Year – Brokenwood, Hunter Valley, NSW
  • Winemaker of the Year – Virginia Willcock, Vasse Felix, Margaret River, WA
  • Viticulturist of the Year – Dr Dylan Grigg, Vinya Vella and Meristem Viticulture
  • Best New Winery – Elanto Vineyard, Mornington Peninsula, Vic
  • Best Value Winery – Bondar Wines, McLaren Vale, SA
  • Dark Horse Winery – bakkheia, Geographe, WA
  • Wine of the Year – Thistledown Wines’ ‘This Charming Man’ Clarendon Grenache 2024, McLaren Vale, SA (also took out Red Wine of the Year and Grenache of the Year)

Other standouts included Vasse Felix’s Heytesbury Chardonnay 2023, which scored an extraordinary 99 points to claim White Wine of the Year and Chardonnay of the Year, and Tasmania’s Stefano Lubiana Prestige 2011, crowned Sparkling Wine of the Year. The Fortified Wine of the Year went to All Saints Estate’s Museum Muscadelle NV, Rutherglen, which achieved a perfect 100-point score.

Brokenwood’s moment in the spotlight

Brokenwood Wines chief winemaker, StuartHordern
Brokenwood’s chief winemaker, Stuart Hordern. (Image: Destination NSW)

For Brokenwood’s chief winemaker, Stuart Hordern, the award was equal parts shock and delight.

“It’s quite an illustrious award. There are an incredible number of outstanding wineries in Australia on any given year, so to come out on top was quite a thrill," Hordern told Australian Traveller in an exclusive interview.

He credits Brokenwood’s success to a steadfast focus on quality, from entry-level favourites like Cricket Pitch White through to iconic wines such as Indigo Vineyard Chardonnay and the highly regarded Graveyard Vineyard Shiraz.

Hordern points to the 2023 Hunter Valley shiraz vintage as a defining moment.

“From harvest, we knew we were onto something special. The fruit had incredible natural colour, density and tannin maturity. You really only get one or two [great vintages] a decade, so to have that quality to start with is excellent."

Among them, the legendary Graveyard Vineyard Shiraz remains the clearest expression of Brokenwood’s philosophy – single-site pedigree, a strong sense of place and a legacy of excellence.

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The Hunter Valley advantage

Graveyard Vineyard Shiraz at Brokenwood Wines, Pokolbin
The Graveyard Vineyard Shiraz remains the clearest expression of Brokenwood’s philosophy. (Image: Destination NSW)

While Brokenwood has made waves nationally and internationally, Hordern insists the winery’s beating heart remains in the Hunter Valley.

“Aged Hunter semillon is unique in the world of wine. For a New World wine region to have a style that is incomparable to anything else – that’s rare. Aged Hunter semillon deserves its place on any table in the world," he said.

That sense of place extends to Brokenwood’s tight-knit team, which Hordern describes as “enthusiastic and hardworking," always benchmarking themselves against the world’s best to push standards higher.

Looking ahead

Couple enjoying a winery tour at Brokenwood Wines, Pokolbin.
Oakey Creek Vineyard is Brokenwood’s largest semillon fruit source. (Image: Destination NSW)

Winning Winery of the Year doesn’t mean slowing down. One project Hordern is especially excited about is the Oakey Creek Vineyard, acquired from the Drayton family, which is Brokenwood’s largest semillon fruit source.

“The improvements we’re making in that vineyard, seeing the fruits of that labour come to bear, is what the team and I are most excited about," he said.

Brokenwood’s win is both recognition of its 55-year legacy and a springboard for the future.

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A celebration of Australian wine

Harvested grapes at Brokenwood Wines, Pokolbin.
The 2026 Halliday Wine Companion Awards were held on 20 August 2025. (Image: Destination NSW)

Across the board, this year’s Halliday Awards underscored the strength and diversity of Australia’s wine industry – from the Yarra Valley’s pinot powerhouses and McLaren Vale’s grenache stars to Margaret River’s cabernet sauvignon excellence and Tasmania’s sparkling triumphs.

Want more? Find out which winery took home the People’s Choice Award.

Emily Murphy
Emily Murphy is Australian Traveller's Email & Social Editor, and in her time at the company she has been instrumental in shaping its social media and email presence, and crafting compelling narratives that inspire others to explore Australia's vast landscapes. Her previous role was a journalist at Prime Creative Media and before that she was freelancing in publishing, content creation and digital marketing. When she's not creating scroll-stopping travel content, Em is a devoted 'bun mum' and enjoys spending her spare time by the sea, reading, binge-watching a good TV show and exploring Sydney's vibrant dining scene. Next on her Aussie travel wish list? Tasmania and The Kimberley.
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How a $1 deal saved Bendigo’s historic tramways

    Megan Arkinstall Megan Arkinstall
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    The passionate community that saved Bendigo Tramways has kept the story of this city alive for generations.

    It was an absolute steal: a fleet of 23 trams for just $1. But such a fortunate purchase didn’t happen easily. It was 1972 when the Bendigo Trust handed over a single buck for the city’s historic collection of battery, steam and electric trams, which had transported locals since 1890.

    inside the historic Bendigo Tram
    Bendigo Tramways is a historic transport line turned tourist service. (Image: Bendigo Heritage)

    The city’s tram network had been declared defunct since 1970 due to post-war shortages in materials to upkeep the trams and declining passenger numbers as motor vehicles were increasing. However, determined locals would not hear of their beloved trams being sold off around the world.

    The Bendigo Trust was enlisted to preserve this heritage, by converting the trams into a tourist service. The Victorian government approved a trial, however news spread that the Australian Electric Tramways Museum in Adelaide had acquired one of the streetcars for its collection.

    a tram heading to Quarry Hill in 1957
    A tram on its way to Quarry Hill in 1957. (Image: Bendigo Heritage)

    An impassioned group rallied together to make this physically impossible. Breaking into the tram sheds, they welded iron pipes to the rails, removed carbon brushes from the motors, and formed a blockade at the depot. The community response was extraordinary, and a $1 deal was sealed.

    A new chapter for the city’s fleet

    the old Tramways Depot and Workshop
    The old Tramways Depot and Workshop is one of the stops on the hop-on, hop-off service. (Image: Tourism Australia)

    Today, Bendigo Tramways welcomes some 40,000 passengers annually, operating as a hop-on, hop-off touring service aboard the restored trams. Fifteen of the now 45-strong fleet are dubbed ‘Talking Trams’ because of the taped commentary that is played along the route. The trams loop between Central Deborah Gold Mine and the Bendigo Joss House Temple, which has been a place of Chinese worship since 1871, via other sites including the old Tramways Depot and Workshop.

    a Gold Mine Bendigo Tram
    The fleet comprises 45 trams that have been restored. (Image: Visit Victoria/Robert Blackburn)

    Keeping things interesting, throughout the year visitors can step aboard different themed trams. Tram No. 302 becomes the Yarn Bomb Tram, decorated both inside and out with colourful crochet by an anonymous group of locals.

    During the festive season, Tram No. 15 operates as a tinsel-festooned Santa Tram, and the big man himself hides out somewhere along the route for excited children to find. And on selected dates, the adults-only Groove Tram runs nighttime tours of the city, accompanied by local musicians playing live tunes and a pop-up bar.

    the historic post office turned visitor centre in Bendigo
    Visitors can hop on and off to see the city’s sites such as the historic post office turned visitor centre. (Image: Tourism Australia)

    As well as preserving the city’s history, however, the continuation of the tram service has kept the skills of tram building and craftsmanship alive in a practical sense. Bendigo’s Heritage Rail Workshop is world-renowned for restoring heritage trams and repurposing vehicles in creative ways.

    Locally, for example, Tram No. 918 was transformed into the Dja Dja Wurrung Tram with original Aboriginal artworks by emerging artist Natasha Carter, with special commentary and music that shares the stories and traditions of Bendigo’s first people. You can’t put a price on preserving history. Nonetheless, it was a dollar very well spent.