Australia is no stranger to fantastic wineries. From Margaret River to the Hunter Valley, chardonnay to shiraz, winemakers are creating some of the world’s best drops. But one winery in particular is taking the spotlight in 2026.
Each year, an expert tasting panel from leading wine authority, The Real Review, assesses approximately 10,000 wines to decipher the wineries producing the best drops. And considering Australia is home to 65 designated wine regions and roughly 2700 producers, taking the crown is no mean feat. Here’s where the judges landed…
Which is the best winery in Australia?
Yarra Yering is the 2026 Winery of the Year.
Taking out the best winery in Australia for 2026 is Yarra Yering located in Gruyere in the heart of the Yarra Valley. It marks the sixth consecutive year in which a Victorian winery has taken out the top spot and the third time the producer has taken the top spot – the most of any winery in the rankings’ history.
Tasting panel member Melissa Moore highlighted the significance of the feat. “To see Yarra Yering secure three Winery of the Year titles in the last six years is a remarkable demonstration of their consistency. It’s no mean feat for a winery to maintain this level of excellence year after year, but the partnership between Winemaker and General Manager Sarah Crowe and Vineyard Manager Andrew George is close and genuinely collaborative."
They handpick all fruit at Yarra Yering.
Established in 1969, originally with 30 acres, and now 90, Yarra Yering hand harvests a low yield of grapes to create in-demand drops, including the first Shiraz Pinot Noir blend in the Yarra Valley. The cellar door is open just two days a year as they focus on the quality and craft of their winemaking.
Winemaker and General Manager of Yarra Yering, Sarah Crowe, shared her enthusiasm for the win. “You can’t win this kind of recognition three times by chance, and you certainly can’t engineer it in a single year. It is the result of sustained effort, of decisions made and work done years earlier."
Levantine Hill was the second-most highly regarded winery.
Yarra Yering is among friends, too. The state of Victoria secured 26.1 per cent of the 429 highest-ranking wineries. South Australia once again contributed the largest share of the rankings, accounting for 34.3 per cent of the Top Wineries list. The Barossa Valley outshone any other region, achieving 11.7 per cent of the ranked wineries, while the Margaret River came in second with 9.3 per cent.
Completing the top five wineries of 2026 are Levantine Hill (#2, Yarra Valley, VIC), Wendouree (#3, Clare Valley, SA), Penfolds (#4, SA) and Tyrrell’s Wines (#5, Hunter Valley, NSW).
Need tips, more detail or itinerary ideas tailored to you? Ask AT.
AI Prompt
The award winners
Vigneron of the Year: Steve Pannell – S.C. Pannell (McLaren Vale, SA)
Rising Star of the Year: Aaron Mercer – Mercer Wines (Hunter Valley, NSW)
Len Evans Prize: Louise Rose, Yalumba
Sparkling Wine of the Year: Deviation Road Beltana Blanc de Blancs Vintage 2018 (Adelaide Hills, SA)
White Wine of the Year: Fighting Gully Road Smiths’ Vineyard Chardonnay 2023 (Beechworth, VIC)
Rosé Wine of the Year: Chaffey Bros Wine Co. Not Your Grandma’s Rosé 2025 (Barossa, SA)
Red Wine of the Year: Thistledown Sands of Time Old Vine Blewitt Springs Grenache 2024 (McLaren Vale, SA)
Sweet Wine of the Year: Rieslingfreak No.8 Polish Hill River Schatzkammer Riesling 2025 (Clare Valley, SA)
Fortified Wine of the Year: Campbells Merchant Prince Rare Rutherglen Muscat NV (Rutherglen, VIC)
Tick the box next to "Australian Traveller". That's it.
Rachael Thompson is Australian Traveller's Evergreen Editor and Hotel Addict. She's responsible for the foundational content on AustralianTraveller.com, helping to manage and grow the brand’s destination guides. With a background in design and travel media, Rachael is dedicated to curating content that is as much informational as it is beautiful. She began her career at Belle magazine, before taking up editorial roles at Homes to Love and Bed Threads. When she's not writing, editing or optimising content, Rachael enjoys exploring the city's newest restaurants, bars and hotels. Next on her Aussie travel wish list is Lord Howe Island.
Winding down in the Yarra Valley, where ‘work from home’ becomes ‘work from wine country’.
Steam from my morning coffee curls gently into the cool valley air, mist-veiled vineyards stretch out in neat rows below me. Magpies warble from trees, and the morning’s quiet carries the soft bleating of lambs from a nearby paddock. Midweek in the Yarra Valley has its own rhythm. It’s slower, quieter, with more empty tables at cafes and cellar doors, and walking trails I can claim all to myself. It’s as if the entire region takes a deep breath once the weekend crowd leaves.
You’ll find walking trails are less crowded during the week. (Image: Visit Victoria)
I haven’t come here for a holiday, but to do a little work somewhere other than my home office, where I spend too much time hunched over my desk. Deadlines still loom, meetings still happen, but with flexible work evolving from ‘work from home’ to ‘work from anywhere’, I’m swapping the view of my front yard to the vineyards.
A quiet afternoon at Yarra Valley Dairy
Wine time at Yarra Valley Dairy, where you can enjoy a toastie or bagel in the cafe. (Image: Visit Victoria)
With the Yarra Valley just over an hour from the CBD, many Melburnians could drive here in their lunch break. I arrive late in the afternoon and am delighted to discover the Yarra Valley Dairy still open. On weekends, I’ve seen queues spilling out the door, but today there’s only one other couple inside. There’s no need to rush to secure a table; instead I browse the little store, shelves stacked with chutneys, spices, artisan biscuits and gorgeous crockery that would look right at home in my kitchen. It’s hard not to buy the lot.
A cheese tasting plate at Yarra Valley Dairy.
I order a coffee and a small cheese platter, though the dairy has a full menu, and choose a wooden table with bentwood chairs by a wide window. The space feels part farm shed, part cosy café: corrugated iron ceiling, walls painted in muted tones and rustic furniture.
Outside, cows meander toward milking sheds. If pressed for time, there’s the option of quick cheese tastings – four samples for five dollars in five minutes – but today, I’m in no rush. I sip slowly, watching a grey sky settle over the paddock. Less than an hour ago I was hunched over my home-office desk, and now my racing mind has slowed to match the valley’s pace.
Checking in for vineyard views at Balgownie Estate
Restaurant 1309 at Balgownie Estate has views across the vines.
As my car rolls to a stop at Balgownie Estate, I’m quietly excited, and curious to see if my plan to work and play comes off. I’ve chosen a suite with a spacious living area and a separate bedroom so I can keep work away from a good night’s sleep. I could have booked a cosy cottage, complete with open fireplace, a comfy couch and a kettle for endless cups of tea, but as I am still here to get some work done, I opt for a place that takes care of everything. Dinner is served in Restaurant 1309, as is breakfast.
Oysters pair perfectly with a crisp white at Restaurant 1309.
On my first evening, instead of the usual walk about my neighbourhood, I stroll through the estate at an unhurried pace. There’s no need to rush – someone else is preparing my dinner after all. The walking trails offer beautiful sunsets, and it seems mobs of kangaroos enjoy the view, too. Many appear, grazing lazily on the hillside.
I wake to the call of birds and, after breakfast, with the mist still lingering over the vineyards, I watch two hot-air balloons silently drift above clouds. Perched on a hill, Balgownie Estate sits above the mist, leaving the valley below veiled white.
Spotting the locals on an evening walk. (Image: Visit Victoria)
Exploring the Yarra Valley on two wheels
Swap your home office for a view of the vineyards. (Image: Visit Victoria/Cormac Hanrahan)
Perhaps because the Yarra Valley is relatively close to where I live, I’ve never considered exploring the area any way other than by car or on foot. And with a fear of heights, a hot-air balloon is firmly off the table. But when I discover I can hop on two wheels from the estate and cycle into Yarra Glen, I quickly realise it’s the perfect way to step away from my laptop and experience a different side of the region.
COG Bike offers pedal-assist e-bikes, and while the bike trail and paths into town aren’t particularly hilly, having an extra bit of ‘oomph’ means I can soak up the surroundings. Those lambs I heard calling early in the morning? I now find them at the paddock fence, sniffing my hands, perhaps hoping for food. Cows idle nearby, and at a fork in the bike path I turn left toward town.
It’s still morning, and the perfect time for a coffee break at The Vallie Store. If it were the afternoon, I’d likely turn right, in the direction of four wineries with cellar doors. The ride is about 15 kilometres return, but don’t let that put you off. Staying off the highway, the route takes you along quiet backroads where you catch glimpses of local life – farmers on tractors, weathered sheds, rows of vines and the kind of peaceful countryside you don’t see from the main road.
A detour to the Dandenong Ranges
The iconic Puffing Billy runs every day except Christmas Day.
The beauty of basing myself in the Yarra Valley is how close everything feels. In barely half an hour I’m in the Dandenong Ranges, swapping vineyards for towering mountain ash and fern-filled gullies. The small villages of Olinda and Sassafras burst with cosy teahouses, antique stores and boutiques selling clothing and handmade body care items.
I’m drawn to RJ Hamer Arboretum – Latin for ‘a place for trees’. Having grown up among tall trees, I’ve always taken comfort in their presence, so this visit feels like a return of sorts. A stroll along the trails offers a choice: wide open views across patchwork paddocks below, or shaded paths that lead you deeper into the quiet hush of the peaceful forest.
The following day, I settle into a quiet corner on the balcony of Paradise Valley Hotel in Clematis and soon hear Puffing Billy’s whistle and steady chuff as the steam train climbs towards town. Puffing Billy is one of Australia’s most beloved steam trains, running through the Dandenong Ranges on a narrow-gauge track. It’s famous for its open carriages where passengers can sit with their legs hanging over the sides as the train chugs through the forest. This is the perfect spot to wave to those on the train.
After my midweek break, I find my inbox still full and my to-do list not in the least shrunken, just shifted from one task to another. But I return to my home office feeling lighter, clearer and with a smug satisfaction I’d stolen back a little time for myself. A midweek wind-down made all the difference.
A traveller’s checklist
Staying there
Balgownie Estate offers everything from cellar door tastings to spa treatments and fine dining – all without leaving the property.
Playing there
Visit the TarraWarra Museum of Art. (Image: Visit Victoria)
Wander through Alowyn Gardens, including a stunning wisteria tunnel, then explore the collection of contemporary artworks at TarraWarra Museum of Art. Cycle the Yarra Valley with COG Bike to visit local wineries and cellar doors.
