[category]
[title]
The definitive list of Australia’s best wineries for 2026 has officially landed, courtesy of the nation’s leading wine critics at The Real Review. Whether you're a serious collector or just in it for the cheese platter, these are the names you need to know.
Every year, the expert judging panel swirls, sips and scores more than 10,000 wines from across the country. Each bottle is reviewed blindly using a rigorous 100-point system, then ranked accordingly. For the tenth annual Top Wineries of Australia round-up, 429 producers – representing almost 16 per cent of Australia’s 2,700 producers – earned a coveted Top Wineries Certification, proving just how sublime Australia’s wine scene really is. But only a select few reached the ultimate podium…
In 2026, Victoria's beloved, female-led Yarra Yering was officially crowned Australia's Top Winery for the third time – the most wins of any winery in the history of the rankings. This victory also marks the sixth consecutive year a Victorian winery has claimed the national title, with the state accounting for more than a quarter of the Top Wineries of Australia in 2026. That's something definitely worth raising a glass to!
Yarra Yering winemaker and general manager Sarah Crowe says, “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.”
Victoria’s Levantine Hill climbed from third place in 2025 to secure the silver medal in 2026, with other state champions including Wine by Farr (seventh) and Chambers Rosewood (ninth).
Meanwhile, South Australia claimed the largest overall share of the country’s elite wine producers, representing 34.3 per cent of the total list. Like Victoria, the state secured four top-ten placements, including Wendouree (third), Penfolds (fourth), Henschke (sixth) and Thistledown (tenth). Cheers to all those legends!
In addition to the main rankings, The Real Review crowns winners across nine specialised categories, including best vigneron, sparkling, white, red and rosé. This year, South Australia absolutely cleaned up the category awards, claiming six of the nine titles. Notable winners included Steve Pannell of S.C. Pannell in the McLaren Vale (Vigneron of the Year) and Chaffey Bros, whose $25 Barossa Rosé was named Rosé Wine of the Year.
You can check out the full 2026 Top Wineries of Australia rankings here, along with a summary of the 2026 winners below:
- 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 (Barossa Valley, SA)
- 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)
The 10 best wineries in Australia for 2026, according to The Real Review:
- Yarra Yering, Yarra Valley, VIC
- Levantine Hill, Yarra Valley, VIC
- Wendouree, Clare Valley, SA
- Penfolds, multiple regions, SA
- Tyrrell’s Wines, Hunter Valley, NSW
- Henschke, Eden Valley, SA
- Wine by Farr, Geelong, VIC
- Cullen, Wilyabrup (Margaret River), WA
- Chambers Rosewood, Rutherglen, VIC
- Thistledown, McLaren Vale, SA