Australia's early wine history isn't exactly aglow with triumphs. There were the overly oaked chardonnay years. The goon bag years. The sickly sweet rieslings of the 1960s. But today, we can put the past behind us and lay claim to being citizens of a nation that produces the best wines in the world in 2023.
Trumping Italy, France, Spain, New Zealand, Argentina and every other country on the planet, little old Australia has taken home the most Best in Show awards – ten in total – in the Decanter World Wine Awards 2023. It's a wine competition regarded as the world’s biggest and most legit, now in its 20th year. And in an industry that has its tough times, we couldn't be more stoked for our hardworking winemakers, producers and drinkers. Hats off!
A Best in Show award is the highest accolade awarded by the judges, who taste tested around 74,000 bottles of wine from 60 countries for this year’s competition. The next award is Platinum, Gold, Silver – and you get the gist.
Morris from Rutherglen was the only Victorian winery to win one of these awards, with the Cellar Reserve Grand Muscat. Penfolds from South Australia’s Adelaide Hills and Jacob's Creek from South Australia's Barossa Valley also took home a Best in Show award for each of their drops. The Eden Valley, Margaret River, Hunter Valley and McLaren Vale were the other Aussie wine regions to take home awards. You can check out the full list of Australian winners here.
Thanks to our environment, soil and climate, we make some pretty delicious wines. And now the rest of the world knows it, too. Cheers.