Fine native and local wines were presented throughout the evening, all selected to enhance the flavours of each food item. Photo / Tourism Western Australia
The last of the day’s sun was breaking through the Karri trees in the heart of the West Australian bush.
To my left sat a British academic and Academy Chair of the UK and Ireland for the World’s Best Vineyards; to my right, a head of Perth’s Optus Stadium; across from me, the New Zealand editor of a hospitality and liquor magazine.
Waiters dressed in crisp whites and blacks drifted through the trees bearing bottles of fine wine and plates of extravagant food.
We were dining at Tanah Marah, a secluded lakeside estate tucked amongst Karri forest and, as beginnings go, it was a stellar start to the 2025 Top 50 World’s Best Vineyards Awards, which would be held the following evening.
The long table was decorated with Australian bush foliage, fine tableware and an impressive collection of wine industry experts from winemakers to influencers.
The menu was decadent, filled with things I’d never tried before, each paired with a local or Australian wine. Canapés of kangaroo and emu liver arrived first, paired with a Riesling. The kangaroo was sweet and tender; the emu liver, rich and silky.
A garden plate of native crudités followed, then blue swimmer crab with smoked roe, each paired thoughtfully with local wines.
There came a moment of slight culture shock when a soundscape artist from Christchurch took the stage to debut an audio piece meant to “enhance the drinking of champagne.”
I leaned in, expecting music. Instead, a recording of fizzing bubbles softly bled from the speakers. Charming, sure, but maybe I’m just from too far south - I still think CCR pairs better with a glass of anything.
The main was an Angus rump cap with bordelaise, youlk (a native root vegetable), and local greens, paired with a Parterre.
Earlier that week, I arrived in Perth, a city that feels improbable, wedged between endless desert and the Indian Ocean.
After being guided through Swan Valley and Fremantle, my fellow writers and I made the pilgrimage south to Margaret River to attend one of the world’s premier wine events, the Top 50 World’s Best Vineyards Awards.
Now part of the global 50 Best portfolio (alongside the famed lists for restaurants, bars, and hotels), the awards spotlight the world’s top vineyard experiences, as chosen by more than 700 wine and travel experts.
The Voting Academy looks for the places that move people, whether that’s a cutting-edge architectural estate, a family-run cellar, a UNESCO-level treasure, or a vineyard where the food, the views and the hospitality align in a “transportive” way.
Margaret River was chosen to host the 2025 ceremony because it offers all of that in one place: 200 vineyards set among beaches, forests, surf breaks and caves, plus a dining scene that punches far above its weight.
The ceremony was held at Amelia Park Wines, a picturesque vineyard plopped amidst a watercolour painting of rolling green hills lined with grape vines.
For the international menagerie of winemakers, the stakes were high, and the collective anxiety was thick, notably leading to a high turnover at a seemingly bottomless wine bar.
At one point, trays emerged bearing slices of the world’s best Wagyu from Jack’s Creek. It was marbled, glossy, and so tender it barely required chewing.
The ceremony itself was held in a meeting room with large windows that looked out, distractingly, over the hills blanketed by giant gum trees and kangaroos in the distance.
The top award ultimately went to Vik, a vineyard in Chile’s Millahue Valley, which was crowned The World’s Best Vineyard for 2025.
Schloss Johannisberg in Germany’s Rheingau took second place, while Bodegas Ysios in Rioja rounded out the top three.
The list ranged from Champagne’s grand maisons to South America’s high-altitude estates, from Japan’s minimalist 98Wines to Napa newcomers and African icons like Klein Constantia, this year’s Highest Climber.
For my countrymen, Cloudy Bay in Marlborough made us proud by being named Best Vineyard in Australasia and entering the competitive list at number 26.
Elsewhere, Central Otago’s Rippon returned at 44 while Australia’s featured via Henschke, in Eden Valley, at 47.
The ceremony culminated in a swinging party on an open-air dancefloor erected on the vineyard lawn, wine flowing like water as dancing broke out in pockets between barrels and fairy lights.
The next morning, my palate was wrecked, my teeth were purple, and my notebook a scrawl of half-remembered quotes.
I had come to write about the world’s best vineyards, and I left wanting to see them all.
MARGARET RIVER | WESTERN AUSTRALIA
GETTING THERE
Fly from Auckland to Perth direct or with one stopover with Air New Zealand, Qantas, or Singapore Airlines. From Perth, it’s a three-hour drive to the Margaret River region.
DETAILS
New Zealand Herald Travel travelled courtesy of Tourism Western Australia.