Destiny Bay: New Zealand’s most expensive wines

Destiny Bay winemaker and owner Sean Spratt guides Stephen Wong MW through the vineyard, explaining the unique site, grape varieties, and the project’s origins. Inside the winery, they explore the meticulous sorting and fermentation process before tasting the 2024 vintage from barrel, finishing with a rare look at three back vintages: 2020, 2015, and 2013.

Greystone’s classified wines

Winemaker Dom Maxwell shares how Greystone identified the ideal grape varieties for their diverse soils and developed an organic, hands-off winemaking philosophy. After more than 20 years of innovation and dedication, Greystone’s pinot noir, chardonnay, and aromatic whites have firmly earned their place in The Real Review Wine Classification, a must-watch for lovers of New Zealand’s cool-climate wines.

Inside Pegasus Bay: Legacy, land, and wine

The Donaldson family’s deep commitment to both land and legacy shines through every bottle. All four Donaldson sons now hold key roles at Pegasus Bay, and their wines—from pinot noir to riesling—have consistently shown excellence over more than a decade, earning multiple places in The Real Review Wine Classification through rigorous blind tastings.

Paul Pujol and the heart of Prophet’s Rock

Winemaker Paul Pujol traces his path from France to Central Otago, from crafting wine in Languedoc, Sancerre, and Alsace to shaping Prophet’s Rock into a benchmark winery. He shares the pull of its Bendigo terroir, collaborations with François Millet on the acclaimed Cuvée Aux Antipodes, and the meticulous craft behind their Vin de Paille and stable of classified wines.

Margaret River has excelled with three-merit wines. Voyager Estate Wines

Which Australian winegrowing regions are the best, using The Real Review Wine Classification of Australia’s three-Merit tiered wines as our guide?

There are 67 three-Merit wines in this year’s revision.

Margaret River is the winner, by the length of the straight. It has 11 wines in the latest revision of the Classification.

Next best is a tie between two regions—the Barossa region (which, importantly, includes Eden Valley, where Henschke resides) and Rutherglen each have seven wines in the Classification’s top tier this year. Rutherglen’s are all venerable fortified wines.

Yarra Valley comes in next with six wines, then the Hunter Valley and South Australian regional blends are next with five each. South Australia is treated as a category by itself, because of non region-specific blends: Penfolds, with two reds and two fortifieds, and Wolf Blass Black Label.

If we look at states, we see South Australia, which has long been known as the ‘wine state’, has narrowly been eclipsed by Victoria.

We can expect Tasmania to have more top-tier wines in the future, when more of its best wines pass the minimum 10-vintage mark. I would expect to see more Adelaide Hills wines making the grade in future for the same reason.

The big news has to be Margaret River, which has excelled. The three-Merit wines were all cabernet sauvignons or cabernet blends (eight in all) and chardonnays (four), which are the great strengths of this extraordinary wine region. Hats off to the producers, and to the late Dr John Gladstones AO, who identified the potential of this region back in the mid-1960s.

Ten Minutes by Tractor is the most successful producer with three wines jumping up. Ten Minutes by Tractor

The annual revision of The Real Review Wine Classification of Australia is always an exciting time of year.

This year, 20 wines have been up-tiered: six wines have made the jump from two Merits to three Merits and 14 wines have jumped from one Merit to two Merits. This speaks of the ongoing improvement in quality of Australian wines over the past decade and more.

Diving into the results a little more deeply, we see red wines are just ahead of whites with 12 reds and eight whites jumping up a new tier. Victoria stands at the top of the pile with nine wines being up-tiered, followed by South Australia with five, Western Australia with four and Tasmania with two.

Ten Minutes by Tractor is the most successful producer with three wines jumping up, closely followed by Giant Steps and Henschke with two apiece. The varietal mix is where I think it’s most interesting, with seven chardonnays, five pinot noirs and four cabernet sauvignon-dominant wines stepping up.

Chardonnay is on a serious roll in Australia: it’s one of our great wines on the world stage and these results really shine a light on that consistent delivery of quality over the past decade. Pinot noir is showing that it really does take time to find the sweet spot for its production viticulturally, but also that time and effort is starting to pay off. And finally cabernet sauvignon, whether straight or in a blend, really is a wine of quality and class, sometimes overlooked but offering fantastic drinking, cellaring and value across these top wines.

These results are all based on numbers and data—not personal preference—but it is wonderful to see the Red Wine of the Year (Yeringberg cabernet-based blend) taking the leap to the top Classification tier of three Merits. While our White Wine of the Year (Giant Steps Applejack Chardonnay) is not yet eligible—as it hasn’t been produced for the requisite 10 years as yet—its sibling chardonnays from Giant Steps are also climbing up the rankings, and I can only imagine the Applejack Vineyard will be right up there when it becomes eligible.

These rankings are updated yearly, with the ranking held for a minimum of four years before a wine can be down-graded—but it can be up-tiered annually. This allows wineries leeway for a poor vintage but rewards ongoing excellence.

It’s a fantastic list of the great wines of Australia and a wonderful tool to use for buying wines that show a consistent track record of excellence.

Up from two to three Merits

• Henschke Mount Edelstone Shiraz
• Bindi Block 5 Pinot Noir
• Flametree S.R.S. Wallcliffe Chardonnay
• Oakridge 864 Drive Block Funder & Diamond Chardonnay
• Yangarra Estate Vineyard High Sands Grenache
• Yeringberg ‘Yeringberg’

Up from one to two Merits

• Peter Lehmann Wigan Eden Valley Riesling
• Henschke Cyril Henschke Cabernet Sauvignon
• Ten Minutes By Tractor Wallis Chardonnay
• Giant Steps Tarraford Chardonnay
• Pressing Matters Pinot Noir
• Giant Steps Sexton Chardonnay
• Freycinet Vineyard Pinot Noir
• Deep Woods Estate Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
• Torbreck Les Amis Grenache
• McHenry Hohnen Burnside Vineyard Chardonnay
• Ten Minutes By Tractor Wallis Pinot Noir
• Ten Minutes By Tractor McCutcheon Pinot Noir
• Paringa Estate The Paringa Chardonnay
• Xanadu Cabernet Sauvignon

Akarua The Siren Pinot Noir is a new entry with Two Merits. Pinot NZ

This week sees the 2025 update to The Real Review Wine Classification of New Zealand.

A reminder of how the classification works: a wine must have a minimum of 10 vintages reviewed to qualify and once classified, it will retain its classification for four years with the annual opportunity to be increased in ranking if its performance warrants it. If, at the end of the four years, its performance indicates a slip in quality, it will be moved (or removed) to the appropriate level.

More recent vintages carry more weight in the algorithm, but it essentially reflects the long-term performance of a given wine. This means the classification rewards consistency and unlike our Top Wineries list, changes are slower to propagate through the Classification due to the four year rule.

The changes in this year’s Classification are quite different in nature to last year’s. Firstly, there are no changes to the three Merit category at all. Two wines debut at two Merits, a notable feat of quality. These are Akarua The Siren Pinot Noir and Terra Sancta Jackson’s Block Pinot Noir.

Both are not only the same variety and from Central Otago but actually from different parts of the same subregion, Bannockburn. The Siren is made from fruit grown on Cairnmuir Road and the 2023 is the tenth vintage we have reviewed, thus qualifying for the Classification. It is also the first one released under Edmond de Rothschild New Zealand. All bar one vintage (2019) was awarded a gold ribbon (95 points) with most being 96 points.

Jackson’s Block is on the Sancta vineyard of Terra Sancta, located on Felton Road. It was planted in 1991, making it the first vineyard planted in Bannockburn (it was known as Olssen’s of Bannockburn before it was Terra Sancta) but as Terra Sancta, the 2022 vintage marks the tenth review, thus qualifying it for classification. Every vintage reviewed except 2014 and 2015 have achieved gold ribbons, with an unbroken run of 95s since 2018.

The Whitehaven Greg Awatere Sauvignon Blanc is a new entry at One Merit. Whitehaven Wines X

There are ten wines which enter the classification at one Merit with fairly broad diversity. Unlike last year’s intake, where sauvignon blanc took six of the fifteen one-Merit debuts and riesling took three, this year there was only one new sauvignon: Whitehaven Greg Awatere Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough. Two are chardonnay: Church Road Grand Reserve Chardonnay from Hawke’s Bay and Greenhough Hope Vineyard Chardonnay from Nelson. Also from Nelson, we have the first albariño to enter the Classification (either from New Zealand or Australia): Neudorf Rosie’s Block Moutere Albariño.

Two pinot noirs make their debut: Pyramid Valley Earth Smoke Pinot Noir from the limestone-rich slopes of Waikari, North Canterbury, and Nanny Goat Vineyard Super Nanny Pinot Noir from Central Otago. These two wines are almost polar opposites of each other, proving that great pinot noir does not have to fit any one specific mould.

There are also two sparkling wines: Amisfield Méthode Traditionnelle Brut Vintage from Central Otago and No. 1 Family Estate Assemblé NV from Marlborough. Lastly, Hawke’s Bay brings a merlot-led blend of Bordeaux varieties with Paritua Red and Waiheke Island rounds off the set with Mudbrick Reserve Syrah.

The spread of styles and regions represented in the newly classified wines this year highlights that there are New Zealand producers who have devoted more than a decade focusing on a diverse array of wines, not just from our traditional stronghold varieties but also stunning méthode traditionnelle wines and albariño.

The Chambers Grand Muscat NV is a new Three Merit entry. Chambers Wines

The Real Review Wine Classification comprises the greatest wines of Australia and New Zealand that display an outstanding track record of a decade or longer. Each wine has demonstrated its quality in our blind tastings over a period of at least ten years and many of the wines in our Classification have earned their place over several decades.

This year, there were 63 new entrants to the Wine Classification of Australia, with 2 three Merits, 16 two Merits and 45 one Merits appearing for the first time. This brings the total number of Merit wines in Australia to 602.

Below are some highlights from the new entrants, with some familiar names along with some lesser known wineries that deservedly get their time in the sun.

Three Merit Wines

Three Merit wines are our highest classification. These are iconic wines of the country, wines of true provenance and exemplary track record. Fewer than 0.5% of wines produced achieve this tier. Most of these wines have received gold ribbons (95 points or more) for recent vintages. Top vintages will score 98 points or more.

The two new inclusions this year are Chambers Grand Muscat NV from Rutherglen and Houghton Gladstones Cabernet Sauvignon out of Margaret River. The Chambers family are Rutherglen royalty and their Grand Muscat is an exercise in lusciousness, concentration and power; hedonistic and deliciously drinkable. Sensory overload gear.

Houghton Gladstones Cabernet Sauvignon pays homage to the late Dr John Gladstones, a renowned viticulturist and long-time supporter of Houghton. This archetypal Margaret River cabernet sauvignon has a history stretching back a couple of decades, but in the last 10 years, the wine has consistently delivered big time, with scores of 96 points and beyond.

Two Merit wines

Two-Merit wines are those that achieve gold and high silver ribbons in recent vintages, with top vintages achieving 96 points or more.

In the two-Merit category there were 16 newly classified wines, with a broad array of regions, styles and varieties getting the nod. Stargazer from the Coal River Valley in southern Tasmania has two entries, with their Stargazer Riesling and Stargazer Chardonnay making a much-deserved appearance. Both wines now have reviews stretching back 10 years and their consistently high scores have delivered them the two-Merit rating.

Another winery that has garnered two, two-Merit ratings is Shaw + Smith for its precise and focused Shaw + Smith Lenswood Vineyard Chardonnay and its Shaw + Smith Balhannah Shiraz, a wine with fragrance, flesh and plush blue fruit.

Another newcomer is Steve Baraglia’s Naked Run label from the Clare Valley. This brand is one of those that fly under the radar. Steve produces small amounts of some smart Clare reds, but the Naked Run Place in Time Sevenhill Riesling is the wine that gets him his inaugural two-Merit rating. Naked Run’s ethos is to release this riesling with four years of bottle age and the first vintage reviewed was the 2010, which received 95 points in 2015. The most recent wine reviewed is the 2020, likewise receiving 95 points earlier this year.

Another entry into the two-Merit zone is 919 Wine with its 919 Wine Pale Dry Apera. This small, proudly Riverland winery produces a fino/manzanilla style that is deliciously dry, saline and vibrant and is the epitome of what an aperitif should be.

The Rieslingfreak No 4 Riesling is a new One Merit wine.

One Merit wines

One-Merit wines are wines that reliably achieve gold and silver ribbons in recent vintages, with top vintages achieving 95 points or more.

In the one-Merit category there are 45 newcomers. There’s a great cross-section of wines here, and some of those I particularly enjoy are the following:

Rieslingfreak No. 4 Eden Valley Riesling is what I look for in great Eden Valley riesling. Tightly bound, pithy, full of tangy citrus and with real acid tension and cut.

Huntington Estate from Mudgee is one of the older established wineries of the region and the Huntington Estate Block 3 Cabernet Sauvignon is a lovely example of cabernet from this region. Mid-weighted, earthy and with a drive of cassis, bramble and textured tannins, this is what the old-school wine drinker would describe as a ‘luncheon claret’.

I’m also a massive fan of cooler climate shiraz, and the Port Phillip Estate Tuerong Shiraz ticks the boxes of what I’m looking for. The latest release is chock-full of blue fruits, white pepper and exotic Asian spice and has real crunch and snap on the palate: a fabulous example of its genre.

It was also pleasing to see Sidewood Chloe Cuvée make an appearance. This Adelaide Hills producer has been around for two decades and has become one of the benchmark producer of the Hills. The latest release Sidewood Chloe Cuvée 2017 is complex and multi-faceted, with toasty nuttiness and wonderful length and presence.

With The Real Review Wine Classification of Australia, nothing stands still: the wines that we’re currently tasting and reviewing all go towards the rise or fall of that wine—and that’s the beauty of this classification: it’s a dynamic classification and nothing is taken for granted, or laurels rested upon.

The Bordeaux Cru Classé 1855 Classification was created for the 1855 Paris Exposition. Wikimedia Commons

The Real Review Wine Classification of New Zealand 2025 contains 351 classified wines, up 12 entries from the 2024 edition. This year, we stay at 28 three Merit wines, two Merits increase by two wines to 153 , and one Merit by 10 wines to 178.

Huon Hooke broke this down previously and although we do not have exact numbers, about 7% of Australia’s total number of wines make the cut in the Classification. For New Zealand, an attempt to quantify the number of different wines/labels in annual production is a very rough estimate at best. New Zealand Winegrowers has 755 registered producers as of 2024.

A dozen producers or so release two to three wines annually and about two dozen release in excess of 20 different wines. The vast majority inhabit the four to six wine range. Taking an arbitrary average of 5 wines per producer, that brings us to 3,775 with probably a 25% margin of error. That means the New Zealand Classification probably includes around 9.2% of all the labels.

The Real Review Classification algorithm looks at 10 years of scores and creates an aggregate score with a slight bias towards more recent vintages. This allows the Classification to achieve two aims simultaneously: rewarding consistency and pedigree, while also allowing for change so the Classification is more dynamic than some of the better-known European ones which most people are familiar with.

In this article, I will do some quick comparisons of these other systems, just for kicks. I will be looking at the Bordeaux Crus Classés, Burgundy’s Grands Crus, Champagne’s Grands Crus, the German VDP.GROSSE LAGE and the relatively new Chianti Classico Gran Selezione.

The Bordeaux Cru Classé 1855 Classification was created for the 1855 Paris Exposition and focused primarily on the Médoc, with one wine from Graves. A separate sweet wine ranking was created for Sauternes as part of the same exercise but it is less often talked about.

The Médoc list famously went from four to five first growths after much lobbying from Mouton-Rothschild and estates which can claim direct lineage to a classified estate can all claim the same ranking (e.g. the Pichons, Rauzans and Léovilles), but these changes are the exception to the rule and it has essentially remained the same since it was created. The list grants the classification to the named estate rather than specific wines or vineyards. It is also worth remembering that the classification for Médoc and Graves was only for red wine, dividing the estates up into five tiers from 1st growth to 5th growth, totalling 61 red wine estates.

In Sauternes, Yquem sits alone at the top as Premier Cru Supérieur. There are 11 Premier Crus and 14 Deuxième Crus below it. These classifications were based on historical pricing and the reputation of the estates as determined by the negoce and trade at the time. There are also Grand Cru Classé rankings for Péssac-Leognan which apply to red and white (16 classed growths in total) as well as the famously contested and controversial classification of Grand Cru Classé in Saint-Émilion which currently sits at 14 Premier Grand Cru Classé and 71 Grand Cru Classé. If we assume that Bordeaux has about 6,000 producers, roughly 3.1% of Bordeaux’s total production is classified under one of these systems.

Burgundy has the Grand Cru system, which is a terroir-driven classification governed by Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC) laws. Here it is the designated vineyards which are classified, regardless of producer, although there are stringent yield and production laws which must be obeyed. There are 33 Grand Cru AOCs (only about 2.0% of Burgundy’s total vineyard area). Keep in mind that the whole of Chablis Grand Cru is listed as one Grand Cru, the individual named grands crus are not separate AOCs. Less than 1.3% of Burgundy’s total production across the entire region is released as Grand Cru in one form or another. The discrepancy between vineyard area and proportion of production comes down to the difference in permitted and realised yields of the different AOC levels.

This classification ‘can’ change with some effort but it requires persistent and well-funded lobbying to do so. Top producers inhabit an entirely different price tier than their neighbours anyway so they may not be motivated to pursue promotion for their vineyards, especially if they are not the sole owners of those sites. It is not uncommon to have a top producer’s village lieu dit sell for much more than the Grand Cru wine from a large negoce.

The Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter (VDP) of Germany is a private association of top producers, with a classification system separate from Germany’s legal wine law. It developed this as a response to the 1971 German Wine Law which merged a vast number of vineyards together and shifted quality parameters from terroir and site to sugar content at harvest.

Across time, they developed (or some would say revived) a ranking system for their top sites. These are now called the VDP.GROSSE LAGE, which is their Grand Cru equivalent; and the VDP.ERSTE LAGE or Premier Cru equivalent. The VDP system of classification focuses on vineyard origin with their strict internal quality controls. They also developed the VDP.GROSSES GEWÄCHS or GG wines which are only permitted for dry wines made from VDP. GROSSE LAGE sites. The VDP’s membership represents about 3% of Germany’s total wine production, although their wines amount to over 7% of its total value. The VDP.GROSSE LAGE wines represent less than 1% of all German wine.

Champagne has a Grand Cru system which is based on the Échelle des Crus system. This scale rates or grades entire villages rather than individual vineyards or producers. It starts at 80% and goes up to 100%, with 100% being Grand Cru and 90-99% being Premier Cru. There are 17 Grand Cru villages (out of 319 total) and 44 Premier Cru villages.

Historical quality of grapes from villages was measured by looking at price and reputation. The scale’s percentage value actually represents the pricing potential of the grapes as Champagne largely operates through the sale of grapes from growers to houses, so the scale determines what percentage of the year’s published sale price a grower from a particular village could achieve.

Less than 9% of Champagne’s total vineyard area is rated Grand Cru. For a wine to be labelled Grand Cru however, it must come entirely from Grand Cru-rated villages and since much of the Grand Cru fruit goes into blends, the actual proportion of Grand Cru labelled Champagne is significantly less than 9%.

Italy’s Chianti Classico Gran Selezione was introduced in 2014 as the top tier of Chianti Classico after a long and tortured birth. It sits above Chianti Classico Riserva and Chianti Classico and stipulates estate-grown grapes, a larger proportion of sangiovese, longer élevage of 30 months and stricter quality standards requiring approval from a tasting panel. This is a new classification and by nature of the tasting process is more dynamic than the vineyard or estate-based classifications. For 2023, roughly 6% of Chianti Classico production is Gran Selezione.

Ten three-merit wines are owned by Treasury Wine Group, including six Penfolds wines. Treasury Wine Estates

Who owns the top-performing wines on our Classification?

I looked at the list of three-Merit wines in the 2025 revision of The Real Review’s Wine Classification of Australia, which runs to 67 wines in total.

Using some educated guesswork, I reckoned that 41 of these wines—or 61%—are from what I would class as boutique wineries (those that crush less than 500 tonnes of grapes a year on average). I say guesswork because many wineries do not disclose their production figures.

Corporately owned wineries produced 12 of the three-Merit wines. Ten of these are owned by Treasury Wine Group, including six Penfolds wines. The definition of ‘corporate’ is another grey area: is the Rathbone Wine Group family or corporate? It is owned by the Rathbone family and includes the Xanadu, Yering Station and Mount Langi Ghiran brands.

I’ve included them as family-owned. The same applies to Morris, which is owned by the Casella family, famous for Yellow Tail.

Family-owned wineries produced, by my reckoning, 41 of the 67 three-Merit wines, which says something loud and clear about our wine industry. These are not necessarily boutique wineries: Henschke, Yangarra/Hickinbotham and Torbreck are family owned but hardly boutique sized.

Overseas ownership? Yangarra and Hickinbotham are owned by California’s Jackson Family, Torbreck is owned by another American, Pete Kight. Bass Phillip is owned by a consortium of Asian owners plus Burgundy winemaker Jean-Marie Fourrier.

Houghton’s top cabernets, Jack Mann and Gladstones, are owned by Vinarchy, a new entity with international ownership. Vinarchy was formed after Accolade Wines merged with Pernod-Richard’s Australian, New Zealand and Spanish wine interests.

Treasury Wine Estates, which owns Penfolds, Wynns, Wolf Blass and Seppelt brands, all with three-Merit wines in our Classification, is a publicly traded company on the Australian Securities Exchange. Who knows how much overseas investment there is in Treasury.

Can we draw any conclusions from all of this?

Smaller and family-owned entities are disproportionately represented among the producers of the greatest Australian wines. This is not news to anyone who is a long-term observer of the wine scene. After a few glasses of red we are likely to observe that smaller, family-run wineries have the long-term vision, the passion and drive, the commitment and the burning desire to make great wine, that drives the top end of the wine offering.

A minimum of 10 vintages must be reviewed in order the achieve a Classification. The Real Review

This week at The Real Review we are celebrating the third revision of our Wine Classifications of Australia and New Zealand.

This initiative was inspired by several things. The only other classifications of Australian wine are based on market value, and we believed there was a need for one based on objectively assessed quality. We also wanted to provide more information about the greatest Australian (and New Zealand) wines for our readers’ benefit, and also for the use of wine producers, the trade and the industry. As well, it seemed sensible to further utilise the data we have amassed over the years since The Real Review debuted.

The Australia and New Zealand Classifications were commenced concurrently in 2022 and were revised in the winters of 2023, 2024 and now again this year. They will continue to be revised every year.

The criteria are clearly outlined in the articles published under the Classification tab on our website:

There are three Classification levels: 1, 2 and 3 Merits. They are signified by the Merit symbol, M, MM or MMM.

A minimum of 10 vintages must be reviewed in order the achieve a Classification. Special rules apply for non-vintage and fortified wines.

Every year the revision allows new wines to be classified as they reach the magic number of 10 vintages. If they improve, they may be upgraded to the next highest tier, and this opportunity comes every year. On the other hand, if they slip, they aren’t demoted immediately, but are given a grace period: if they under-perform for four consecutive years, they may be down-tiered.

As we have done in previous years, we will be celebrating the revision of the Classifications in Sydney with The Wine Classification Dinner.

Our hearty congratulations go to the producers of all classified wines, especially those that have been up-tiered, and a warm welcome to those which have entered the Classification for the first time.

Several Moorilla sparklings have achieved One and Two Merits. Moorilla Wines

In the recent update of The Real Review Wine Classification of Australia, an array of sparkling wines qualified to receive their inaugural one and two Merit status. Tasmania featured heavily in these elevations, with other notable regions being the Yarra Valley, Orange and the Adelaide Hills.

These results are a decent barometer of where sparkling wine quality is at in Australia, with quality and choice never being better. Likewise, on a global stage, Australian sparkling wine continues to make plenty of noise, with the most recent accolade coming from the International Wine Challenge where House of Arras chief winemaker Ed Carr was named sparkling winemaker of the year—the first time an Australian has been bestowed with this honour.

Four wines to debut in the two-Merit ranks this year are Apogee Deluxe Vintage Rosé, Home Hill Kelly’s Sparkling Cuvée Vintage, Henskens Rankin Vintage Brut and Moorilla Cloth Label Late Disgorged Sparkling Vintage. These four have one thing in common: they hail from Tasmania.

Apogee is the latest venture of highly acclaimed winemaker and champion of Tasmanian sparkling wine, Andrew Pirie. Fruit for the Apogee wines is sourced from vineyards in the northern part of Tasmania around the Pipers River region. Sparkling wine is all that husband-and-wife team Frieda Henskens and David Rankin produce, and the most recent vintage of Henskens Rankin is sourced from the Tasman Peninsula and Coal River Valley in the south. Likewise, Home Hill and Moorilla have their fruit source in the southern part of the ‘Apple Isle’.

There was also an effervescence of Tassie action in newly acquired one-Merit status, with Delamere Blanc de Blancs Vintage, House of Arras Brut Elite NV, Moorilla Extra Brut Vintage, Moorilla Extra Brut Rosé Vintage, Pirie Tasmania Traditional Method NV and Jansz Tasmania Late Disgorged Vintage Cuvée all making their debut.

The elevation to one-Merit status was not just the domain of Tasmanian sparkles, there were also new kids on the block from the Yarra Valley’s Oakridge Blanc de Blancs Vintage, Petaluma Croser Late Disgorged Vintage from the Adelaide Hills and De Salis Canobolas Lofty Cuvée Vintage from the high-altitude Orange region making an appearance for the first time.

Australian sparkling wine is in a very good place at the moment. Isn’t it time for the world to discover that great sparkling wine doesn’t begin and end with Champagne? The wines above are an absolute testament to the ever-increasing quality and breadth on offer from our own shores.

Perhaps the most pressured venue, where people have to make a choice of wine with little time, is in a restaurant. Pexels

One argument against wine classifications could be that they encourage producers to push up prices. I’m far from convinced this is the case, but, be that as it may, we believe the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks. The chief benefit is to help wine drinkers choose well, whether it’s in a restaurant, bottle shop, online shop or auction room.

Perhaps the most pressured venue, where people have to make a choice of wine with little time, is in a restaurant. The sommelier is hovering, the food’s about to come out, and you’re grappling a massive tome loaded with several hundred wine possibilities. The sommelier would argue that’s why he or she is there: to make it easier for you to choose an appropriate accompaniment to your food selections. But not every restaurant has a skilled and trained sommelier, and some people (probably you and me) prefer to do the choosing themselves.

Imagine if every wine list had a little symbol beside the wines that have a Merit rating in The Real Review Wine Classification of Australia (or New Zealand)? One, two or three bunches of grapes to signify a one, two or three-Merit classification.

There are 531 Australian and 338 New Zealand wines with a Classification rating. If that seems generous, note that it’s less than 7% of the wines of either country, and three-Merit wines represent just 0.5% of all wines in the market. It’s a mark of real distinction.

On the other hand, it’s a significant number of wines, and more than enough to have an impact on most restaurant wine lists. We hope the restaurant (and retail) trade will make use of our Classification. It’s a helping hand for the besieged and thirsty diner.