To celebrate our Top Wineries Australia 2025, dinners were held in Sydney at Rafi restaurant, North Sydney, on August 5 and in Melbourne at Tonka in the Melbourne CBD on August 11.

The Tonka dinner potentially posed a challenging wine/food matching scenario as it serves Indian cuisine, but the matches turned out to be inspired. The heat was turned down and the flavour turned up, and it worked a treat.

Winery of the year, Wine By Farr, was represented by Nick Farr whose RP Côte Vineyard Pinot Noir 2019 was served with the main course of confit duck leg in Mangalorean curry, alongside Pooley Jack Denis Pooley Pinot Noir 2020 and Kyneton Ridge Reserve Pinot Noir 2023. All worked well with this dish and many thought the By Farr the wine of the night.

Prior to that, we were served a trio of chardonnays from different regions and wineries with a prawn biryani with garam masala and raita.

Brown Brothers Patricia 2023 from Tasmania, Cherubino 2023 from Pemberton and Pike & Joyce The Kay Chardonnay 2023 from Adelaide Hills showed three varied expressions of chardonnay which all worked well with the prawn biryani, while Larry Cherubino himself was on hand to discuss all things chardonnay and Pemberton, one of the less-known regions of WA.

The evening opened with a suite of appetisers—scallop with nduja butter, bhutte ka kees tostada, and pani puri with semolina puff, spiced potato and chickpeas.

Here, Duke’s Vineyard K2 Riesling 2022 open the batting with a superbly fragrant and complex display, and its maker, Ben Cane, was on hand to quiz about the wine and the Porongurup region. Moss Wood Elsa Ribbon Vale Sauvignon Blanc 2024 from Margaret River and Nikola Estate Regional Chenin Blanc 2023 from the Swan Valley both showed more worked and complex sides of their grape varieties, and Nikola Estate’s viticulturist Matty Trent was in attendance to shed some light on the Swan Valley, where chenin is well established, and Nikola Estate, the reborn Houghton property.

Finally, the cheese course of Marcel Petite Comté arrived with a trio of cabernets: Cullen Diana Madeline 2023, Yeringberg ‘Cabernets’ 2022 (The Real Review Red Wine of the Year) and Wirra Wirra The Angelus 2021. David de Pury was on hand to discuss his wine and represent his family’s iconic property Yeringberg, which won The Real Review’s inaugural Vigneron of the Year this year—an award David shared with his sister Sandra.

To wind up the night on a sweet note, we tasted Chambers Rosewood Vineyards Grand Rutherglen Muscadelle, and sixth generation winemaker Stephen Chambers was with us to take us on a trip into the intricacies of great Rutherglen fortified wines and the family history.

The Sydney dinner at Rafi was quite a different affair, the modern Australian fare pitched against a different selection of wines.

Here, just one winemaker was present: Larry Cherubino again spoke about his wine and the little-known Pemberton region explaining why Pemberton is a region of the future for WA because of climate change bringing drier, warmer seasons which improve prospects for table wines.

We also had a conversation between yours truly and Katrina Strickland representing our Top Wineries print partner, Good Weekend magazine; in Melbourne Konrad Marshall, the new assistant editor, joined us for a chat. Also up for a conversation with myself between courses was Angus Barnes, our Len Evans Prize winner for 2025.

First course was hummus with sourdough, and tuna with tomato, tahini and chilli oil. Partnering it were three wines: Tasmanian bubbly Delamere Blanc de Blancs 2017, Château Pâto Hunter Valley Semillon 2023, and Hatch Watervale Riesling 2024. We have raved before about the quality of Fran Austin’s superb (and beautifully packaged) Delamere sparkling wines; Nick Patterson’s traditional delicate, dry, low-alcohol Château Pâto Hunter semillon deserves to be much better known; and Chris Hatcher’s ‘retirement’ project wines following his lengthy tenure with Wolf Blass are beautifully made regional styles.

Course two consisted of three chardonnays: Brown Brothers Patricia 2023, Cherubino Pemberton 2023 and Mercer 2023. Aaron Mercer is doing interesting things with Tumbarumba chardonnay, as well as a raft of ‘alternative’ grape varieties. The matching food course was Glacier 51 toothfish, served with crispy eggplant with spices and honey—hard to beat and a brilliant match with these wines.

The fourth course, of succulent black Angus rib-eye MB4+, crispy potatoes and salad, was paired with Yeringberg ‘Cabernets’ 2022, Wirra Wirra The Angelus Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 and to top off the evening, a glass of Chambers Rosewood Vineyards Grand Rutherglen Muscat—The Real Review’s Fortified Wine of the Year 2025.

A cheese plate completed the menu: Ford Farm Cave Aged Cheddar from Dorset, and Woombye truffled brie, from Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.