The Grapevine: Wine industry updates from South Australia
In this edition of The Grapevine: find out what restaurant won best wine list in SA and why Penfolds is flagging a weak Chinese market. Plus the latest wine industry events.
- Best wine lists in SA recognised
- Penfolds owner scraps guidance on soft China market
- Château Tanunda joins old vine association
- Strong engagement on Asian tour
- SA winemakers win at global awards
Best restaurant wine lists in SA recognised
A number of South Australian venues won top gongs at a national awards initiative celebrating the best wine lists in the country.
While Melbourne venue Circl was crowned Australia’s Wine List of the Year 2025, the likes of SA’s Salopian Inn and Restaurant Botanic took home trophies too.
The former won Best Wine List South Australia and Australia’s Best Listing of a Single Region’s Wines, while the latter took home Australia’s Best Food & Wine Matching List and Australia’s Best Non-Alcoholic List.
Hardy’s Verandah Restaurant was acknowledged for serving Australia’s Best Listing of South Australian Wines and CBD-based A Prayer for the Wild at Heart received Australia’s Best Wine List for the award category of a maximum of 200 wines.
Penfolds owner scraps guidance on soft China market
Treasury Wine Estates scrapped its earnings guidance after acknowledging a soft Chinese market “as a result of evolving consumption dynamics within the alcohol sector”.
Shares in the company fell yesterday after the Penfolds parent made the announcement.
The company said it “no longer believes it is appropriate to retain the Penfolds guidance for low to mid double-digit EBITS growth in F26 and approximately 15 per cent EBITS growth in F27”.
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The company said depletions (sales from wholesalers to retailers) were weak in China, and “if the performance trends indicated by the preliminary data continue through F26, Penfolds depletions targets for F26 in China are unlikely to be achieved”.
“Several initiatives are now being implemented to mitigate the expected impacts in China in F26, including pursing opportunities to re-allocate product to select customers in other key markets in a manner that is sustainable and minimises the risk of parallel imports back into the China market,” the company said.
Château Tanunda joins old vine association
The Barossa Valley’s Château Tanunda – with some of its vines aged 150 years old – has joined global association Francs de Pied, which advocates for the preservation of old, ungrafted vineyards.
Francs de Pied advocates for bringing together caretakers of old, ungrafted vineyards to share knowledge and provide education to the greater wine community about the importance of these rare sites, like those in the Barossa.
The pest phylloxera wiped out about 90 per cent of Europe’s original vines in the 19th century. In Australia, the pest was contained to Victoria and New South Wales.
About 92 per cent of vineyard sites in the Barossa are grown on their own roots, having been unaffected by phylloxera. They’ve also survived droughts and the vine-pull schemes of the 1980s when vignerons were paid to remove unused vineyards.
This makes Barossa vineyards exceptionally rare, Château Tanunda proprietor John Geber said.
“By joining Francs de Pied, we want to advocate for the wider Barossa region and the important role it plays in old vine winemaking and viticulture,” Geber said.
“We hope by championing the prestige and rarity of these Barossa old vines on the global stage, it will help educate the industry and consumers on the premium wines we are making and why these sites are so vital to protect.”
Francs de Pied is also working to preserve the cultural heritage and agrobiological biodiversity of these types of sites, via the replanting of ancient indigenous varieties without grafting and also applying to UNESCO to have some sites heritage listed.
Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Tony Abbott visited Château Tanunda as part of the annual Pollie Pedal charity ride for Australian veterans.
This year’s ride spanned 831kms of South Australia and, on its penultimate day, included a rest stop at the Barossa.
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Strong engagement on Asian tour
Wine Australia’s roadshows in China and Japan attracted a turnout of more than 2000 trade, media and educators to experience Australian wine in September.
The Australian Wine Roadshow is the most comprehensive Australian wine tasting event in mainland China, with more than 600 wines from 63 exhibitors showcased across four major cities.
Wine Australia market development general manager Paul Turale said there was enthusiasm from Chinese drinkers about Australian wine.
“By showcasing the depth and breadth of what we offer, we’re signalling to our Chinese partners that Australian wine is stronger than ever – and the trade audience agrees,” Turale said.
“Attendees in each of the four cities confirmed that the presence of the Australian Wine Roadshow has improved perceptions of Australian wine, and a massive 85 per cent of trade attendees surveyed have indicated that they are likely to increase the number of Australian wines in their portfolio after attending.”
In Japan, Wine Australia expanded its annual trade tasting into a four-city Australian Wine Roadshow.
Across the four cities, leading sommeliers delivered 11 masterclasses to nearly 500 participants, many of whom attended multiple sessions.
Japan is Australia’s eighth largest wine export market by value ($46 million in the 12 months ended June 2025).
“We are seeing growing interest not only in our classic styles, but also in alternative varieties and regional stories that resonate strongly with Japanese trade and consumers,” Turale said.
SA winemakers win at global awards
South Australian winemaking and viticultural talent was recognised at the Treasury Wine Estates Annual Awards.
The Simon Robertson “Viticulturist of the Year” Award was presented to Coonawarra-based viticulturist Tim Malone, who has been trialing data-driven vineyard practices in SA, while helping guide vineyard development in China.
“It’s an honour to receive this award here in South Australia, where viticulture is such an important part of our history and future,” Malone said.
Other South Australian winners includes James Godfrey – winner of the Consumers at the Heart award recognised for blending his artistry in winemaking – and Jorge Henry – winner of the Deliver Today, Build Tomorrow Award for pioneering automation and robotics at the Barossa Packaging Centre.
