The international wine community gathered in Margaret River for the 2025 edition of The World's 50 Best Vineyards. Take a tour of the events and excursions in this extraordinary corner of the world.
For the first time since becoming an official part of the 50 Best family, The World's 50 Best Vineyards highlighted exceptional wine tourism experiences during a four-day event programme of world-class wine tastings, intrepid adventures in Western Australia's wilderness and gourmet explorations of the region's native food. The celebrations culminated in a glittering awards ceremony in Margaret River, where one prestigious estate was crowned The Word's Best Vineyard 2025, sponsored by Resy & Tock.
From a lavish banquet hosted in ancient forests and countless cellar door visits to red-carpet poses and ecstatic on-stage celebrations, here's a taste of the festivities.
A deep dive into the region
Attendees at this year's events were in for an adventure like no other, as 50 Best's destination partner, Tourism Western Australia, curated a packed itinerary designed to showcase the very best of the stunning region. After a night spent touring the historic city of Perth, guests split into groups to experience the diversity of the surrounding terroir. While some headed to the state's oldest wine region, Swan Valley, others headed south to Ferguson Valley (above), where rolling pastures, forests and wildflower meadows surround acres of vineyards offering immersive tastings.
As well as wine, there was also the opportunity to sample local gin at the Beelu Forest Distillery, made with mineral-rich Saprock filtered water that runs deep beneath the granite hills of Perth. The gin is named after the Beelu people, the traditional custodians of the land on which the distillery sits.
Stretching 135km between Cape Naturaliste and Cape Leeuwin, the Cape to Cape Track is Australia's longest coastal walk, which some guests experienced firsthand by following the rugged shoreline to the famous Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse.
Elsewhere in the richly diverse region, visitors descended deep into the earth with a guided tour of Ngilgi Cave to admire its ancient stalactites, stalagmites and helictites...
...or took a tour of Fremantle, a maritime city renowned for its vibrancy, colour and culture, complete with 100-year-old markets, hidden laneways and wind-swept harbours.
Feasting in the woods
No matter the route taken, all paths and all travellers converged in Margaret River, the jewel in Western Australia's viticultural crown and home to 220 wineries and more than 100 cellar doors. Beneath the majestic karri trees of Tanah Marah, guests enjoyed an immersive long-table experience that showcased the region's natural beauty and culinary creativity.
Beginning with a Welcome to Country from Wadandi-Pibulmun custodian Zac Webb, honouring the land on which attendees dined, guests were served a four-course feast created from homegrown, seasonal ingredients paired with wines from the region's leading producers.
Chefs Jess Court (head chef at Glenarty Road in Karridale township) and Paul Iskov (founder of roving restaurant experience Fervor) joined forces to forage, craft and serve a menu inspired by the Noongar story of the Emu Plum – a treasured ingredient that was interwoven throughout the meal, from delicate plates of whipped smoked curd with raw and pickled emu plums to wedges of creamy charcoal milk tart with emu plum caramel, accompanied by chardonnay, riesling and cabernet sauvignon from Margaret River winemakers.
Roll out the red carpet
L-R: Agustina L. Hobbs of Viña Cobos in Mendoza; Dean Kornman and Jon Foster from Robert Mondavi in Napa Valley; Emilia Barabino of Bodega Garzón, Maldonado
For the main event, world-leading vineyard owners rocked up in style to don their signature 50 Best red scarves and walk the red carpet in celebration of this year's awards. Featuring attending vineyards from Chile to Germany and South Africa to the US, the event was a true celebration of international wine talent.
The host with the most
Amelia Park Wines served up a masterclass in hospitality as the host venue for the awards, ensuring its onsite tasting room was continuously stocked with sumptuous, hand-selected wines for visiting experts to sniff, quaff and savour. Bites for the night kept guests sated, with the main draw being the Jack's Creek barbecue, where premium cuts of butter-soft wagyu were charcoal-grilled to tender perfection.
A night of special awards
Each of The World's 50 Best Vineyards and its ranking was namechecked by awards host Cassandra Charlick – a born-and-bred Australian presenter and wine journalist. Wine veteran Yuki Hirayama (above) took home a major gong when his Yamanashi-based estate, 98Wines, was announced as the winner of The Best Vineyard in Asia 2025 – no small feat considering he only opened the vineyard in 2017, at the ripe age of 60.
Other big winners on the night included 'the riesling doctor' Stefan Doktor, representing Schloss Johannisberg in Rheingau, Germany, which took the No.2 spot and the award for The Best Vineyard in Europe 2025. The team from Western Cape stalwart Klein Constantia Wine Estate was the recipient of a double whammy of accolades: The Best Vineyard in Africa 2025 and the Highest Climber Award, sponsored by Jack's Creek (above).
The World's Best Vineyard 2025
The biggest award of the evening went to a vineyard from Millahue in Chile that has paved the way for immersive and explorative experiences deeply rooted in terroir. From horseback riding across its rugged terrain to harvesting homegrown produce for your own dinner to be cooked at one of its many restaurants, this estate serves up more than simply exceptional wine – it has created truly memorable wine tourism programmes for every visitor. Taking the No.1 spot and the title of The World's Best Vineyard 2025 is Vik, led by founders Alex and Carrie Vik and CEO Gastón Williams (below).
As the night fell over the rolling hills of Amelia Park in Margaret River, all that was left to do was charge one final glass and party the night away courtesy of tunes played by DJ Wildflower.
The World's 50 Best Vineyards events programme will return in 2026 with a refreshed ranking unveiled in a new host destination. Until then, stay tuned to the 50 Best Vineyards channels for upcoming announcements.
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