The Real Review Top Wineries lists are initiatives that aim to identify, promote and reward wine excellence. Learn more about eligibility criteria.
The Real Review Top Wineries lists are initiatives that aim to identify, promote and reward wine excellence.
The Top Wineries Certificate is an annual award presented to a select group of wineries that consistently produce excellent wine. The Top Wineries list is a national benchmark that shows where your favourite winery is ahead of its peers. Wineries must have achieved a place in the annual Top Wineries list to be awarded a Top Wineries Certificate for the same year.
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Selection and eligibility
Top Wineries are determined by a proprietary algorithm, which takes into account the rating and recency of reviews by The Real Review team over the assessment period of two years. There is absolutely no manual sorting. No person decides a winery's position on this list.
Wines for the Top Wineries lists are tasted throughout the year.
To qualify for a Certificate and a place in the Top Wineries list, a winery must submit a set of wines that satisfies the following criteria and maintain a minimum weighted rating average:
- contains a minimum number of wine brands
- each submitted wine is a current release, i.e. the most recent vintage/bottling commercially available per wine brand
- each submitted wine is no more than 12 years old, or is non-vintage
- reviewed by one or more of our wine writers within the assessment period
A minimum number of wine brands must be tasted
The minimum number of wine brands required to qualify is based on the number in a winery's current range. A wine brand can be thought of as a wine label, for which there may be several vintages or bottlings. E.g. Penfolds Grange is considered a wine brand belonging to the winery Penfolds.
Tip: wineries should submit at least 5 current release wines to ensure they fulfil the eligibility criteria, whenever possible.
Specifically, when a winery produces:
- Six or more wine brands, the current releases of at least five of the wine brands produced must be reviewed within the assessment period, to be considered for a Top Wineries Certificate.
- Between 2 and 5 wine brands, the current releases for each of the wine brands produced must be submitted for assessment.
- Only a single wine brand, at least 3 vintages over the past 4 latest vintages, including its current release, must be reviewed, the latest of which within the assessment period, to be considered for a Top Wineries Certificate.
What do we consider a "winery"?
Our Top Wineries lists have seen some comment that not all the wineries on our list are places where wine is made and grapes grown. The names on our list are wine producers. If we use the word ‘winery’ loosely, it’s a reflection of common parlance. Take a look here for a detailed explanation.
Promotional opportunities
If you've received a Top Wineries Certificate, congratulations! Learn more about our promotional tools and make the most of your awards.
Our Top Wineries list is a nationally recognised list, and is published in several outlets including leading newspapers.
Contact us if you are a trade member and haven't received your Top Wineries Certificate within 2 weeks of the annual Top Wineries publication date.