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SA wine leaders celebrated

Top wine tourism destinations and industry leaders were recognised last night, amid what the SA Wine Industry Association president described as “extreme conditions” for businesses.

Sep 20, 2024, updated Sep 20, 2024
Leaders of the state's wine sector gathered for the annual SA Wine Industry Association Dinner on Thursday at the National Wine Centre. Photo: Ben macmahon.

Leaders of the state's wine sector gathered for the annual SA Wine Industry Association Dinner on Thursday at the National Wine Centre. Photo: Ben macmahon.

Winners of the Best of Wine Tourism Awards and the SA Wine Industry Association Excellence Awards were revealed last night at the National Wine Centre, including the likes of Sidewood Estate which took out one gong for the third year in a row.

SAWIA president Kirsty Balnaves said the dinner was held during “extreme conditions” for the industry, to the point that the organisation even considered cancelling the event for 2024.

“We’re dealing with global supply, changing consumer trends, rising costs, labour shortages and much more, including the recent frosts in some of our regions,” Balnaves said in her address to the state’s wine leaders.

“This is leading to tough business decisions which are affecting our families, our communities, and the broader economy.

“There were moments when we considered not holding this dinner, knowing how hard things are for many of us. But we also know how essential it is to come together, to share our stories, and support one another.”

She said there were reasons for optimism, such as the reopening of China to Australian wine and efforts being made to diversify exports.

“While the reopening of China is key, we are focused on diversification to grow our share of the diminishing global wine market,” she said.

“To this end, SAWIA is in the process of establishing an expert trade and export committee to work closely with the government.

“This is an exciting initiative that would further support our export goals and we look forward to sharing more about this in the coming months.”

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This year, the Best of Wine Tourism Awards – part of South Australia’s Great Wine Capitals Global Network membership, recognising SA as a top wine-producing region – were awarded alongside SAWIA’s industry awards.

Winners of the South Australian awards will now compete for a Global Best of Wine Tourism Award in their nominated category, which will be presented in Verona, Italy, in October.

The 2025 Best of Wine Tourism Award winners are:

  • Accommodation: Beresford Estate
  • Architecture and Landscape: Dandelion Vineyards
  • Culinary Experiences: Sidewood Estate
  • Innovative Wine Tourism Experiences: McLaren Vale Distillery
  • Wine Tourism Services: Kimbolton Wines and Watervale Hotel (joint winners)
  • Sustainable Wine Tourism Practices: Sidewood Estate

The SAWIA Excellence Awards recognised leaders in environmental work and health and safety practices.

The 2024 SAWIA Environmental Excellence Award winners are:

  • Small to medium business: GT Viticulture
  • Large business: Australian Vintage
  • Individual champion: Dan Falkenberg from Eden Hall

The 2024 SAWIA Work, Health and Safety Excellence Award winners are:

  • Small to medium business: Pikes Wines
  • Large business: Pernod Ricard Winemakers
  • Individual champion: Christian Daehn-Alabi from Treasury Wine Estates
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