How to Find Premium Tequila in a Saturated Market
The agave-based spirit may be shaking off its dive-bar reputation, but the industry is still awash with inferior brands. Here’s how to find the real deal—and why it matters.
Twenty years ago, tequila was considered the basest of spirits, relegated to dives and college bars. Most of what you’d see were mixtos, cheap versions made of 51 percent agave and 49 percent corn or sugar syrup, resulting in the type of low-quality swill that demanded not only a chaser but also a sort of pre-chaser. You may recall the ritual: Lick a pile of pure salt, choke down the shot, then bite into a lime wedge as your throat burns, your eyes water, and the regrets begin.
Today’s tequila landscape is unrecognisable. The growth has been profound. Tequila consumption in America has roughly doubled in the past seven years, recently overtaking whiskey and set to pass vodka. What’s more, the majority of the ascent has left mixtos behind: In 2022, for the first time ever, 7 of every 10 bottles of tequila consumed in America were 100 percent agave. Tequila is so popular, agave distillates have begun to pop up all over the world, including in South Africa, India, Australia, Peru, and New Zealand—where there’s a distillery making a limited-edition Blue Weber agave that sells for nearly $600 a bottle. The spirit cannot be labeled “tequila,” unless it’s made with Blue Weber agaves in one of five designated states in Mexico, the most famous of which is Jalisco. (That New Zealand bottle is known as TeKiwi.)
Arguably more dramatically, there has been a radical transformation of tequila’s reputation. Since George Clooney and his partners Rande Gerber and Mike Meldman famously sold their Casamigos tequila brand in 2017 for a billion, a tequila company has practically become a lifestyle accessory for Hollywood royalty, TV stars, NBA heavyweights, musicians, comedians, socialites, influencers, and whichever one(s) of these Kendall Jenner is (hers is called 818). Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson’s Teremana tequila, launched in 2020, is already the industry’s 10th-largest brand and the fastest growing in the spirit’s history.
But listen closely enough and you hear a heavy sigh from distillers and aficionados alike. The rapid proliferation of tequilas—there are currently almost 3,000, a full third of which were created in the past five years—means that while consumption has never been higher, it has also never been harder to separate the signal from the noise. With no shortage of folk eager to sell you their $100 blancos, it’s no surprise that many of these products are built more on marketing than on quality. There’s a code of honor in tequila; no one publicly insults anyone else’s brand. But as distillers and professionals will tell you, there are basic universal principles of good tequila making. And if you’re hoping to find a truly premium version, it helps to know what those tenets are.
Complexity From the Ground
Tequila and its cousin, mezcal (a spirit made in Mexico from any type of agave plant), have a superpower: They are the only spirits in the world for which the standard way to enjoy them is neat, at room temperature, and unaged—at least, not the way we tend to think about aging. Blancos, by far the most popular variety, never see the inside of oak barrels.
“With tequila, it’s very important to understand that maturation begins in the fields,” says Sergio Mendoza, who produces Don Fulano and Fuenteseca, among other premium brands. As part of a long line of agave farmers, he’s one of the few tequila producers to own his own plants. “When you talk about maturation, people expect you to start talking about barrel aging,” he says. “But we’re talking about a raw material that is way more complex than most raw materials used to make spirits.”
Agaves take a long time to grow. You’ll almost never hear anyone talk about where the corn or wheat for their whiskey comes from, because those grains are harvested every fall and don’t express much of a sense of place. Blue Weber agaves, on the other hand, take an average of seven years to reach maturity. Agaves have terroir, like wine grapes, and when fully ripe have an inherent complexity. “You can literally put a glass up to the still and you’re drinking a product that has a maturation of seven or eight years,” says Mendoza.
Agriculture is one aspect of the industry damaged by the recent surge of interest in tequila. The agaves that are becoming ripe this year were planted when demand was half of what it is today, inflating their price. Rather than pay the premium, unscrupulous distillers will harvest immature agaves in the name of higher margins. “Harvesting young sacrifices all the richness of flavor, the complexity, the depth, everything we identify with tequila,” Mendoza laments. “There’s nothing you can do in the process to make up for that mistake. That’s why so many of them use additives, to make up for everything they’ve lost.”
Additive Free
Additives are the open secret of the tequila industry, the thing no one used to talk about. Even if a label reads “100 percent agave,” the liquid inside might be only 99 percent agave, because producers can still add up to 1 percent by volume of lab-designed sugars, oak essence, glycerin, or caramel coloring without being required to disclose that they’ve done so. In other words, tequila brands can (and do) say that their vanilla sweetness is a result of extra-special barrels or extra-delicious agaves when, in fact, the flavor comes courtesy of industrial sweeteners they’ve dumped into the tanks.
“Tequila doesn’t taste like cupcakes,” says Eduardo “Lalo” González, who launched his additive-free tequila, Lalo, in 2021. In his view, undisclosed additives mislead the consumer to think “that good tequila tastes like vanilla or bubble gum.” González named his business in honor of his father, a tequila maker himself also called Lalo, who started a brand to honor his father in the 1980s called Don Julio. González believes that a big part of Lalo’s 160 percent year-over-year growth is thanks to consumer demand for unadulterated spirits.
Aiding in the pushback against additives, in 2020 the independent informational website Tequila Matchmaker introduced a Confirmed Additive Free certification to its database of over 5,000 bottles, providing aficionados an easy way to search for uncorrupted spirits. (As of this writing, 102 brands have made the list.) “The additive-free certification is going mainstream,” says Grover Sanschagrin, who, with his wife, Scarlet, operates the site. “Retailers tell us it’s an easy sell and has become a differentiator on the shelf. People are telling us now that they can’t get a distribution deal unless they’re on the list.”
Nick Lutz and Adam Craun, cofounders of the brand-new company El Negocio, sought Tequila Matchmaker’s certification before bringing their product to market—and even before they began production. (The brand debuted on shelves in October.) “When we started interviewing different distilleries, we were only really interested in ones that held true to traditional methods,” says Lutz. “Traditional methods do not include dumping sugar, wood flavor, and all that stuff into the product.” Craun is a winemaker—a cofounder of Memento Mori, makers of a 100-point Napa Cab—so his interest in discerning a sense of place in the liquid, influenced by the weather, the soil, and the agave, means that going additive-free was integral to the project. (In fact, Lutz and Craun have such faith in the ability of tequila to take on terroir that they believe connoisseurs will be able to identify and celebrate the nuances in yearly vintages just as wine collectors do.)
The Sanschagrins, for their part, say that they don’t believe additives are necessarily bad, or that people who prefer tequila with additives are wrong; plenty of consumers clearly favor a sweeter tequila, which reduces the perception of alcohol burn. Rather, the Sanschagrins say they initiated the certification system simply out of frustration with the lack of transparency.
González agrees. “If I have a latte and I put milk and Splenda in it, someone could say, ‘That’s additives!’ ” he explains. “I say, ‘Of course it is! But I know about it.’ ”
Heritage
For every step in the tequila-making process, there’s a way to do it cheaper, quicker, and more industrially. While traditional producers slowly roast their agaves in brick ovens for 36 to 72 hours, others rely on autoclaves, which utilize pressurized steam, to shorten the cooking time to only 7 to 12 hours. Still others employ diffusers, building-size industrial machines that use high-pressure water to shred the agaves without cooking them at all, thereby extracting tremendous yields and completing the whole operation in just a few hours. Critics say that if a brick oven is akin to a slow cooker, a diffuser is like a microwave.
“There aren’t many people who make tequila our way, because it’s so expensive to make it our way,” says Guillermo Erickson Sauza. You may recognize the surname. His great-great-grandfather Cenobio Sauza bought a distillery 150 years ago in a small village in Jalisco called Tequila and started making an agave spirit that he would name after the town. The company passed from father to son for 100 years until Francisco Javier Sauza, Guillermo’s grandfather, sold it in 1976. Today the Sauza tequila brand is owned by the multinational behemoth Beam Suntory, Inc.
In 2005, Sauza dusted off some ancient distilling equipment the family still owned and started making a tequila he initially called Los Abuelos (“the Grandfathers”), though after a trademark dispute, he changed the name to Fortaleza. Sauza endeavored to make tequila by the same methods his family practiced a century ago, using fully mature agaves, brick ovens, pine tanks for fermentation, and small copper stills—and avoiding additives. He also took the process one step further by reviving an archaic technique to separate the fibers from the juice with a two-ton volcanic stone called a tahona, which used to be pulled by a donkey named Chencha. (The electric tractor that has since replaced Chencha is the only bit of electricity in the whole operation.) “We take a hit on yields,” Sauza says but insists the flavor is unmatched.
The point is not that a tahona makes a better product than a screw mill or a roller mill—this question is a matter of some debate among aficionados, though the community finds easy unanimity in condemning diffusers—but that tequila is an expensive and difficult product to make well. Shortcuts are always available, tempting brand owners with promises of higher yields and profits. Unless it’s personally important to the owner to follow tradition, they won’t. “If you’re building a business to sell it off and make money,” Sauza says, “you certainly aren’t going to do it with a tahona.”
Still, he finds equanimity in the shadow of these shiny new giants. While he’d prefer that consumers support family-owned Mexican brands, he points out that the new interest in tequila from multinational companies and consumers around the world is likely a net positive. “George Clooney and the Rock are bringing in people that might never have considered drinking tequila,” Sauza says. “And that’s good for our industry.”
Six to Savor
These bottles from small producers, all worthy of any true aficionado’s cabinet, value process and craftsmanship over influencer hype.
Tequila Ocho Blanco
Ocho was among the first tequila brands to experiment with terroir on a large scale. Batches vary year by year, but expect pepper, tropical fruit, and citrus on a broad base of roasted-agave nectar. $50
Siete Leguas Blanco
Siete Leguas has been a consistent favorite of tequila connoisseurs since its founding in 1952. This bottle features an explosion of roasted agave, with citrus, earth, minerality, black pepper, and honeysuckle-like florals all kept in perfect balance. $50
G4 108 High Proof Blanco
While tequila sold in the U.S. is almost always bottled at 40 percent alcohol, it can legally go all the way up to 55 percent. This excellent high-proof example, from the third-generation producer Felipe Camarena, sits at 54 percent but doesn’t read hotter so much as louder, fuller, and more impactful. $116
Fortaleza Reposado
Tequila is its truest self when unaged (blanco), but a touch of barrel maturation can enhance
its flavors. This full-bodied tequila (frequently sold by retailers for more than twice its sticker price) spends six to nine months in used bourbon barrels, resulting in an almost buttery richness. $70
Cascahuin Tahona Blanco
This special edition showcases the classic agave and pepper flavors alongside an enticing greener note reminiscent of jalapeños or even olives. It’s made by the same Cascahuín distillery that produces the equally excellent El Negocio. $109
Fuenteseca Cosecha “Huerta Singular” Blanco 2018
The deepest exploration yet into the idea of “single vineyard” tequila, this limited-edition variety was
made from a high-altitude plot in Michoacán. Baking spices, intense minerality, and bold, fresh herbs bound out of the glass. $235
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Omega Just Unveiled 9 Watches in Its New Constellation Observatory Collection
The line-up shows up a bevy of metals and colours, too, as well as two new calibres.
Omega’s latest watch is in a universe of its own.
The Swiss watchmaker just unveiled its new Constellation Observatory Collection today, the next step in its Constellation lineage and the first two-hand hour and minute timepieces to ever earn Master Chronometer certification. And if you were paying attention to any of the dazzling watches spotted at the Oscars this year, you would’ve caught a glimpse of the new line already: Sinners star Delroy Lindo rocked one of the models on the Academy Awards red carpet, giving us a pre-release preview of the collection.
Developed at Omega’s new Laboratoire de Précision (its chronometer testing lab open to all brands), the collection houses a set of nine 39.4 mm watches. The watches underwent 25 days of scrutiny there, analysed via a new acoustic testing method that recorded every sound emitted from the timepiece to track irregularities, temperature sensitivities, and more in the name of all things precision. (Details such as water resistance and power reserve are also thoroughly examined.) This meticulous process is all in the name of snagging that Master Chronometer label, meaning that the timepiece is highly accurate and surpasses the threshold for ultra-high performance. The Constellation Observatory Collection has now changed the game, though, thanks to its lack of a seconds hand.
“Until now, precision certification has required a seconds hand,” Raynald Aeschlimann, president and CEO of OMEGA, said in a press statement. “The development of a new acoustic testing methodology has made that requirement obsolete. It is this breakthrough that has enabled us to present the Constellation Observatory, the first two-hand watch to achieve Master Chronometer certification.”
In addition to notching its place in history, the collection also debuted a new pair of movements: the Calibre 8915 and the Calibre 8914, each perched on a skeletonised rotor base. The former’s Grand Luxe iteration will appear on the 950 Platinum-Gold model in the collection, which offers up that base in 18-karat Sedna Gold alongside a Constellation medallion in 18-karat white gold with an Observatory dome done in white opal enamel surrounded by stars. The second Calibre 8915, the Luxe, will find its home on the other precious-metal models in the line, either made with the brand’s 18-karat Sedna, Moonshine, or Canopus gold seen across the case, the hand-guilloché dial, and, of course, the movement itself. (Lindo chose to rock the Moonshine Gold on Moonshine Gold iteration, priced at approximately $86,000, for Sinners‘s big night at the Oscars.) As for the Calibre 8914, it can be found in the collection’s four steel models.
Each model is a callback to myriad design features on past Omega models. That two-hand dial, for one, comes from the 1948 Centenary (the brand’s first chronometer-certified automatic wristwatch), while the pie-pan dial (seen in various blue, green, and golden hues throughout the line) and that Constellation medallion caseback both appear on watches from 1952. The star adorning the space above 6 o’clock also harks back to 1950s timepieces from Omega. And to finish off the look, you can opt for alligator straps in a variety of colours, or perhaps a gold iteration to match the precious-metal models; the brick-like pattern on the 18-karat Moonshine bracelet was also inspired by Omega watches from the ’50s.
We’ll have to keep our eyes peeled for any other Constellation Observatory timepieces (or any other unreleased models from the brand) at the rest of the star-studded events headed our way this year—perhaps the Met Gala?
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Best Combustion Supercar: Ferrari 12Cilindri Spider
A modern classic in the making, combining naturally aspirated power with elegant restraint to deliver performance that feels as refined as it is visceral.
In a year when carmakers of all persuasions sheepishly extended hyperbolic electric targets, it’s fitting that the monastic puritans of Maranello—who, lest we forget, won’t finally yield to the sin of battery power until October with the Elettrica—opted to make combustion their major power play.
As an uncertain future of AI omnipresence barrels towards us, the 12Cilindri—an analogue, open-topped tribute to Ferrari’s late-’60s/early-’70s grand tourer, the Daytona—represents a defiant fade into the past, a pause for breath, a fleeting return to The Good Times when nascent technology provoked excitement rather than existential dread.
Guiding this automotive nostalgia trip is, as the nomenclature suggests, a naturally aspirated 6.5-litre V12 engine, generating an unceasing wave of power as it sears towards the 9,500 rpm redline with relative nonchalance. That’s because the 12Cilindri is not a mouth-foaming attack-dog. It scales performance heights with the refinement of the finest Italian works of art; its “Bumpy Road” mode facilitates comfy al fresco GT cruising, and even the imperious powerplant is mannerly at most speeds.
For all the yesteryear romance, progressive technologies and engineering, such as a world-class 8-speed transmission, advanced electronic aids and independent four-wheel steering, are baked into the deal. The 12Cilindri’s clean, stark design somehow toggles between retro and modern; and while vaguely polarising, one can’t ignore its magnetic road presence.
In terms of aesthetics, Ferrari describes the 12Cilindri as being “ready for space”; in many ways, a fantasy vehicle that transports users to another dimension is probably what the world needs right now.
The Numbers
Engine: 6.5-litre V12
Power: 610kW
Torque: 678 Nm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
0-100 km/h: 2.95 seconds
Top speed: 340 km/h
Price: From $886,800
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Inside Loro Piana’s First Sydney Boutique
A first Australian address brings the Italian house’s textile-led approach to retail full circle.
On the fourth floor of Westfield Sydney, near the Castlereagh and Market Street entrance—in the space formerly occupied by Chanel—Loro Piana has opened its first Australian boutique. It is a significant address change for that corner of the mall, and a meaningful one for the Italian house, which has sourced Australian merino wool for decades but until now had no retail presence here.
The facade is understated—creamy, tactile, more about texture than theatre. Inside, the store unfolds across a single, expansive level divided into distinct men’s and women’s wings. The separation is clear without being heavy-handed: womenswear leads from soft accessories and leather goods into ready-to-wear, while menswear occupies its own assured territory, with tailoring and outerwear given proper breathing room. Footwear (supple loafers, luxurious slides, pared-back sneakers) is particularly strong, and the sunglasses are a quiet standout: mineral-toned frames with a disciplined elegance that feels entirely of the house.
That same restraint carries into the interiors, where the surfaces do much of the talking. Walls are wrapped in the company’s own linen and cashmere; carpets are custom, dense underfoot, softening the acoustics and the pace. Oak and carabottino wood add warmth without fuss; marble accents introduce a cool counterpoint. The effect is a composed space calibrated around material, proportion and restraint.
The Spring 2026 collection now in store underscores that sensibility. Silhouettes are elongated and fluid; cashmere, silk and featherweight merino move in sandy neutrals, creams and muddied earth tones, with flashes of marigold and pale turquoise breaking the calm. Tailoring is softly structured and projects confidence without aggression. Leather goods arrive in buttery skins that feel almost pre-lived, as though time has already worked its magic.
What distinguishes Loro Piana, particularly in a market that has grown noisier by the season, is its refusal to perform luxury in an obvious register. There are no oversized insignias telegraphing allegiance. Instead, the status is encoded in fibre count, in hand-feel, in how a coat hangs from the shoulder. It assumes the wearer knows and, crucially, does not need to announce it.
Sydney’s luxury landscape has matured in recent years; global houses no longer test the waters but commit to them. Yet Loro Piana’s arrival feels different. It is not trend-driven expansion but material logic. For a country whose sheep stations have long contributed to the house’s fabric story, this boutique reads almost as a thank-you note written in cashmere.
Photography: Courtesy of Loro Piana.
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Field Guide
From nubby tweeds to supple shearlings, the season’s most exciting menswear is as richly textured as the forests, mountain and lakes surrounding Switzerland’s Gstaad Palace.
Above: Zegna wool and cashmere coat, price upon request; Caruso wool-flannel jacket, $2,615; Tod’s wool and silk turtleneck, price upon request; Dolce & Gabbana wool-tweed trousers, price upon request; Brunello Cucinelli calfskin belt, $1,315; Paul Smith sheepskin gloves, $420.
Above: Caruso wool overcoat, $3,420; Boglioli wool-flannel jacket, $2,305, wool and cashmere sweater, $1,125, and wool-flannel trousers, $1,005; Tod’s calfskin belt, $1,025; Zegna buffalo-leather moccasins, $2,005.
Above: Massimo Alba wool-tweed jacket, $2,315; Moncler Polartec turtleneck, $835; Tod’s suede backpack, $5,230; Alonpi cashmere blanket, $2,805.
Above: Prada suede and shearling coat, $16,705, wool sweater, $3,325, and wool trousers, $3,045.
Above: Loro Piana dark-camel Rain System cashmere jacket, $8,765, greige Rain System cashmere vest, $7,055, greige cashmere crewneck, $4,635, and brown wool trousers, $2,565; Brunello Cucinelli saddle-brown calfskin boots, $2,330.
Above: Aspesi wool and cashmere field shirt, $1,260; Sacai wool trousers, $1,190; Brioni wool and cashmere tie, $420; Loro Piana x Le Chameau rubber boots, $2,240; Paul Smith sheepskin gloves, $420; Alonpi cashmere blanket, $2,805.
Above: Tod’s wool mockneck sweater, $2,615; AMI viscose shirt, $625; Ralph Lauren Purple Label wool-twill trousers, $1,125; Patek Philippe Annual Calendar Ref. 5960P watch, $68,000, available at Phillips in association with Bacs & Russo, Gstaad Palace; Zegna acetate and metal sunglasses, $645.
Above: Hermès shearling jacket, $33,425, calfskin overshirt, $15,010, cashmere and silk turtleneck, $3,435, and wool-gabardine trousers, $1,630; Chopard Alpine Eagle 41 watch, $21,950.
Above: Ralph Lauren Purple Label brown wool-twill sport coat, $4,245, and trousers, $1,125, cream cotton shirt, $845, and brown wool-flannel tie, $335.
Above: Louis Vuitton wool coat and wool trousers, prices upon request; Aspesi wool and cashmere sweater, $625.
Above: Brunello Cucinelli alpaca, virgin-wool and cashmere cardigan, $7,795, silk and cotton jersey shirt, $1,630, cotton and virgin-wool trousers, $2,270, and calfskin belt, $1,320; Canali cashmere and silk blazer, $5,380; Brioni wool and cashmere tie, $420.
Above: Moncler cream, brown and black mélange carded-wool sweater, $2,030, and brown ski trousers in 2L tech corduroy with RECCO reflector system, $2,765; Chopard L.U.C Quattro Mark IV watch, $57,295.
Model: Oriol Elcacho Miro
Grooming: Cristina Crosarastyle
Editor: Naomi Rougeau
Market and sittings editor: Simone Fantuzzi
Photo director: Irene Opezzo
Photo assistant: Ead Gjergji
Production: Monica Poli/
Assistant: Lorenzo Borboni
Casting: Bronson Vajda
Location: Special thanks to Gstaad Palace
Coldfocus Production
Photographed by Eduardo Miera
Styled by Alex Badia
This article appears in the Autumn issue 2026 of Robb Report Australia New-Zealand. Click here to subscribe.
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The Best Under-the-Radar Wineries in Australia
From Tasmania to Margaret River, these sommelier-approved cellar doors reward those willing to venture beyond the usual маршруits.
In wine, as in travel, the most rewarding experiences are rarely found by following the crowd. They require curiosity, a little effort, and more often than not, the right recommendation.
As luxury travel continues its shift from spectacle to substance, many of Australia’s most compelling cellar doors remain largely undiscovered—known chiefly to sommeliers, bar managers and restaurateurs whose reputations hinge on what makes it into your glass. Ask them which wineries they’d drive past the big names to visit, the producers they seek out for themselves, the bottles they champion without fanfare, and a different map of Australian wineries emerges.
The following vineyards represent the new vanguard of homespun viniculture; the places worth planning a journey around; the cellar doors that justify a deliberate detour.
Stargazer Wines, Tasmania
When asked where he would go if he had just a single recommendation to give, Al Robertson— owner of Hobart’s legendary pocket-sized wine bar Sonny—doesn’t hesitate. “One word,” he says. “Stargazer.”
Run by Samantha Connew, one of the most respected and hard-working winemakers in the country, Stargazer has quietly become one of Tasmania’s most compelling small-batch producers, crafting finely tuned wines that emphasise purity, texture and a strong sense of place. “She makes gorgeous wines,” Robertson adds. “The riesling in particular—limey, mineral and razor-sharp—is perfect with local goat’s curd or seafood.”
There’s also the Rada red, a cult favourite at Sonny. Served lightly chilled, it’s a true sommelier’s wine—bright, savoury and surprisingly versatile, especially with tomato-heavy pasta or dishes rich with cheese.
Opened in late 2025, Stargazer’s bookings-only cellar door is a short 30-minute drive from central Hobart, tucked into the idyllic Coal River Valley, not far from award-winning Tassie icons Pooley and Tolpuddle. Tastings are deliberately intimate—capped at around 12 guests—unfolding beneath vast skies and among rows of chardonnay and pinot noir, the landscape proving as memorable as the wine in your glass.
The region’s accommodation is as compelling as its wine. While the capital and surrounds brim with beautifully curated stays, few rival Saffire Freycinet—the east coast’s all-inclusive masterpiece, consistently crowned among the world’s finest hotels. Perched above spectacular Wineglass Bay, its immersive, nature-led experiences—from private plunge pools to bespoke foraging dinners and oyster-inspired spa rituals—make the two-and-half-hour drive feel entirely worthwhile.
“Tastings are deliberately intimate, unfolding beneath vast skies… the landscape proving as memorable as the wine in your glass.”
Glenarty Road, Margaret River, Western Australia
It’s impossible to talk about Western Australian wine without mentioning Margaret River—but even within this celebrated region, there are still places that reward those willing to go a little further.
“You’ve got to visit Glenarty Road,” urges Samuel Cocks, bar manager at Sydney’s world-renowned Saint Peter. Their Wildlings Savagnin is the “standout” wine he keeps coming back to, a variety rarely seen in Australia, let alone Margaret River. Textural, savoury and quietly complex, it’s a reminder that this popular region still has room to surprise.
Set on a working farm, Glenarty Road feels deeply connected to its surroundings. Sheep, pigs, cattle and sprawling vegetable gardens all feed into an experience that’s as much about food as it is wine. “Some of the best food I’ve had in WA is served here,” Cocks says, much of it sourced directly from the property. He’s not alone. WA food critics have consistently ranked it among Margaret River’s strongest dining experiences.
Beyond the usual cellar-door format, “Vino in the Vines” unfolds as a guided walk through the vineyard, with up to 10 wines matched to seasonal farm produce, house-made charcuterie and freshly baked bread. It’s immersive, generous and thoughtfully paced; closer to a curated gastronomic experience than a casual tasting.
Located further south along the coast, away from the Yallingup bustle, Glenarty Road demands a longer drive, but it’s one serious food-and-wine travellers deem essential. On the return, retreat to Cape Lodge—Margaret River’s grande dame of luxury digs—a lakeside estate of manicured gardens, private suites and a dining room that has long set the regional standard.
For those wanting to stay closer to Perth, Swan Valley endures as a local staple. Compact, historic, yet quietly evolving, Cocks describes it as, “Probably one of Australia’s hottest regions.” One local pearl is Vino Volta, an experimental, modern producer focusing on Swan Valley hero varietals like chenin blanc and grenache. Its sparkling wines, easy-drinking reds and whites, and decadent fortified verdelho have earned a loyal following among Aussie sommeliers.
Krinklewood Estate, Hunter Valley, New South Wales
Just over two hours north of Sydney, in the Broke Fordwich sub-region of the Hunter Valley, Krinklewood offers one of the region’s most transportive cellar-door experiences. Family-owned and farmed organically and biodynamically for decades—long before it became a marketing hook—the estate feels worlds away from the busier Pokolbin circuit. Its Provençal-inspired gardens, sun-drenched courtyard, olive groves, fountains and roaming peacocks create an atmosphere that encourages indulgent lingering.
The wines are elegant and restrained: verdelho, semillon, chardonnay and shiraz, all made with a light touch. A trattoria-style kitchen on site turns out simple seasonal plates and cheese boards, designed to complement rather than compete with the wines.
Make a night of it in one of the estate’s Scandi-inspired lodges—minimalist, timber-clad, with outdoor baths under open skies—or check into Tower Lodge in Pokolbin, among the Hunter’s most exclusive retreats. Dinner is best taken at Muse, a two-hatted stalwart that has long anchored the area’s fine-dining scene.
Nearby, Running Horse Wines is worth a stop for something altogether more idiosyncratic. Headed up by former jockey Dave Fromberg, the cellar door is unique in every sense of the word. Rustic and striking, it’s built from six elevated shipping containers overlooking the vineyard. Tastings here are informal, personal and unhurried—more conversation than ceremony—with Fromberg himself often pouring and storytelling in equal measure. The glass bench-top doubles as a showcase, lit from below so that the colours of Dave’s wines—especially the deep, layered tones of his aged shiraz—can be fully admired.
Bekkers Wine, McLaren Vale, South Australia
Among serious drinkers, Bekkers has achieved near-mythic status. The tiny, family-run label is the work of respected viticulturist Toby Bekkers and his French-trained winemaker wife Emmanuelle. Together, they focus on refined, fine-wine expressions of grenache and syrah—deliberately resisting the heavier, more obvious styles McLaren Vale is often known for.
Production is ultra-small, often just a few hundred to around a thousand cases a year, with most bottles snapped up via allocation lists or poured at a handful of top-tier restaurants. That makes a visit to their appointment-only cellar door a rare opportunity to experience the wines at the source, guided by the people who make them.
Round out your SA trip with a night at The Louise, located north in the Barossa—a vineyard-encircled retreat that has quietly become one of Australia’s most enduring luxury addresses.
“Provençal-inspired gardens, sun-drenched courtyard, fountains and roaming peacocks create an atmosphere that encourages indulgent lingering.”
Wild Dog Winery & Entropy, Gippsland, Victoria
Two hours east of Melbourne, the landscape begins to shift. The air cools, the roads narrow, the vineyards are fewer, and more scattered. Gippsland has long existed at the periphery of Victoria’s wine consciousness, but those paying attention know something is changing.
“The Wild Dog Winery just south of Warragul gets my vote,” says Dave Verheul, owner of Melbourne’s Embla and cult vermouth label Saison—a figure whose palate has helped shape the city’s modern wine scene. “It’s home to winemakers like William Downie and Patrick Sullivan, but what Ryan Ponsford is making under the Entropy label is very, very special.”
Set high in the hills, Wild Dog Winery is less a single estate than a quiet epicentre for some of the country’s most thoughtful winemaking. Among them, Ponsford’s Entropy Wines stands apart. His 2024 cabernet is elegant, restrained and evocative of place in a way that feels both unmistakably Australian and entirely its own. Tastings unspool without theatre, the focus squarely on the wine and the landscape that shaped it. “The added bonus,” Verheul notes, “is being able to dine at Hogget Kitchen, one of regional Victoria’s best restaurants.”
For those willing to venture beyond the familiar, Gippsland offers the rare pleasure of discovery in real time, a dominion whose best bottles are still shared more often by word of mouth than by map. Indeed, the most memorable Australian wine experiences share a common thread: they reward the curious over the merely well-travelled. Because in the end, the best wine journeys rarely follow the most direct route. And the memories—the flavours, the landscapes, the stories—are all the richer for it.
This article appears in the Autumn issue 2026 of Robb Report Australia New-Zealand. Click here to subscribe.
