Wine lovers, gather round! The highly coveted Australian wine industry’s night of nights has been confirmed; Halliday Wine Companion is thrilled to announce the return of its annual awards presented by Vintage Cellars on 5 August, The event will also mark the release of the 2021 Halliday Wine Companion, available in all good bookstores nationally from the morning of August 6th.

The brand was fast to adapt to the changing climate and is proud to launch its innovative new approach that will transform the exclusive event into an engaging digital broadcast. The evolution will allow wine fans from all over the country and the globe to tune-in and hear from the man himself, James Halliday AM, as he and awards host Jon Faine announce an exciting array of winners from across Australia.

The Australian wine industry has faced a challenging start to 2020, and this event aims to unify wineries, industry personalities, journalists, reviewers, retailers, sommeliers and consumers in solidarity.

“The decision to broadcast the Awards has created a new and exciting opportunity to extend our reach beyond those who typically attend. We welcome industry friends and wine enthusiasts of all kinds to join us in celebrating the fantastic achievements of the Australian wine industry and exceptional quality of the 9,000 wines tasted by the Wine Companion panel, over what has been a very unusual year,” says James Halliday AM.

Each year, renowned wine critic and vigneron James Halliday AM and the Halliday tasting panel trial almost 10,000 wines from all over the country, to pinpoint the top-rated Australian wines, winemakers and wineries. Six major accolades will be announced at the event: Wine of the Year, Winemaker of the Year, Winery of the Year, Best Value Winery of the Year, Best New Winery of the Year, and Dark Horse Winery of the Year.

Additionally, the year’s top varietal winners will be awarded across sixteen categories, including Best Pinot Noir, Best Sparkling, Best Shiraz, and Best Chardonnay.

The awards and launch of the 2021 Halliday Wine Companion will mark the release of more than 9,000 new tasting notes that will appear online at winecompanion.com.au following the awards. Over 3,500 of these notes will be released in the bible of wine tasting, the Halliday Wine Companion book, launching on 6 August in all good bookstores.

Halliday Wine Companion is determined to continuously shine a light on and support the Australian wine industry. Following recent challenges, it has never been more important to celebrate those who have tirelessly worked to provide the highly regarded wines that our country has grown famous for.

Award-winning wines will be available at Vintage Cellars, online and in-store, from 6 August, 2020.

The Halliday Wine Companion book is available for pre-order now. The 2021 Halliday Wine Companion Awards streaming will be available locally and internationally via www.winecompanion.com.au For more information please visit www.winecompanion.com.au/resources/awards/2021