South Australia’s wine excellence showcased on global stage
10 November, 2025
South Australia’s Maxwell Wines has been named a global winner in the prestigious 2026 Global Best Of Wine Tourism Awards in France, for its outstanding food and wine offerings.
Presented at the Great Wine Capitals (GWC) Gala Dinner in Bordeaux, the awards celebrate innovation and excellence in wine tourism across the world’s most renowned wine regions.
The judges praised Maxwell Wines for raising the bar for culinary experiences in South Australia, commending it for making three-hatted dining accessible in a cellar door setting through the introduction of a snack menu to enhance the wine tasting experience.
Bite sized snacks curated by award winning restaurant chefs, are exquisitely presented as if in a fine dining restaurant enticing visitors back for more.
South Australia’s six Best Of Wine Tourism Award winners were recognised on the global stage and will be in the running for a People’s Choice Award, open for public voting around the world in late November.
The awards were part of the GWC Annual General Meeting and Conference. This year’s conference opened with two significant announcements. Jo Collins, Executive Director of Industry, Strategy and Partnerships at the Department of Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA), was unanimously elected President of the global network for the next two years.
Jo’s first official role as President was to welcome Yantai, China as the first ever Observer Member of the Network, reflecting a continued commitment to global inclusion and emerging wine regions.
A founding leader of the Adelaide, South Australia chapter, Jo has been instrumental in shaping the network’s strategic direction over the past decade. She led Adelaide’s successful bid to join the Great Wine Capitals in 2016 and has since served two terms as Vice President. Under her leadership, Adelaide has become one of the most active members of the network, launching several signature capacity building initiatives.
South Australian wine producers were also celebrated at an international showcase event including Chalk Hill, Pewsey Vale, Seppeltsfield, Shaw + Smith, Sidewood Estate, and Yangarra Estate Vineyard.
In addition, as part of the State Government’s partnership with Bordeaux’s iconic La Cité du Vin world wine museum, which attracts around 400,000 visitors annually, South Australian wineries are featured for visitors to sample including Penfolds, Bremerton Wines, Claymore Wines, Freestone Estate, Knappstein Wines, Laughing Jack Wines, Saint-Clar Estate, Sidewood Estate, St Mary’s Vineyard Penola and Wirra Wirra.
The GWC Global Network world-leading wine regions that share a key economic and cultural asset: their internationally renowned wine tourism industry. Member regions include Adelaide (South Australia), Bordeaux (France), Bilbao-Rioja (Spain), Hawke’s Bay (New Zealand), Lausanne (Switzerland), Mainz-Rheinhessen (Germany), Mendoza (Argentina), Porto (Portugal), San Francisco–Napa Valley (USA), Valparaíso–Casablanca Valley (Chile) and Verona (Italy).
Membership of the network is a partnership between the Government of South Australia, the South Australian Wine Industry Association, and the University of Adelaide.