Frequently Asked Questions

Why have you decided to integrate The World’s Best Vineyards into the 50 Best portfolio?

Vineyards play a crucial role in wine tourism by offering unique experiences such as vineyard tours, tastings and food pairings, contributing to both the visitor experience and the economic growth of wine-producing regions. As wine tourism represents a growing segment of gastronomy tourism, which 50 Best is wholeheartedly committed to supporting, there is no better time to bring The World’s Best Vineyards to life as part of the 50 Best brand portfolio, rebranding to become The World’s 50 Best Vineyards. 50 Best looks forward to continuing to celebrate the wider hospitality ecosystem and including vineyards as part of this.

What will change now that the World’s Best Vineyards becomes The World’s 50 Best Vineyards?

The World’s 50 Best Vineyards will continue to reflect the best winery and vineyard experiences around the globe, and provide an annual snapshot of the opinions and experiences of 720 travel and wine tourism experts. In addition to the name change, The World’s 50 Best Vineyards will continue to develop into a world-class live event programme, culminating in a much-anticipated awards ceremony, attended by the most influential industry tastemakers, vineyard owners and media from around the world. 50 Best will deliver a multi-channel content and communications series including press releases, articles and videos to highlight The World’s 50 Best Vineyards across a number of digital channels including its website, newsletter and social media channels, and shared with key media globally. The combined assets will help showcase The World’s 50 Best Vineyards to a global audience of wine-loving travellers, leveraging the proven power and reach of 50 Best’s digital media channels and its third-party media reach.

When and where will the next awards take place?

The awards ceremony and announcement of The World’s 50 Best Vineyards 2025 will take place on Wednesday 19 November 2025 in Margaret River, Western Australia.

What does it mean to be included in The World’s 50 Best Vineyards ranking?

It provides recognition of the dedication, passion and skill of the teams behind those vineyards. It also helps promote vineyards internationally to discerning travellers, boosting each vineyard’s profile and business by driving footfall.

How does publishing a list help the vineyards?

The publication of the list is part of an overall drive to support the international vineyards sector. Moreover, the global travel community sees the announcement of this list as a means of generating awareness around vineyards, which are increasingly seeking ways to attract tourists with extraordinary experiences. Ultimately, the list also serves as an economic stimulus for those vineyards featured by helping drive tourism trade and celebrating excellence and hard work.

How are the Academy regional panels assembled?
To create The World’s 50 Best Vineyards Academy, the world is divided into 20 regions, each with an Academy Chair at its head. The Academy Chair is responsible for recruiting 36 voters that represent the region. The panel in each region comprises a balanced selection of sommeliers, wine journalists, travel experts and well-travelled wine lovers. At least 25 per cent of the panellists from each region changes each year. All voters, aside from the Academy Chairs and Vice Chairs, must remain anonymous and all voting is strictly confidential.

Who are the Academy Chairs?
The Chairs are selected for their prominent position within the wine space in their region. They are in the best position to select an appropriate panel and their expertise is valued in developing the future strategy for the 50 Best Vineyards brand. Meet our Academy Chairs here:

What steps can a vineyard take to be featured in The World’s 50 Best Vineyards 2025 list?

The ranking provides an annual snapshot of the opinions and experiences of the global Academy of experts. Therefore, if sufficient visitors have been experiencing the outstanding characteristics of a vineyard, then it will be reflected in future results. What constitutes ‘best’ is up to each voter to decide – as everyone’s tastes are different, so is everyone’s idea of what constitutes a great vineyard experience. Elements such as the tour, tasting, ambiance, wine, food, service, design, value for money, reputation and accessibility may be key – however, each is more or less important for each different individual. There is no pre-determined checklist of criteria, except that the vineyard must be open to the general public. 50 Best therefore encourages vineyards simply to be the best they can be for their customers, first and foremost, and not to focus on such rankings or awards. Instead, they should see the ranking as a welcome by-product of their hard work and talent.

Can a vineyard nominate itself to be on the list?

The World’s 50 Best Vineyards 2025 list will reflect the best winery and vineyard experiences of the voters and provide an annual snapshot of the opinions and experiences of 720 international travel and wine tourism experts. The list is the result of a poll of these 720 independent experts, who each cast seven votes for establishments where they have enjoyed their best vineyard experiences during the previous six years. Members of the 50 Best organisation do not vote and do not control the composition of the list; that is the collective role of the voting Academy. This means that vineyards cannot apply to be on the list. Equally, no sponsor has any influence on the voting process.

Who organises The World’s 50 Best Vineyards?
The results and the awards are organised and published by William Reed. None of the sponsor partners has any involvement with the compilation of the results or awards. None of 50 Best’s commercial partners, nor any William Reed employees, are able to vote.

Does a vineyard have to fit certain criteria?
No. A vineyard does not have to have been open a certain number of years and they do not have to have won any other accolades. Any style of vineyard in the world is eligible to be voted for by our Academy so long as it has been open to the public during the voting period, and so long as it is not known to be planning on closing.

What does ‘best’ actually mean?
That is up to each voter to decide – as everyone’s tastes are different, so everyone’s idea of what constitutes a great vineyard experience is different. There is no set criteria – 50 Best does not believe there is, or should be, a ‘type’ of vineyard that features in the 50 Best lists. The diversity of offerings, of styles and of experiences is what will keep The World’s 50 Best Vineyards list dynamic and interesting. It’s up to each individual voter to decide what makes any individual vineyard among their ‘best’ experiences of the voting period in question. 50 Best allows the experts to make up their own minds, and simply collate their votes.