Australia makes more wine than it can reasonably drink, in more styles than any single guide can carry. This almanac is our reading of it. 132 regions, ranked the way we'd visit them; the houses our critics keep returning to; and a short list of restaurants where we'd spend the evening.
Australia
Australia
132
16,784
1,023
The country, in numbers and adjectives.
The terroirs, by hand.
9 regions worth the trip first — chosen by the Femente desk for the houses we’d open with, the variety of styles within each, and the cooking that grew up around them.
California
# California The state's winemakers pursue contradiction as method: extracting ripeness from Mediterranean heat while chasing freshness…
North Coast
The North Coast pulls between restraint and power—cool-climate precision wrestling with the ripe generosity Cabernet and Pinot Noir…
South Australia
South Australia makes wine at every temperature: icy Rieslings that cut like flint, Shiraz that tastes of leather and tar, fortified…
Napa County
Cabernet dominates the valley floor, but Napa's identity lives in the tension between power and restraint—between the ripe, extracted…
Central Coast
The Central Coast pulls Pinot Noir and Cabernet from limestone soils that shift mile to mile, forcing winemakers to choose between…
Sonoma County
Sonoma County pulls toward red wine with the hunger of a region that learned to compete: Pinot Noir and Cabernet from its coolest…
Victoria
Victoria pulls wine in two directions at once: cool-climate precision from the south, earthy power from the north, with producers caught…
New South Wales
New South Wales pulls its identity from elevation and restraint: cool-climate reds that taste of pepper and fresh earth, whites that keep…
Western Australia
Western Australia's scattered coastal valleys pull maritime cool into ripe, structured reds that refuse to soften—Cabernet and Shiraz…
The country’s house grammar.
The 8 styles Australia makes most of, ranked by bottle count on Femente. The bar beneath each cell shows that style’s share of australia’s production.
6,511
Australian Chardonnay — the country’s most numerous bottle.
6,349
3,849
3,297
2,994
2,791
2,375
2,339
The houses that keep showing up.
9 Australia estates the prestige critics have agreed on — ordered by the count of 95+ scores across Vinous, Decanter, Wine Advocate and Wine Spectator.
Where to spend the evening.
12 rooms across Australia our editors keep coming back to — chosen for the cooking and the wine list, in that order.
W I L L O W
Bakery · Sandwich · Traditional — Melbourne
92
Kisumé
Asian Fusion · Modern — Melbourne
89
Vue de monde
Modern · Fusion — Melbourne
89
Grossi Florentino
European · Italian Style — Melbourne
89
Society Restaurant
Modern · European — Melbourne
89
Courthouse Restaurant
Redland City
88
Fernery Restaurant
Mosman Municipal Council
82
Agnes
Pizza · European · Modern — Brisbane
82
Cloak and Petal
Modern · European — Shire of Murray
82
Casa Federici | Ristorante Gourmet
European — Liverpool City Council
82
Boutique Hotel Marco Polo
European — Mackay
82
959 Heidelberg
European · Fusion — Melbourne
82
Add Australia to your cellar journal — or pick a region and start walking.
A short note in your inbox when we add a new region, find a winery worth crossing town for, or open a tasting we’d send you to. No noise. Just the ones we’d book ourselves.