The winners of the 2025 Wine Communicator Awards were revealed last week, with Max Allen named the 2025 Wine Communicator of the Year, making him the first person to win the coveted award twice.
The annual awards, held by Wine Communicators of Australia (WCA) celebrate excellence in wine communication across multiple formats. This year, 29 industry professionals assessed entries across 13 categories, noting the high standard of creativity, passion and expertise demonstrated across a diverse range of communication channels.
WCA National Chair, Lynda Schenk said: “The Wine Communicator Awards are the pinnacle of recognition for professionals who tell the story of wine in Australia. Each winner represents best practice in engaging and educating audiences, from cellar doors to national campaigns.
“Max Allen was selected as this year’s overall winner, as voted by the WCA Board. His work continues to set the benchmark for written wine communication in Australia — consistently insightful, authentic, and grounded in deep industry knowledge.
“It’s also great to see smaller producers like Ten Minutes by Tractor (Gabrielle Richardson) standing alongside well-established names, showing that impact comes from creativity and clarity, not just scale.
“On behalf of WCA, I congratulate Max on being named Wine Communicator of the Year for a second time — the first person ever to receive this coveted award twice. It’s a remarkable achievement that reflects his sustained excellence and influence in shaping how Australia communicates about wine.”
The 2025 Wine Communicator Awards category winners are:
Best Australian Wine Communication Campaign, sponsored by Wine Australia
- Brown Brothers Moscato Mango Swirl by Brown Family Wine Group
Best Digital Communication, sponsored by Purple Giraffe
- Halliday Wine Companion Podcast
Best Social Media Communication, sponsored by Endeavour Group
- Ten Minutes by Tractor
Best Published Feature Article or Wine Column, sponsored by Vinarchy
- Max Allen’s ‘Why These Australian Wines are at risk of extinction’, AFR magazine
Best New Wine Book, sponsored by University of Adelaide
- Alternative Reality by Max Allen
Best Innovative Wine Packaging, sponsored by Saver Glass
- Paddington Lane, designed by Denomination
Best Winery Website, sponsored by Parallax Design
- Head Wines
Best Wine-Themed Event
- Pinot Palooza
Best Wine Communicator – Cellar Door, sponsored by Vinomofo
- Nicholas Williams, Hungerford Hill Wine
Best Wine Communicator – Marketing (new in 2025), sponsored by University of Adelaide
- Gabrielle Richardson, Ten Minutes by Tractor
Best Wine Communicator – Sales (new in 2025), sponsored by Wine-Ark
- David Wright, Pikes Wines
Best Wine Educator, sponsored by RIEDEL
- Retallack Viticulture and Ecology
Best Wine Student, sponsored by Wine Communicators of Australia
- Jesslyn Collins, The University of Adelaide
Overall Winner ~ 2025 Wine Communicator of the Year
- Max Allen