CEO Update: November 2025

The wine also received the Douglas Seabrook Trophy for Best Single Vineyard, Best Chardonnay, and Best Tasmanian Chardonnay.

Along with the Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy, the James Halliday Trophy for Best Pinot Noir, the Trevor Mast Trophy for Best Shiraz, and the François De Castella Trophy for Best Young White are some of the most respected industry awards for winemakers in the country, recognised both nationally and internationally.

2300 entries were judged over five days at Melbourne Showgrounds by 31 highly respected wine professionals led by Chair of Judges Marcus Satchell, winemaker and co-owner of Dirty Three Wines in the heart of South Gippsland, Victoria. We are most grateful to Marcus and the entire judging panel, along with the many stewards and back-of-house teams who generously contribute their time and expertise to ensure the Awards are delivered to the highest standard. Judging offers winemakers the invaluable opportunity to have their wines benchmarked against their peers and receive feedback that helps drive quality and inspire innovation across the industry.

This year, a total of 1,212 medals were awarded, including 155 Gold, 298 Silver, and 759 Bronze - underscoring the exceptional quality of Australian wines and the dedication of those who produce them.

Congratulations to all the medal and trophy winners this year. See a full list of winners here.

Winning a Melbourne Royal trophy or medal is wonderful recognition and reward for producing excellent wine, and can be a game-changer for a winemaker and winery, as was the case for last year’s Jimmy Watson winner, Four Winds Vineyard. The Melbourne Royal seal of excellence carries strong prestige within the wine industry and among consumers, providing medal and trophy winners with distinctive marketing advantages.

The success of the Melbourne Royal Wine Awards is made possible through the support and dedication of the Australian wine community.

We sincerely thank our Industry Advisory Committee Chair, Rohan Smith, along with Marcus Satchell, Melanie Chester, Tim Perrin, Kim Chalmers, Ed Merrison, and Christina Kaigg-Hoxley for their counsel and involvement. Their expertise and commitment ensure the Melbourne Royal Wine Awards continue to evolve and remain relevant, rigorous, and highly regarded within the industry.

Contributing to the success of the 2025 Awards was the wonderful support we received from our partners and sponsors, including: Presenting Partner vintrace; Major Partners PLUMM, BevChain, Wine Ark and Sharp EIT Solutions; and Trophy Sponsors SANECTOR and the Seabrook Family. We thank these organisations for their support and trust they enjoyed great value from being associated with Australia’s oldest and most respected wine show, recognising and rewarding excellence in Australian winemaking.

Melbourne Royal is committed to celebrating excellence in Australian wine making, and we look forward to the Melbourne Royal Wine Awards continuing to be a unique and valuable platform to drive growth and inspire innovation in the future for the Australian wine industry.

 

Celebrating the Cream of the Crop

We also congratulate the winners in the 2025 Australian Grand Dairy Awards held in Victoria Pavilion at Melbourne Showgrounds on Thursday, 13 November.

Specialist milk from the Riverina and blue cheese from west Gippsland were named joint grand champions at the 2025 Australian Grand Dairy Awards.

The Grand Champion Dairy Product was awarded to Riverina Fresh for its Lactose Free Milk while the Grand Champion Cheese was awarded to Prom Country Cheese for its Inverloch Blue.

Victorian producers won several categories including Meredith Dairy winning the non-cattle produce category for its Chèvre - Fresh Goat Cheese Original.

Apollo Bay-based Dooley’s Premium also took home a trophy for Victoria, winning the much-prized Champion Ice Cream category for its Honey Malt flavour.

A record 471 entries vied for the national prizes, judged by a panel of Australian and international experts. To be eligible for an award, entries must be produced in Australia with 100% Australian milk and have been awarded gold at a state qualifying competition, such as the Melbourne Royal Australian Food Awards.

Melbourne Royal proudly partners annually with The Royal National Agricultural and Industrial Association of Queensland (RNA) and The Royal Agricultural Society of NSW (RASNSW) as part of a collaboration with Dairy Australia to deliver the Australian Grand Dairy Awards. These awards, run by Dairy Australia since 1999, acknowledge excellence in Australian products and celebrate the craft of local producers in both domestic and international markets, while providing a platform to promote high-quality Australian dairy.

Electrifying events come alive at Melbourne Showgrounds

We were delighted that the world’s #1 home energy & electric vehicle show was held in Australia for the first time at Melbourne Showgrounds from 14-16 November 2025. The Show was packed with visitor attractions, live ‘expert’ led panel discussions, scores of companies displaying home energy products and EVs, and the largest EV test drive experience and display of EVs available on the market. Based on the success of the inaugural show this year, we look forward to the energy & electric vehicle show returning to Melbourne Showgrounds again in 2026.

Melbourne Showgrounds was recently the venue of choice for Telstra to hold a large-scale conference for more than 2,700 Telstra leaders from across Australia, along with several hundred international guests. Across a full day of programming, delegates experienced a bespoke menu from breakfast through to an evening cocktail function, with the Grand Pavilion transformed into the main plenary and catering space. The event exemplified how Melbourne Showgrounds can deliver large-scale, high-impact experiences that inspire and engage, and we trust Telstra leaders had a fabulous day.

The Oddities & Curiosities Expo is the next event to be held on 22 & 23 November at Melbourne Showgrounds, showcasing hand selected vendors, dealers, artists and small businesses offering all things weird. You’ll find items such as: taxidermy, preserved specimens, original artwork, horror/Halloween inspired pieces, antiques, handcrafted oddities, creepy clothing, odd jewellery, animal skulls/bones, funeral collectibles & much more.

We are also delighted to confirm that Endemol Shine will continue to produce MasterChef Australia at Melbourne Showgrounds, with filming starting soon for Season 18. MasterChef Australia has been filmed at Melbourne Showgrounds since 2012.

Finally, thank you for your ongoing interest in Melbourne Royal, and I trust you will enjoy reading the additional articles in this edition of the newsletter. To stay well informed about all the latest news and updates with Melbourne Royal events, awards and venues, visit melbourneroyal.com.au.