Which Australian State Has the Best Wine? An Honest Answer

The short answer: South Australia makes the most wine and the most famous wine, so if you have to pick one state, pick that one. The honest answer is that “best” depends on the grape. Nobody in South Australia makes a Semillon like the Hunter, a Cabernet like Margaret River, a sparkling like Tasmania or a Pinot Noir like the Yarra or Mornington. Here is each state on its own terms, what it does better than anyone, and the bottle that proves it.

Table of Contents

1. South Australia: the heavyweight
2. New South Wales: the oldest and the strangest
3. Victoria: the most variety
4. Western Australia: small and expensive, for good reason
5. Tasmania: the cool one
6. Queensland: better than you think
7. Best state by grape
8. The verdict
9. Frequently asked questions

South Australia: the heavyweight

South Australia crushed 48 per cent of Australia’s grapes in 2025 and has 18 official regions, and the big names live here: Penfolds Grange, Henschke Hill of Grace, Wynns Black Label, Jim Barry The Armagh. It wins outright on Shiraz (Barossa, McLaren Vale), on Cabernet in the Coonawarra style (blackcurrant, mint, structure), on dry Riesling (Clare and Eden Valley) and on Grenache (McLaren Vale). The Adelaide Hills covers the cool-climate grapes well enough that the state has an answer for almost everything. Its weak spots are sparkling wine and Pinot Noir, where it is good rather than great.

The bottle: Wynns Black Label Cabernet from Coonawarra, or a Jim Barry Riesling from the Clare Valley. Our guide to South Australia’s regions goes through all eight worth knowing.

New South Wales: the oldest and the strangest

New South Wales makes a third of the country’s wine, most of it from the irrigated Riverina around Griffith, where the bulk wine and the casks come from, along with one world-class oddity: De Bortoli’s Noble One, a botrytis Semillon that is Australia’s answer to Sauternes. The state’s fame rests on the Hunter Valley, Australia’s oldest region, which makes a low-alcohol Semillon that turns into toast and honey after ten years, and a medium-bodied, earthy Shiraz that ages for decades. Nobody else can make either. Orange and Mudgee, in the cooler high country west of the Blue Mountains, make good Chardonnay, Cabernet and Shiraz at fair prices, and the Canberra District (mostly across the border in NSW) makes Clonakilla, the Shiraz Viognier that started a national trend.

The bottle: Tyrrell’s or Brokenwood Semillon, young for oysters or aged for the full experience.

Victoria: the most variety

Victoria has more regions than any other state and they have almost nothing in common. The Yarra Valley, an hour from Melbourne, and the Mornington Peninsula, on the bay, are the country’s Pinot Noir and Chardonnay heartland alongside Tasmania. Heathcote makes a distinctive, dark, mineral Shiraz on ancient red soil. The King Valley is where Australia’s Italian grapes (Prosecco, Sangiovese, Nebbiolo) got started. The Grampians and Great Western make peppery cool-climate Shiraz and the sparkling reds Australia invented. And Rutherglen, in the hot north-east, makes fortified Muscat and Topaque that are among the greatest sweet wines in the world and that no other country can copy. If you like trying things, Victoria is the state.

The bottle: a Yarra Valley Pinot Noir from Yering Station or De Bortoli, or a Rutherglen Muscat from Campbells or Morris.

Western Australia: small and expensive, for good reason

Western Australia grows a small share of the country’s wine, but Margaret River alone, on the far south-west corner, grows about two per cent of Australia’s grapes and sells more than 20 per cent of its premium wine. The climate is the most maritime of any major Australian region, close to Bordeaux in a dry year, and the wines follow: Cabernet Sauvignon that is Australia’s best after Coonawarra (some would say before), Chardonnay that rivals the Yarra, and the Semillon Sauvignon Blanc blend that the region made its own. The Great Southern, further east, makes fine Riesling and cool Shiraz, and the Swan Valley near Perth is the state’s oldest region and its Verdelho and fortified specialist. Nothing from Western Australia is cheap; almost everything is good.

The bottle: Vasse Felix, Cullen or Moss Wood Cabernet, or a Leeuwin Estate Chardonnay if someone else is paying.

Tasmania: the cool one

Tasmania is the coolest wine state by a distance, and it has been growing fast; the 2025 vintage was a record for the second year running. It makes the best sparkling wine in Australia (Arras, Jansz, Clover Hill), Pinot Noir and Chardonnay that compete with Victoria’s best, and Riesling and Pinot Gris that are pure and sharp. Reds heavier than Pinot struggle. The Tamar Valley in the north and the Coal River and Derwent valleys near Hobart are the main areas. Prices are high because the island is small and the demand is national.

The bottle: Jansz or Arras sparkling, or a Tamar Valley Pinot Noir.

Queensland: better than you think

Queensland is the surprise. The Granite Belt, three hours south-west of Brisbane at around 800 metres, is high enough to be cool, and it makes good Shiraz, Cabernet, Verdelho and a range of “strange bird” alternative grapes that the region has made its calling card. It is small and you will rarely see the wines outside the state, but the quality is real and the cellar doors around Stanthorpe make a good weekend. The Northern Territory has no wine industry to speak of.

The bottle: a Granite Belt Shiraz from Ballandean Estate or Symphony Hill.

Best state by grape

Grape or style	Best state	Region	Runner-up
Shiraz (big)	South Australia	Barossa, McLaren Vale	Victoria (Heathcote)
Shiraz (cool, peppery)	Victoria	Grampians, Yarra	NSW (Canberra District)
Cabernet Sauvignon	South Australia or Western Australia	Coonawarra or Margaret River	It is a tie, and a good argument
Riesling	South Australia	Clare, Eden Valley	WA (Great Southern), Tasmania
Semillon	New South Wales	Hunter Valley	WA (in the SSB blend)
Chardonnay	Western Australia or Victoria	Margaret River or Yarra Valley	Tasmania, Adelaide Hills
Pinot Noir	Victoria or Tasmania	Mornington, Yarra, Tamar	SA (Adelaide Hills)
Sauvignon Blanc	South Australia	Adelaide Hills	WA (Margaret River, blended)
Grenache	South Australia	McLaren Vale, Barossa	Nobody close
Sparkling	Tasmania	Tamar, Pipers River	Victoria (Yarra, Macedon)
Fortified	Victoria	Rutherglen	SA (Barossa), WA (Swan Valley)
Sweet wine	New South Wales	Riverina (botrytis Semillon)	Victoria (Rutherglen Muscat)

The verdict

South Australia wins on volume, fame and range, and it wins four of the twelve rows in that table outright and shares a fifth. But the most interesting argument in Australian wine is Coonawarra versus Margaret River for Cabernet, the Hunter’s Semillon has no rival anywhere in the world, and if you only drink sparkling and Pinot you would be better off moving to Tasmania. Pick your grape, then pick your state.

Our guide to the world’s wine regions shows how the Australian states line up against France, Italy and the rest, and our beginner’s guide explains the grapes in the table.

Heads up: the boxes below link to Just Wines, our partner shop. If you buy through them we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Prices were checked when this was written and move about.

Three states in three bottles, from the partner shop:

Frequently asked questions