OLIVER BROWN

LOCAL winery Seppeltsfield Barossa has been recognised as one of the top three wineries in Australia, and among the best 50 around the world.

Last week, the World’s Best Vineyards 2019 awards were announced in London, with Seppeltsfield being ranked number 47 on the global list.

Seppeltsfield Barossa executive chairman Warren Randall said the winery is excited to be named among the world’s elite establishments.

“We are thrilled to be recognised on a global stage for our unique wine tourism offering,” Mr Randall said.

“It’s a truly exciting time in the industry to now have wine tourism recognised alongside the renowned International Wine Challenge.”

The rankings were determined by a ‘voting academy’ from across the globe.

Almost 500 in number, the academy includes leading wine aficionados, sommeliers, and luxury travel correspondents.

The world is divided into regions and each region appoints a chairperson for their knowledge about their part of the wine world.

The criteria for the winners was for ‘total experience’, consisting of vineyard, culinary, wine tasting and tourism offerings.

To prevent any possible bias, voters were tasked with nominating their top seven vineyard experiences, including at least four from outside their own region.

A total of 17 countries made the list, with Zuccardi Valle de Uco in Argentina taking the number one spot.

Australia had an impressive showing, with three of its wineries making the top 50.

Seppeltsfield Barossa highlights a combination of wine, food, craft, design and beauty for their visitors.

It credits its biggest attraction as the Centennial Cellar, which contains every vintage wine from the present all the way back to 1878.

Seppeltsfield Barossa was joined on the Australian stage by fellow South Australian vineyards Penfolds Magill Estate and d-Arenberg at McLaren Vale, which came in at 13th and 29th, respectively.