It was a night of celebration for Gippsland’s winemakers, with local vineyards from Fish Creek, Leongatha, and Mirboo North taking home a record haul of trophies and medals at the 2025 Westpac Gippsland Wine Show.
Held at Narkoojee Winery, Glengarry North, the annual event drew 130 guests and a record 114 entries, showcasing the strength of the region’s famed Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Judges praised the exceptional quality across all classes, particularly the Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Shiraz.
Inverloch-based Dirty Three Wines, owned by Marcus Satchell and Lisa Sartori, claimed the show’s highest honour - the Westpac Best Wine of Show - for their 2024 “Magic Dirt” Pinot Noir. While Dirty Three’s headquarters may reside in Inverloch, the fruit behind its award-winning wines is grown on the Prom Coast patch, stretching between Leongatha and Mirboo North.
The same wine also took out Best Pinot Noir, topping a fiercely contested class that produced a record five golds. Satchell said the “Magic Dirt” Pinot Noir was one of those rare wines that showed its potential from the moment the grapes were picked. “While 2024 was a heartbreak vintage for some, this one presented itself beautifully and needed no intervention,” he said. “It’s a bit like making music, you do it for yourself first, and if it resonates with others, that’s awesome.”
Dirty Three also collected gold medals for its 2024 “All The Dirts” Chardonnay and 2024 “All The Dirts” Pinot Noir, along with trophies for Best Red Wine of Provenance and Best White Wine of Provenance, recognising excellence across three vintages of the same wine.
Further south, Waratah Hills Vineyard at Fish Creek also had a standout night, taking home its first varietal class trophy for the 2024 Pinot Noir Rosé. The award was accepted by viticulturalist Georgia Roberts from Cr John Schelling of South Gippsland Shire Council. Waratah Hills backed it up with gold medals for the 2024 Ella and Millie Pinot Noir and 2024 South Gippsland Chardonnay.
In Leongatha, Wandilla Estate impressed as a first-time entrant, collecting a silver medal for its 2025 Single Vineyard Riesling.
In total, the show saw an unprecedented 55 medals awarded, including seven gold varietal class trophies and 18 golds overall, a record for the event.
The judging panel, led by Julian Grounds of Stonier alongside Jane Faulkner from the Halliday tasting team and Rohan Smith of Medhurst Wines, commended Gippsland’s growing reputation. Grounds said, “The Gippsland Wine Show is one of the best in regional Australia for its collaborative spirit and the chance it gives producers to benchmark against each other.”
Wine Gippsland President Rob Lightfoot said the night was a clear reflection of the region’s maturity and quality. “The depth of excellence on display tonight confirms that Gippsland is a fine place to grow grapes and make wine,” he said. “We’re proud of what we do, of the community we’re part of, and the contribution our winemakers make to the local economy and to Australia’s food and wine culture.”
