Last night (Thursday 6th November), Max Allen was named the 2025 Wine Communicator of the Year by Wine Communicators of Australia (WCA), making him the first person to ever win the coveted award twice. He had previously won the wine industry’s top communication award in 2018.
The announcement was made at the end of the WCA’s annual awards night at Darling Harbour in Sydney, with Max Allen giving his acceptance speech by live stream from Germany.
Toasts were also made to the thirteen category winners with trophy-winning wines from previous Sydney Royal and Royal Adelaide Wine shows.
The annual Wine Communicator Awards recognise outstanding excellence in wine communication in all its forms. Twenty-nine experienced and respected industry professionals judged entries across thirteen different categories. The judges were hugely impressed with the calibre of creativity, passion, and skill shown across a wide range of communication channels.
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
WCA National Chair, Lynda Schenk commented, “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.”