About Halliday Wine Companion

At Halliday Wine Companion, our purpose is to ensure that wine lovers never drink a bad bottle of wine through our ratings, content, products and experiences.

Our story

In 1986, respected wine critic and vigneron James Halliday penned his first annual guide to Australian wine. In 2000, it became known as the Halliday Wine Companion, a name which stands today, although today the brand incorporates so much more.
 
James’ story is well-known. His wine career began when he was still a partner at Sydney law firm Clayton Utz. In 1970, with Tony Albert and John Beeston, he purchased land in the Hunter Valley that would become Brokenwood. Then, in 1985, he purchased the property in the Yarra Valley that would become Coldstream Hills. In the late ’80s, James gave up the lawyer gig completely. “I divorced my wife and married my mistress,” he said at the time.  
 
In 2004, James approached Hardie Grant to publish a new edition of the Wine Atlas of Australia. The book’s success inspired James to leave his previous publisher, News Ltd, and led to a partnership with Hardie Grant, his Wine Companion at the centre.  
 
This venture has allowed the Halliday Wine Companion to evolve into more than just an annual guide to Australian wine. While the print edition remains at the heart, today Wine Companion incorporates a website packed with thousands of tasting notes, information on wineries, articles and more; the quarterly Halliday magazine, which launched in 2011; Halliday Wine Academy, a wine education platform; Wine Club, a wine subscription service; events and much more, including expansion into New Zealand.
 
Up until 2008, James tasted and reviewed every wine in the Wine Companion on his own – an incredible, yet exhausting, feat. But today, the Wine Companion is the work of an expert panel of Australian wine critics, plus a dedicated in-house team who work tirelessly across every arm of the business to maintain James’ legacy.

Our people

With ratings at our core, our Tasting Team is made up of some of Australia's best wine authorities responsible for specific regions across the country, which allows for continuity, connection and specialist expertise.

After almost 40 years of producing the Halliday Wine Companion, James Halliday took a step back from some of his vast responsibilities in 2020. And in 2024, James retired completely, although he remains as Founder. Today, the Tasting Team heads up the Companion and ensures it lives up to James' exacting standards.

The esteemed Tasting Team is made up of nine panelists: Dave Brookes, Jane Faulkner, Jeni Port, Marcus Ellis, Mike Bennie, Philip Rich, Shanteh Wale, Toni Paterson MW and Katrina Butler. Each authority is responsible for year-round reviewing the wines from specific regions across the country, which allows for continuity, connection and specialist expertise.

Behind the scenes, our editorial, marketing and commercial teams uphold the high standard that Halliday Wine Companion has set.

Find out more about the Halliday Tasting Team.

Contact us.

What we do

Content and reviews

Halliday Wine Companion is the most comprehensive library of wine tasting notes in Australia. With. over 170,000 notes on the website, the Halliday Tasting Team reviews new releases all year around, and we publish new notes every week. Our winery database includes over 3000 wineries from across the nation, many of which are awarded a star rating each year.

Beyond tasting notes, our content includes winery and regional insights, the latest in Australian wine, and deep-dives written by talented members of our team. All of our locked content is available to our members, who can save their searches based on their preferences – just a small part in our mission to ensure you never drink a bad bottle of wine again.

Halliday magazine

Halliday magazine is published quarterly, available for delivery directly to our members' doorsteps and digitally, and sold in-stores. With it, we offer a uniquely approachable take on wine, food and travel. It features 100 new-release tasting notes in each issue, travel features through Australia's great wine regions, as well as profile pieces, amazing recipes with wine matches, and more.

Every year, the Halliday Tasting Team pinpoint the best Australian wines, winemakers and wineries from a pool of several thousand featured in the annual Halliday Wine Companion guide. With categories that include Wine of the Year, Best Value Winery, Winemaker of the Year and Best New Winery, our team cherry picks the high performers from a range of criteria to offer a true representation of the nation's greatest names in wine.

We present major awards to the deserving wineries, wines and viticulturists, varietal awards to the best wines of their category, category awards for the best red, white and sparkling wine of the year, and, for esteemed achievements in Australian wine, inductees to our Hall of Fame.

The Halliday Awards each year encompass a range of activity indicative of the excitement surrounding the biggest moment on the Australian wine calendar – we host an event every year where we reveal the winners to an audience of industry members and wine lovers, followed by tasting events around the country celebrating the top wines of the year. All of the winners and top rated wines become available online to our members, and those with Vintage memberships can expect the new book in their letterboxes soon after or upon their renewals.

Become a Halliday member.

Halliday Wine Club

Halliday Wine Club is a subscription service that delivers Australia's best wines directly to your door. Launched at the start of 2022, Wine Club became the next evolutionary step in our mission to ensure Australians never drink a bad bottle of wine again. The wines are selected from the thousands we taste every year, and delivered with insights from our experts. Today, three membership tiers are available: members can become Explorers, Enthusiasts, or Collectors.

The Explorer Membership is designed to broaden your palate with our selection of highly recommended silver and gold medal wines suitable for everyday drinking.

The Enthusiast Membership is designed for both budding wine enthusiasts and wine aficionados, to elevate your drinking experiences to new heights.

Collector members can indulge in the epitome of Australian wine, tailored exclusively for collectors and connoisseurs alike.

Find out more about Halliday Wine Club.

Halliday Wine Academy is a learning platform that launched in 2022 with our first online course, Introduction to Wine, and has grown into a multi-faceted platform with options catered to different learning styles. Beyond our online courses, we offer in-person classes where students can learn under the guidance of a Halliday Tasting Team member alongside a selection of great wines to try. And in 2024 we took off on our inaugural regional tour – a select few embarked on a journey through France with Halliday Tasting Team member Philip Rich for an unforgettable wine experience.

Learn more about Halliday Wine Academy.

From consumer tasting events across the country to bespoke corporate events, Halliday Wine Companion specialises in creating unique wine and dining experiences designed to give wine lovers a taste of the best wines in Australia, and tailored to the needs of businesses and consumers alike. 

View our upcoming events.

Learn more about our corporate events.

What's next

Halliday Wine Companion continues to grow. Our tasting notes and content offering is expanding, as we continually endeavour to give you more, relevant, and timely news and reviews. Beyond, we are introducing New Zealand wine reviews in 2024. There's more to come that we can't wait to share.

Our purpose all along has been to ensure wine lovers never drink a bad bottle of wine, and our vision to be the world's most innovative wine media business continues to drive us into the future.

Want to reach out to us? You can email us at info@winecompanion.com.au, or find the department you'd like to speak to here.