Inkwell Wines owners Dudley Brown and Irina Santiago-Brown. Image courtesy Inkwell Wines

McLaren Vale winery Inkwell Wines has announced the winners for the second iteration of its winemaking challenge, Hack the Future of Shiraz. The five winners will each have access to one free tonne of Inkwell’s Shiraz grapes, which are Regenerative Organic Certified™, with the challenge to produce a less traditional style of Shiraz.

The winners are:

Parley Wines – Sarah Feehan and Melissa Woods, Adelaide Hills

Nerine Wine Company – Ryan Haynes, Adelaide Hills

Lvdo Wines – Marcel Kustos, Adelaide Hills

ND Wines – Nick and Danielle Sleep, McLaren Vale

Defialy Wines – Micah Hewitt, Macedon, VIC

Convenor of judges Mike Bennie said there had been an “incredible response” from applicants, with interested winemakers coming from a variety of different backgrounds.

“We chose another group of strikingly diverse people, stories, stylistic experiences and regions to make up our second class,” said Bennie.

The Hack the Future of Shiraz project is designed to identify emerging talents in the Australian wine industry who will craft unique Shiraz wines in less traditional styles attractive to younger consumers and non-consumers of Shiraz. This year’s open-source project will begin with the 2025 vintage, with bottling and packaging to be complete by the end of the calendar year.

All techniques and additions (if any) used will be disclosed by the winemakers to benefit the judges’ learning and to accelerate widespread development of popular Shiraz styles.  The tasting panel will assess and write about each wine on the basis of creativity, accessibility and drinkability in early 2026, prior to the 2026 vintage.

The full tasting panel has also been announced, comprised of wine writers and judges from China, Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom.

The judges are:

Mike Bennie – Convenor of Judges – Sydney Australia – The WineFront, delicious magazine, Halliday Wine Companion

Tamlyn Currin – Wine writer – London England – Jancis Robinson.com

Marcus Ellis – Wine writer – Melbourne Australia – Halliday Wine Companion

Erin Larkin – Wine writer – Perth Australia – The Wine Advocate

Christina Pickard – Wine writer – New York USA – Wine Enthusiast

Jeffrey Porter – Wine writer – New York USA – Wine Enthusiast

Kasia Sobiesiak – Wine writer – Sydney Australia – The WineFront

Fongyee Walker MW – Wine Educator – Shanghai China

Are you a Daily Wine News subscriber? If not, click here to join our mailing list. It’s free!