Golden Vines 2026: South Africa claims two rising star nods
Mullineux and Alheit Vineyards take two of three World's Best Rising Star places as the London awards release 2026 nominees earlier than ever.
The Golden Vines 2026 shortlist puts two South African wineries in contention for the World's Best Rising Star title, organisers said on Thursday, the earliest the "Oscars of wine" has ever released its nominees.
Mullineux & Leeu Family Wines and Alheit Vineyards, both working South Africa's Western Cape, take two of the category's three places. The third goes to Comando G, the Sierra de Gredos project that Dani Landi and Fernando García founded in 2008 around old-vine Garnacha grown above 500 metres near Madrid.
It is Mullineux's second shot at the trophy. The Swartland-founded producer already won the World's Best Rising Star award at the 2025 Golden Vines gala in Miami, where an academy of 830 wine professionals across more than 100 countries voted, with results checked by Deloitte. Chris and Andrea Mullineux called that win "a meaningful affirmation of our commitment to craft, place and purpose."
Two rising star nominees from one country in the same year is not an accident.
Alheit Vineyards, the Chenin Blanc-focused project Chris and Suzaan Alheit run from old bush vines, is new to the category this year. Its nomination alongside Mullineux gives South Africa two of the three Rising Star places for 2026, up from one in 2025, two weeks after the country's own Sauvignon Blanc Top 10 drew a record field of entries.
A shortlist released early
Organisers describe this as the first time Golden Vines has published a shortlist ahead of the full nominee list, which normally lands closer to the ceremony. Sadie Family Wines, which won Rising Star in 2023 and 2024, has moved up: it is shortlisted this year for World's Best Fine Wine Producer in the Rest of the World category.
Other 2026 shortlists released alongside the Rising Star nominees include Krug, Domaine Leroy and Vega Sicilia for the top global producer prize; Harlan Estate, Screaming Eagle and Catena Zapata for the Americas; and Gaja, Giacomo Conterno and Jean-Louis Chave for Europe.
London hosts the sixth edition
The Golden Vines gala moves to London for 6-8 November, its sixth edition, with events including a dinner at the Old Bailey and a Saturday gala featuring a performance by Craig David. The awards were founded by the late Gérard Basset OBE MW MS and Lewis Chester through their research group Liquid Icons, and proceeds support the Gérard Basset Foundation's wine education grants.
An early release of the Golden Vines Report, shared with the shortlist, found that collectors are buying less often but more selectively, with the fine wine trade also chasing younger buyers as luxury spending slows elsewhere. The full report follows at the London event, where the Rising Star winner will be named.
