James Halliday

Pre-eminent wine judge, vigneron, author and critic.

Profile

James Halliday is Australia’s most respected wine critic, wine writer, and vigneron.

He judged for decades at wine shows both in Australia and overseas and is a leading authority on all aspects of the wine industry. James has written or contributed to more than 80 books on wine and has been widely published around the world.

As a founder of Brokenwood in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales, and then Coldstream Hills in the Yarra Valley, Victoria, James provides perspective on the wine world from the planting and pruning of vines through to the creation and marketing of the finished product. His winemaking led him (pre-Covid) to annual sojourns to Burgundy where he formerly co-owned a house. In 1995 James was awarded the wine industry’s ultimate accolade, the Maurice O’Shea Award and in 2010 James was made a Member of the Order of Australia for services to the wine industry.