One of Australia's most decorated winemakers will speak at the Aotearoa New Zealand Chardonnay Symposium in Hawke's Bay this September. Vasse Felix Chief Winemaker Virginia Willcock was named Winemaker of the Year at the 2026 Halliday Wine Companion Awards, where her 2023 Heytesbury Chardonnay took both Chardonnay of the Year and White Wine of the Year. Virginia says wine found her before she found it. benchmark for Australian Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon, and Virginia has steadily lifted an already formidable portfolio towards a more complex, handsoff style. Chardonnay is a “chameleon”, she says, “and there’s no better a wine to show the winemaker’s style”.