Featuring awe-inspiring architecture, otherworldly landscapes and immersive tasting experiences, here’s everything you need to know about The World’s Best Vineyard 2025.
Built like tumbling silver waves over rugged Chilean landscape and producing some of the finest wines in the South American continent, architectural and vinicultural phenomenon Vik achieves the ultimate accolade as it is crowned No.1 in the ranking of The World’s 50 Best Vineyards 2025.
The 4,450-hectare estate received the accolade, which recognises the ultimate in visitor experience for wine lovers, at a live ceremony in Margaret River, Western Australia on 19 November, with the event hosted in partnership with Tourism Western Australia.
Found in the Millahue Valley of the Cachapoal region – a place referred to by the indigenous Mapuche people as Lugar de Oro (Golden Place) – Vik spans a vast parcel of wild terrain, though only a fraction is planted with vineyards. The territory itself is uniquely complex with 12 sub-valleys, each with different microclimates, cooled by Pacific breezes and mountain winds, giving the wines it crafts their distinctive freshness and structure.
Vik’s otherworldly HQ
What makes Vik particularly compelling for travelling oenophiles is its design and experiential ambition. The winery’s architecture, conceived by celebrated Chilean architect Smiljan Radic (along with Loreto Lyon), is visually striking – a sculptural, semi-translucent roof that seems to float above the underground cellar. Furthermore, it manages to create minimal environmental impact, despite its formidable footprint.
Behind the project is an entrepreneurial couple from Norway, Alexander and Carrie Vik, who founded the estate in 2004 following a two-year scientific search for an exceptional terroir in the region.
Vik has been climbing the rankings since the vineyards list’s inception in 2019, placing No.3 in 2023 and No.2 in 2024. It now holds the coveted title of The World’s Best Vineyard 2025, sponsored by Resy & Tock.
“It feels so good!” says Vik co-founder Alex Vik, on receiving the trophy.
“We always hoped to get to top of the ranking and we were praying, but it was still such a surprise,” co-founder Carrie Vik elaborates.
From left: Vik’s founders Alex and Carrie Vik, with CEO Gastón Williams
It’s all in the experience
As well as producing exceptional Bordeaux-inspired blends (packed with cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, carmenère, merlot and syrah) through the lens of its unique Chilean terroir, the team behind Vik understands how important the total experience is to visitors. As well as tastings and tours, there’s a retreat on the property designed by Marcelo Daglio, with 22 individually themed rooms filled with contemporary art (including works by Roberto Matta and Anselm Kiefer) and seven private glass-walled bungalows.
Glass-encased rooms look out onto the Chilean wilderness
There is also an onsite restaurant, Milla Milla, overlooking the valley and serving native ingredients sourced from the surrounding terroir. It’s these elements, stretching beyond the glass, that the team believes have contributed to the vineyard’s success.
“I would say we provide a dynamic, exciting and different experience,” says Alex Vik. “We have an amazing winery as well as an incredible restaurant and a beautiful hotel on top of the hill – and everywhere you look there is an art installation.”
“The wine is central, of course,” adds Carrie Vik. “But it’s also about the whole experience: horseback riding in the valley, having a massage or picking homegrown produce in our organic garden to cook and eat through our Vik Zero programme… We are so lucky to have great people behind us who truly understand hospitality.”
While delighted with the win, Vik team is certainly not resting on its laurels.
“We have a very special white wine called StoneVik coming, which we think is the most natural wine in the world,” says Vik CEO Gastón Williams. “It has no human intervention and is aged in the forest surrounding the vineyard alone for a year in an area with a special magnetic field, so it is completely born from the unique terroir we have.”
“We are about to open an incredible wellness centre with programming that all starts in nature,” says Carrie Vik. “We want to ensure that when people come they really understand the environment, so we can give them the culinary, cultural, wine and health experience at Vik.”
A global celebration of the vineyard community
Alongside Vik’s crowning achievement, vineyards from around the world also take home a series of accolades. Schloss Johannisberg in Germany’s Rheingau region is named The Best Vineyard in Europe 2025, as well as securing the No.2 spot. Klein Constantia Wine Estate in the Western Cape of South Africa secures a double whammy of titles as it is named The Best Vineyard in Africa 2025 and winner of the Highest Climber Award, sponsored by Jack’s Creek.
Aerial views of Klein Constantia Wine Estate in South Africa’s Western Cape
The US had a stellar evening, with its wine scene celebrated via Jordan Vineyard & Winery winning The Best Vineyard in North America title, while Sonoma’s Aperture Cellars takes the Highest New Entry Award 2025, breaking into the ranking at No.14.
Ranked at No.20 in the list, The Best Vineyard in Asia is 98Wines, located in Yamanashi, Japan, while The Best Vineyard in Australasia title is secured by Cloudy Bay Vineyards in Marlborough, New Zealand, ranked at No.26.
Horizon-grazing views at 98Wines in Yamanashi, Japan
Created to recognise the very best vineyard experiences on the planet and celebrate the incredible teams behind every establishment, The World’s 50 Best Vineyards list is compiled from the votes of the more than 700 global wine experts. Each voter is asked to submit seven nominations in order of preference for their very best vineyard and winery experiences during the voting timeframe.
Representatives from world-leading vineyards at the awards ceremony in Margaret River, Western Australia
What constitutes ‘best’ is left to the judgement of these trusted and well-travelled experts. There is no pre-determined check-list of criteria, apart from the stipulation that the vineyard must be open to the general public, and voters are encouraged to cast votes based on the overall experience offered to visitors, including tours, tastings, hospitality, architecture, food and the surrounding environment – rather than solely on wine quality or where the grapes are grown.
To summarise their delight at the vineyard’s newly-won accolade, Alex Vik says: “Winning this award was a stamp of approval. It’s one thing for me to say ‘You must come to Chile and to Vik,’ but when 50 Best says it, you know you have to come!”
The World’s 50 Best Vineyards was revealed at a live awards ceremony in Margaret River, Western Australia on 19 November 2025. Build your wish list of ultimate vineyard destinations across the globe with the list and follow us on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.
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