Skillogalee Estate has been named the inaugural winner of The Praestantia Award for Clare Valley Cellar Door Excellence.
It is a new award recognising outstanding hospitality, service and visitor experience across the Clare Valley.
Presented by the Clare Valley Wine & Grape Association (CVWGA), The Praestantia Award celebrates cellar door teams that go above and beyond to create memorable, customer-focused experiences characterised by warmth, professionalism, authenticity and a strong sense of place.
Crabtree Wines and O’Leary Walker Wines received honourable mentions, recognising the high standard of their cellar door experiences during the judging process.
The award is grounded in CVWGA’s newly launched Clare Valley Customer Service Excellence Staff Training Program and was created to establish a regional benchmark for cellar door hospitality and recognise the important role cellar door teams play in shaping visitors’ perceptions of the Clare Valley.
Unlike traditional award judging, participating venues were assessed anonymously through a comprehensive mystery shopping program conducted by Wine Tourism Australia.
Trained mystery shoppers visited each participating venue three times, with visits scheduled across the judging period to provide a robust assessment of the customer experience.
Scores and qualitative feedback were independently reviewed before the overall winner was determined.
Assessment considered the complete visitor journey, including the warmth of the welcome, accessible and inclusive service, how well staff discovered and responded to individual guest interests, the quality of the tasting experience, regional storytelling, professionalism, advocacy for the broader Clare Valley and the farewell and ongoing connection with visitors.
Iris Park (left) with Priscilla Cunha from Skillogalee Cellar Door. Photo courtesy of Clare Valley Wine & Grape Association.
CVWGA executive officer Cherry Stowman said the award was designed to recognise the enormous contribution cellar door teams make to the region’s reputation.
“A cellar door experience is about so much more than the wine in the glass.
“Our cellar door teams are often the people who introduce visitors to Clare Valley, share our stories and inspire them to explore more of the region, return in the future and recommend Clare Valley to others.
“The mystery shopping process allowed us to assess the experience through the eyes of a genuine visitor, and Skillogalee Estate should be incredibly proud to be the inaugural recipient of this award.
“We also congratulate Crabtree Wines and O’Leary Walker Wines on receiving honourable mentions in what was a very strong field.”
The winner received a distinctive handcrafted glass trophy created by South Australian glass artist Llewellyn Ash.
Designed as a perpetual award, the sculptural piece was conceived to reflect excellence and distinction while capturing the warmth, hospitality, landscape and sense of connection that underpin the Clare Valley visitor experience.
The Praestantia Award will now be presented annually.
The name Praestantia (pronounced press-TAN-shee-uh) is derived from the Latin word for excellence and distinction.
Main photo: Skillogalee cellar door in Clare. Photo courtesy of South Australian Tourism Commission.
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