Welcome back to another edition of Award-winning Onkaparinga – our bi-monthly column celebrating the latest Onkaparinga-based state, national and international award-winners.
We’ve already written about Willunga being named Australia’s best food and wine town, but there are plenty of other big wins to get excited about, including softball stars, world-record setters and fantastic foodies – let’s get stuck in!
Victories in the vines
Staying on wine, McLaren Vale winemaker Steve Pannell – owner and winemaker behind S.C. Pannell – has added to his already burgeoning trophy cabinet by being named Australia’s Vigneron of the Year by wine criticism publication, The Real Review.
A vigneron, for anyone scratching their heads, is someone who not only makes wine, but also grows the grapes themselves.
S.C. Pannell wasn’t the only local winemaker honoured in the national awards – McLaren Vale’s Thistledown Wines took out the national Red Wine of the Year award for its Sands of Time Grenache 2024, The Real Review’s Gabrielle Poy saying, “It’s beautifully tactile and transparent. This is among the most exciting Aussie wines I’ve had in a long time.”
Also recently recognised on the national and international stages was Pirramimma Wines, which received 93 points for its 2022 white label Petit Verdot at the London International Wine Competition.
The same Pirramimma wine was also named Best Other Red Varietal in the national Dan Murphy’s 2026 Best in Glass Wine Awards, while Gemtree won Best Value Red Wine (Shiraz) for its Dragon’s Blood Shiraz.
Sporting stars
Onkaparinga has a new world-record holder, with Maslin Beach runner and Paralympian Angus Hincksman setting the new Men’s T38 1500m record at the Australian Athletics Championships (getting it done in 3:46.71).
Angus, no stranger to our Award-winning Onkaparinga columns, went on to claim the national Men’s Para 1500m title the next day.
In softball, Happy Valley Sports Park-based Seacombe Tigers have been steadily rising through the ranks of state softball, racking up a range of honours already this year.
The club was named Junior Club of the Year in March after fielding a team in every junior division at the Adelaide Softball Association’s major competition, with every team making it through to the grand final, and the Under 16s bringing home the gold.
It also entered 2 teams into the Softball SA Junior State Championship, with the Under 18 girls winning and the Under 14s making the finals. Not to be outdone, the club’s older players also competed in the SA Masters Games, with its division 1 team placing first.
Club Secretary, Jessie Leigh, said the Junior Club of the Year win exemplified the club’s rise, which has also recently included more than a dozen players being selected in state or national championships, and a rapidly growing social media following.
“This award has been dominated by the same few “big” clubs for its entire existence, so this was such a proud moment for us,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Coromandel Valley Ramblers Cricket Club became the Section 1 Premiers in the Adelaide and Suburban Cricket Association, defeating the Coromandel Cricket Club in March; and the South Adelaide Football Club brought home the Mayor’s Cup for the first time since 2022 last month.
Amazing art
McLaren Vale Primary School student, Boston, recently won a statewide art competition that celebrated South Australia’s marine life and coastal environments.
Boston’s artwork, ‘Happy Cowfish’, won the School Student Artwork Category of the Great Southern Reef Foundation’s Reef Resilience Photo and Art Showcase, which saw her win $1,300 worth of prizes and her work exhibited at Port Noarlunga’s Arts Centre.
Not just a whiz at creating art, Boston also recently won the silver medal in the Under 9 girls 100m run at the SA Little Athletics State Championships!
Fantastic food
Onkaparinga’s world-class restaurants continue to rack up awards, with McLaren Vale’s Ekhidna Kitchen named SA’s best restaurant in the Time Out Food and Drink Awards.
Aldinga’s The Little Rickshaw and McLaren Vale’s The Salopian Inn were also recognised nationally – again – in a national delicious list of 26 regional restaurants in Australia worth travelling to in 2026.
Meanwhile, Meez on Plus’s Billie Cornthwaite – who supports and promotes bush tucker – has been recognised with a global Women Changing the World Award (Women in Food and Beverages) in Paris!
Have an award win to submit?
Eligibility
For inclusion in the column, all of the following criteria must be met:
- Businesses, organisations, groups or individuals located in the City of Onkaparinga
- Winners of state, national or international awards in their chosen field
- Award received up to two months before submission.
Submission
Email to onow@onkaparinga.sa.gov.au
Please include:
- Your name and contact details
- Name and (if known) contact details of the winner
- Name and details of the award
- If available, web links to the award
- If available, high-resolution images.
Pictured
A player from the mighty Seacombe Tigers in action. Photo: Jessie Leigh