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Winter Insider · August 2026 Winter 2026

The Peninsula Insider Awards Annual editorial · Reader-voted

The Peninsula at its best, named.

Nine categories. Editor selections and reader voting. Nominations open August, voting through September, results announced the first weekend of October. Independent, editorially gated, never paid.

The 2026 cycle

  1. August

    Nominations open. Anyone can suggest a venue, event, or place for any category.

  2. September

    Voting opens. Sign in to cast a vote in each category. One vote per category, change anytime until close.

  3. First weekend of October

    Results announced. Editor selections + reader votes published, with editorial framing on the winners.

Loading the 2026 slate…

  1. Category

    Restaurant of the Year

    The dining room the editorial desk would book this year if it could only book one.

    Voting opens September.

  2. Category

    Cellar Door of the Year

    Where the wine, the room, and the welcome converged.

    Voting opens September.

  3. Category

    Stay of the Year

    The bed that defined a Peninsula weekend in 2026.

    Voting opens September.

  4. Category

    Walk of the Year

    The route that justified the drive and the boots.

    Voting opens September.

  5. Category

    Best New Opening

    The 2026 arrival that reset what was possible in its category.

    Voting opens September.

  6. Category

    Best Family Day

    Pram, picnic, parking. Kids-grade A in the field.

    Voting opens September.

  7. Category

    Locals' Choice

    Reader-voted. The place locals would actually send a friend to.

    Voting opens September.

  8. Category

    Worth-the-Drive Award

    The Peninsula moment that justified the 90-minute return without any other reason.

    Voting opens September.

  9. Category

    Editorial Discovery

    The hidden corner the editorial desk found this year that won't stay hidden much longer.

    Voting opens September.

Curated by our editors.

Peninsula This Weekend

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Peninsula This Weekend 18 to 19 July

July sits in the quieter stretch of Peninsula winter, and that is the point. The lead booking is a truffle hunt at Red Hill. Sunday is for the sculpture park at Pt. Leo.

  • How to Build a Red Hill Saturday
  • The Cellar Door Short List
  • Things to Do on the Mornington Peninsula
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