John Casella is crowned with top honor.

Casella has achieved first place in the Agriculture and Environment category of The Bulletin Bayer Smart 100, which aims to showcase and celebrate remarkable Australian talent. According to The Bulletin report, Editor-in-Chief John Lehmann said recipients of The Bulletin Bayer Smart 100 were in a league of their own.

"Our Smart 100 is made up of an inspirational cast of individuals whose pursuit of excellence is improving our lives,'' Lehmann was reported as saying. "It's smart people backed by smart strategies that will help Australia move forward with better health care, faster communications and clean energy sources."

John Casella was awarded the top honour in recognition of his committed effort to elevating the Australian wine industry onto the global stage through the phenomenally successful [yellow tail] brand which he started in 2001.

Upon hearing of the win, John said he was honoured to be recognised as one of Australia's smartest environmental talents: "The success of the [yellow tail] brand is an amazing feat and my family and I are very proud of this achievement. It must be said that we would not have reached where we are today without being supported by an exceptional team of people who are dedicated, intelligent, innovative and most of all, passionate."

According to The Bulletin report, agricultural and environment category judge Dr Wendy Craik said John Casella was a perfect candidate for the award. She was quoted as saying: "John Casella's success is inspiring. I hope it will be inspiring to other people."