Stuart Hordern takes on chief winemaker role at Brokenwood Wines

He joined the Brokenwood wine-making team as an assistant winemaker in 2009 and in 2014 was promoted to senior winemaker. When Iain Riggs AM retired in 2020 as managing director and chief winemaker, Hordern took over as head of the winemaking team.

"Stuart's extensive knowledge of winemaking and passion for the Hunter Valley region has made him an invaluable member of our team," Brokenwood Wines chief executive officer Geoff Krieger said.

"He has now been promoted to chief winemaker, only the second person in the 54-year history of the company to hold this position.

"Stuart's dedication to the craft has been evident from the beginning. He grew up on a family vineyard and has been working with vines since he was old enough to drive a tractor. He also gained invaluable experience working for Tyrrell's and undertaking several vintages in France."

Hordern grew up in the Hunter Valley and, after numerous vintages in the Upper Hunter and a stint in France, he decided to make his chosen career official and enrolled at Adelaide University in 2004. He worked with Dean Hewitson in Adelaide and at Tyrrell's where he was able to focus on the classic Hunter Valley varieties of semillon and shiraz.

In his final year of university he returned to France to work in the Languedoc region before returning to the Upper Hunter to work with Tyrrell's. In 2008 he travelled to Sonoma in the US to work with multiple pinot noir clones at the acclaimed Williams Selyem.

Mr Keiger said Hordern and his team had "significantly contributed" to the quality of Brokenwood's wines.

"Our Brokenwood Graveyard Vineyard Shiraz has maintained its position at the highest level of Langton's Classification of Collectable Australian Wines - 1st Classified - and remains the only red wine in NSW to hold this position," he said.

"Our winery has also been named a Halliday five-star red winery, with our wines receiving numerous gold medals and trophies at various wine shows.

"In addition to his winemaking expertise, Stuart has been instrumental in leading our region through the post-COVID era as president of the Hunter Valley Wine Tourism Association for the last two years. We are confident that Stuart's expertise and leadership will continue to drive our business forward."