Stuart Hordern
Chief Winemaker

A local and proud advocate of the Hunter Valley, Stuart has winemaking in his blood and has been working on the family vineyard since he was old enough to drive a tractor.

After numerous vintages in the Upper Hunter and a stint in France he decided to make his chosen career official and headed off to Adelaide University in 2004. Throughout this time he continued to develop his skills, working four years with Dean Hewitson in Adelaide and a placement with 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 successfully managed to combine his two passions, wine and rugby by heading back to France for a white vintage in the Languedoc followed by some quality time attending the 07 Rugby World Cup. He then returned to the Upper Hunter to work with Tyrrell’s for two years. While at Tyrrells he undertook another Northern Hemisphere Vintage in 2008, heading to Sonoma in the USA to spend some time working with multiple Pinot Noir clones at the acclaimed Williams Selyem. He then went on to join Brokenwood in 2009 as Assistant Winemaker.

During his time at Brokenwood, Stuart and his team have significantly contributed to our wines' quality. Our Brokenwood Graveyard Vineyard Shiraz has maintained its position as the highest level of Langton's Classification of collectible Australian wines - 1st Classified and remains the only red wine in New South Wales to hold this position. Brokenwood has also been awarded a Halliday 5-star red winery, with our wines receiving numerous gold medals and trophies at various wine shows. 

We are thrilled to announce that Stuart has been awarded the First Creek Winemaking Services 2024 Winemaker of the Year at the 2024 Hunter Valley Legends Awards.

In addition to his winemaking expertise, Stuart has been instrumental in leading our region through the post-COVID era as the President of the Hunter Valley Wine Tourism Association for the last two years (2021-2023). We are confident that Stuart's expertise and leadership will continue to drive our business forward. 

Stuart encapsulates the new breed of young winemakers, dedicated to the region and striving to produce the best wines possible while learning from the masters to develop his craft further.