Located in the foothills of the Hunter Valley’s Brokenback Ranges, Brokenwood was originally zoned as a cricket ground for the local community before being acquired by three self-professed weekend winemakers in 1970. Tony Albert, John Beeston and James Halliday were Sydney-based solicitors looking for somewhere to pursue a wine hobby when they established Brokenwood, the first vintage of which was picked in 1973. The famed ‘Graveyard Vineyard’ was the vacant lot next door, named so because council planners originally designated it (but never utilised it), as a cemetery. So it too was acquired by Brokenwood in 1978 and remains the sole source of grapes for the label’s flagship Graveyard Vineyard Shiraz. In 1982 Brokenwood expanded into white wine which coincided with the arrival of Chief Winemaker Iain Riggs. To this day, white wine continues to be a large part of Brokenwood's total production. From its humble beginnings, Brokenwood has grown to be an internationally recognised wine brand, with the flagship wines - Graveyard Shiraz and the ILR Semillon - being highly sought after each vintage. They have also expanded their vineyard holdings, with sites in Beechworth and McLaren Vale, as well as their traditional Hunter vineyards.
