A Hunter Valley winery won one of Australia's most prestigious food and beverage business awards on Monday night.
Brokenwood Wines was awarded the Royal Agricultural Society (RAS) of NSW Annual President's Medal at a dinner in Sydney, beating finalists Mandolé Orchard, Marionette, Norco Co-Operative Limited, Stockyard Beef, and The Yoghurt Shop to win the top prize.
It's been a successful 12 months for the winery, which was named 2026 Halliday Wine Companion Winery of the Year in August.
Just last week its chief winemaker, Stuart Hordern, won Hunter Valley Winemaker of the Year at the 2026 Hunter Valley Wine Industry Living Legends awards.
A one-of-a-kind award in Australia, the RAS President's Medal champions outstanding food and beverage businesses. Having already proved product excellence at a 2025 Sydney Royal competition, this year's finalists were assessed on their overall business practices, including environmental, financial and social sustainability, industry impact, succession planning and governance, and climate and business resilience.
Following its champion medal win at the 2025 Sydney Royal Wine Show, Brokenwood Wines entered the President's Medal competition last year and was named one of six finalists in December.
Since then, the business has undergone a rigorous judging process, which included an on-site visit in February.
"Brokenwood Wines' holistic approach to all criteria considered for the President's Medal gave them the edge over the other finalists," judge Simon Marnie said.
"The site visit was done at the busiest time for a wine producer but that didn't stop the judges receiving a full and comprehensive insight into all areas of production and how Brokenwood exemplifies what it is to be a winner of this award.
Brokenwood demonstrated a resilience to risk and a clear succession plan that allowed development within the company but also for the local community and for the wine industry as well."
Fellow judge Katie Lorimer-Ward said Brokenwood's business resilience was deeply rooted to the business's ability to keep up with what consumers wanted, and adapt to market pressures.
"Sustainability is more than a buzzword at Brokenwood - to them it is about looking after people and communities, protecting the land that the wines come from and running a business that can stay strong for the long haul," she said.
"Brokenwood has built a strong, flexible way of working, with planning for the long term and the ability to move fast when the market shifts. Its attention to its stakeholders, whether that is shareholders, employees or customers, underscores its success in building long trusted relationships.
"The brand is all about great product and smart market and selling ideas - and its 'paddock to palate' story makes it easy for people to connect with where each bottle comes from, and why it matters."
From humble beginnings as a hobby operation in the 1970s, Brokenwood Wines has grown into one of Australia's best known and well-respected wine producers, now producing 90,000 cases a year and employing more than 80 people.
As a business, it promotes a circular economy through waste recycling, including the reuse of 100 per cent of its grape waste. Regular soil testing and soil moisture probes, mid-cover cropping, live weather station updates, smoke-taint testing and even the application of sunscreen to wine leaves are implemented to improve efficiency and protect crops.
Seventy per cent of Brokenwood's production is bottled in lightweight glass, while its rainwater tanks supply 30 per cent of its site's water requirements. Solar installation supports 20 per cent of the site's energy requirements.
Brokenwood also recently upgraded its refrigeration to VinWizard, which coordinated chillers, pumps and valves so that cooling follows the wine in each tank, reducing run time and power usage.
The business supports locally through its restaurant, sponsorships, suppliers, and staffing, the judges said, with solid opportunity and employment pathways in place to support business succession. This structure has allowed staff members who started in junior roles to now hold key management positions, driving authority in the business.
