The siblings preserving the family-run Tyrrell’s Wines
Jane and Chris Tyrell are safeguarding the legacy of a pioneering winery for future generations.
A round the table is where you’ll find the Tyrrells if they are ever in one place. But in truth you’re more likely to meet members of one of Australia’s oldest wine families scattered across the many hectares of vineyards they own in the NSW Hunter Valley or showing their wines at trade shows around the country.
“I think a big part of why this works so well is because we are all very actively involved in different parts of the business,” says Jane Tyrrell, chairman of the Tyrrell’s executive committee, who also manages distribution to the key accounts across NSW, ensuring all the premium restaurants are stocking the finest Vat 1 Semillon and 4 Acres Shiraz from the estate.
Her brother Chris Tyrrell is a fifth-generation winemaker in charge of more than 15 unique and historic vineyards.
The history of Tyrrell’s Wines reads like many family origin stories in Australia. It began with a pioneering English immigrant named Edward Tyrrell, who first planted vines in the foothills of the Brokenback Range in the Hunter Valley in the mid-19th century.
Now, almost 170 years later, it’s Jane and Chris Tyrrell’s generation who are the guardians of this prized collection of vineyards in one of Australia’s most esteemed wine-growing regions. Both stress the dedication of family, and the continuation of ideals as key to the pursuit of making great Aussie wines.
“With a place like Tyrrell’s you’re always evolving, but no one really notices either,” Chris laughs.
“It’s this constant evolution, and in some respects, is the opposite of being stuck in our ways.”
This approach is expeditious by European standards, where commercial winemaking in a region such as France’s Bordeaux – which also famously grows semillon – can be traced back to the 12th century.
“Things are just always happening in the background,” Chris continues, “and one day someone notices.”
In almost two centuries of history, Tyrrell’s has hit no shortage of significant milestones. They’re one of Australia’s first families of wine: Bruce Tyrrell, Chris and Jane’s father, helped put Hunter Valley semillon on the world stage and earned an Order of Australia medal in the process for his
successful efforts to improve not only grape quality but tourism and export opportunities for the industry. Last year the family also popped the cork on Tyrrell’s bubbles; their sparkling wine offering yet another good reason to raid the cellar.
The siblings reminisce on a major celebration that occurred when Tyrrell’s Vat 1 Semillon 1994 was chosen to be one of the wines served at the wedding of Australian Mary Donaldson – now Queen of Denmark – to Prince Frederik in 2004.
“All of our celebrations are done around a table with good food and good wines,” Jane says. “While we love going out, home is where we’re all happiest and most comfortable.”
As it happens, the notion of “family” is not solely defined in the winemaking community by your last name. In the Hunter Valley, “everyone’s got the same issues”, Chris notes. Whether it is new wineries being run by older figures in winemaking, or old wineries being taken over by the new generation, a family mentality keeps all the winegrowers together. “You all talk, and you all help each other out,” he says.
It’s ultimately this sense of family that sets the Hunter apart relative to other wine-growing regions of Australia. “You’re never going to have the big guys,” Chris says of the area. “Tyrrell’s is the big guy, and we’re tiny in the Australian scheme of things. [In the Hunter] you’ve mainly just got smaller, family-focused, more premium-focused brands.”
But family still is the glue that has pushed Tyrrell’s to where it is today. “I’ve been saying it forever,” Jane adds. “And it’s legitimately true that I’m serving a life sentence, but it’s the best life sentence I could ever serve.”
