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The epithet “worthy” used to get bandied around newsrooms to describe stories about meritorious subjects that were too… worthy to be truly interesting. Optimistic, spiritual, caring and inclusive to a fault, Sue Bell could almost sound a bit worthy if it weren’t for her soulful wines, mischievous snigger and sheer feel-good factor.
Sue is the person behind the Coonawarra-based Bellwether label, which she established with business partner Andrew Rennie in 2008. She became sole owner in mid-2025, describing herself at the time as “excited and terrified”. We talk about that in our conversation, as well as the community that has developed around the Bellwether’s HQ, the historic Glenroy Shearing Shed. Among other accolades, Sue was named Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology Winemaker of the Year in 2014. You can taste her wines at the shed, which also offers camping and glamping options and hosts various events.
I’m pleased Sue shared her wisdom on a fair bit of unsung geography, covering a fair bit of ground—literally—around the South Australia/Victoria border. I hope that listeners might look out for these regions on wine labels and maybe even pay them a visit. These include Coonawarra itself, as well as Mount Gambier, Mount Benson, Padthaway and Wrattonbully. The Kanawinka Fault is the geological fault line that stretches from Portland in Victoria to Naracoorte in South Australia, where you’ll find the World Heritage-listed caves. The Bonney Upwelling is the oceanic phenomenon that has a crucial influence on local grape-growing conditions.
As so often when mapping the trajectory of my guests, a galaxy of Aussie wine stars has plotted Sue’s path to where she is today. From McLaren Vale, she mentions early experience at Noon, Woodstock and Primo Estate, with Primo’s Joseph Grilli offering some particularly valuable advice.
From her days at Southcorp, which has morphed into Treasury Wine Estates. She worked under Wayne Falkenberg at the Karadoc winery in Mildura (Corrina Wright in episode 28 and more so PJ Charteris in episode 8, talk about formative experiences here), Rouge Homme in Coonawarra, Seppelt Great Western (where she worked with great friend Kate Goodman) and Magill Estate (Penfolds). The late Neville Falkenberg was her boss on the Penfolds white team, where she worked alongside PJ Charteris, Steve Chapman, and others. From this period, she also mentions a viticulture placement in Eden Valley with Allen Jenkins, well known for his work at Wynns, and Suzi Hilder, now of Smallfry in the Barossa.
Sue’s cohort at Hardys has also come up a lot in this show. Many have praised Peter Dawson’s influence, while other members of the gang include past podcast guests Stephen Pannell (S.C. Pannell), Rob Mann (Corymbia), Anna Flowerday (Te Whare Ra) as well as Kerri Thompson (Wines by KT, Clare Valley), Fran Austin (Delamere, Tasmania), Alex McKay (Collector, Canberra District), Ed Carr (House of Arras) and communications specialist Bec Hopkins. Tom Newton gets a nice mention; he was with the Hardys group for 36 years, finishing up as Accolade’s Group White Winemaker in 2018. Eileen Hardy is the prestige label of the Hardys portfolio (now owned by Vinarchy), while Bay of Fires is a Tasmanian brand in the same group. B*****d Hill, meanwhile, is a Yarra Valley vineyard now owned by Jackson Family Wines, whose Giant Steps brand is producing single-site wines from here.
Sue speaks of the trip she took as dux of the Len Evans Tutorial after she left Hardys. LET is the annual scholarship experience held in the Hunter Valley, NSW, since 2001 and dubbed “the best wine school on earth”. That same year, she had a fateful conversation with Mike Brajkovich MW of Kumeu River in New Zealand. Having established Bellwether, Sue credits the help of the Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) as an invaluable source of information and support for the nation’s producers.
Other names that crop up are Ashley Ratcliff of Ricca Terra in the Riverland and the Chalmers family in Mildura (hear more about the latter in this episode). Meanwhile, Sue mentions Louise Hemsley-Smith (Battle of Bosworth), Louisa Rose (Yalumba) and Rebecca Wilson (Bremerton) in the segment on Sips in the Sticks.
