![[logo] Wynns Coonawarra Estate](/images/common/header.png)
Sue Hodder
Chief Winemaker
One of Australia’s best-known winemakers, Sue Hodder is the Senior Winemaker at Wynns Coonawarra Estate in South Australia’s Coonawarra region. She has just completed her 16th vintage at Wynns.
Sue grew up and went to school in Alice Springs and her journey from the ‘red centre’ to the red soil of Coonawarra has taken her to vineyards around Australia and the world.
Graduating in 1984 with qualifications in both Agricultural Science and Winemaking, from Roseworthy (now part of the University of Adelaide), Sue commenced her career in viticulture. Initially working for Penfolds in the Barossa Valley assessing vineyards for the iconic Penfolds labels.
Detailed vine assessments through the growing season, tasting and analysing maturing fruit and following up the resultant wines gave Sue an appreciation of the importance of the vineyard in quality wine production.
After a couple of years, Sue made what she sees as the logical move into winemaking but still believes the fundamental viticultural training was invaluable. Her first winemaking role was making sparkling wine for Seaview in the Barossa Valley and for Seppelt at Great Western in Victoria from 1989 to 1992.
Sue went to Wynns Coonawarra Estate for the 1993 vintage, and has remained. In 1998 she took over the reins from former Chief Winemaker, Peter Douglas. "I am well aware of the responsibility I have for maintaining the quality of a range of wines that represent Coonawarra as a region as much as they represent Wynns and I am the custodian of a great winemaking tradition," she said.
Sue has worked in Margaret River and vintages in California and Bordeaux. Sue has judged over 50 Regional, National and International wine shows and is admired by her peers for her commitment and attention to detail.
She is the current chair of the highly Respected Adelaide Wine Show.
Sue has worked collaboratively with wine industry bodies such as the CSIRO Food Futures Programme, the Australian Wine Research Institute and the Australian Wine Industry Technical conference Advisory Committee. In 2007, she was a session chair at the 13th technical conference in Adelaide.