Sue Bell couldn’t appear less like a big company winemaker if she tried. But that’s whatshe was for many years, and one of the country’s most celebrated ones at that. However,Sue’s time working for Hardys on the Limestone Coast running their 30-odd million dollar winery didn’t instill in her a need for the bright lights, but rather a deeper appreciation for her broader region and for small-batch winemaking. After leaving Hardys, Sue turned down some very big jobs (with equally big pay cheques)in marquee regions both here and overseas to set up shop in the historic Glenroy woolshed in the Coonawarra. Armed with a love of the region and a deep conviction that, while unfashionable, the Coonawarra still had the capacity to make the country’s finest wines, a belief well supported by her experience of the great Coonawarra reds of the 50s and 60s. Sue set about hand-crafting the best wines possible, from the ground up.
