Tyrrell's Today

The Tyrrell family has been producing outstanding wines in the Hunter Valley since 1858; Tyrrell’s is the equal second-oldest continuously owned and operated family winery in Australia.

Bruce graduated from the University of New England in 1973 with a Bachelor of Agricultural Economics. He has had a broad range of involvement in the wine industry, including serving as a Director of the Hunter Valley Wine and Tourism Association and the Hunter Valley Research Foundation.

In 2006, Bruce was recognised as a Member in the General Division of the Order of Australia (AM), in recognition of his contribution to the Australian wine industry – in particular his efforts to improve grape quality, research, tourism and export opportunities. In 2009, he was named a Hunter Valley Living Legend at the Hunter Valley Wine Industry Awards. The same year, Tyrrell’s was named Australian Red Winery of the Year by Gary Walsh and Campbell Mattinson. Tyrrell’s was also named Australian
Winery of the Year by James Halliday in his 2010 Australian Wine Companion.

In 2012, Tyrrell’s Vat 1 Semillon and Vat 9 Shiraz were the inaugural winners of the Wines of Provenance award at the Hunter Valley Wine Show. In 2016, Bruce received the Graham Gregory Award in recognition of his services to the NSW wine industry. The following year, Bruce was recognised by his peers for his significant contribution to the Hunter Valley wine industry, presenting him with the Hunter Valley Award for Excellence. And in 2023, Bruce was honoured as a Life Member of the Australian Grape and Wine Industry. This award recognises outstanding leadership and contribution to the nation’s wine industry over and above an individual’s career achievements.

Tyrrell’s continually works to maintain its position as one of Australia’s pre-eminent family-owned wine companies, producing wines that are not only of the highest quality, but perhaps more importantly, are wines that people love to drink.
Bruce and Pauline Tyrrell’s three children, Jane, John and Christopher, all currently work in the business. They grew up on the Tyrrell winery and estate, just as their father and grandfather did. Today, they are instrumental in directing Tyrrell’s as a modern Australian wine company, leading it into the fifth generation. Bruce’s grandchildren Henry and Edward were born in 2016 and 2018 respectively to Bruce’s youngest son Christopher and his wife Tegan. Henry and Edward are the sixth generation to be born and raised on the Tyrrell Family Estate.

From back in her childhood days earning pocket money working in the cellar door and office, fifth-generation family member Jane Tyrrell always knew she wanted to join the family business.

Jane officially joined Tyrrell’s in 2001, working as a personal assistant to the sales manager. She then joined the NSW sales team as a rep, moving on to become key accounts manager and then being appointed NSW state sales manager in 2008.

After getting married in 2012 and moving to regional NSW, Jane returned to looking after key on premise accounts. Today, Jane chairs the Tyrrell’s executive committee and is actively involved in many other aspects of the company’s operations, from winemaking and production to marketing and administration.

Working from the ground up has given Jane an appreciation of all aspects of the business. “Taking our wine to the people who buy it is the most rewarding experience,” she says. “What I learn from the trade and consumers, I pass on directly to my father, Bruce, my brother, Chris, and the winemaking team. Thanks to the closeness of our operation and its family nature, we can consistently make wines that are relevant to the drinking public.”

Johnny works in the vineyard in a role that his father, Bruce, refers to as Minister for Morale. “John keeps things in line for the winemaking team and ensures crew members always have a smile on their faces,” Bruce says.

Born and raised on the Tyrrell family estate, Chris, together with his sister Jane and his brother John, represent the fifth generation of the Tyrrell family winemaking dynasty.

In 2001, at the age of 18, Chris began his winery apprenticeship during the first vintage after the passing of his grandfather and Australian winemaking legend Murray Tyrrell. Since then, Chris has worked in a variety of different positions within the family wine company. Between vintages, he worked in the sales and marketing department in Sydney until the end of 2005, when he returned to the Hunter Valley to work full-time in the winery.

Between 2006 and 2014, Chris was the assistant winemaker at Tyrrell’s, working closely with two of the great modern-day Hunter Valley winemakers, Chief Winemaker Andrew Spinaze and Red Winemaker Mark Richardson. In recent years, Chris and the rest of the Tyrrell’s winemaking team have focused heavily on
improving, and in some cases reinventing, their classic regional styles, and single vineyard wines. Specifically, they’ve been looking at ways to evolve Tyrrell’s flagship Semillon, Chardonnay, and Shiraz wines from the family estate, which is home to some of the world’s oldest vineyards.

In November 2012, he was a scholar at the Len Evans Tutorial, said to be the “most exclusive wine school in the world”. In late 2014, Chris was promoted to the role of Chief Operating Officer, overseeing all facets of vineyard management and wine production at the Hunter Valley winery. In July 2023, Chris assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer, bringing Tyrrell’s officially into its fifth generation of family business. 2023 also saw Chris take on the role of President of the Hunter Valley Wine and Tourism Association, a not-for-profit organisation that acts as the destination marketing body for the Hunter Valley. Chris is an active judge on the Australian wine show circuit and has also completed the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia ‘Future Leaders’ program, which focuses on developing the next generation of Australian wine industry leaders.

Chris and his wife Tegan have two boys, Henry and Edward, the sixth generation of the family to be born and raised on the family estate. Chris’s undertaking as leader of his family business is to
ensure the further strengthening of Tyrrell’s position as one of the world’s greatest family-owned wine companies for the future generations of his family.