The Road Less Travelled | Greenway Wines
Set along a quiet road in Broke Fordwich, with Wollombi Brook on one side and the Brokenback Ranges rising beyond the vines, Greenway Wines is the kind of place you could easily drive past if you weren't looking for it.
Shaped by a sense of place rather than scale, that sense of being slightly removed from the bustle is part of Greenway's character. Across its 22 acres, a small collection of vines produces wines never entirely bound by convention, while the Red Barn cellar door offers a place to linger, sip slowly, and soak up the beauty of the landscape. For Brett and Louise Dann, becoming the new owners of Greenway Wines was never part of the plan.
The couple had been looking for a rural escape in the Hunter Valley, somewhere they could enjoy with their family and grandchildren. Louise had also long loved the idea of one day owning Scottish Highland cattle, so their search had taken them across the Hunter Valley to look at rural properties.
On their way home from Wollombi one afternoon, they decided to call into Greenway Wines. They knew the owner, Anne Greenway, was looking to sell, but buying a vineyard wasn’t what had brought them there. Sometimes, though, timing is everything.
“We were in the right place at the right time,” Brett says. “It felt like fate.”
Just two months after that fortunate stop, Brett and Louise became the new custodians of Greenway Wines. They celebrated their first 12 months at the vineyard on 1 October 2026.
Brett’s connection with the Hunter, however, goes back generations. The Dann family arrived in the region in 1839, although Brett’s own career would take him considerably further afield. After spending time as an exchange student near Munich, Germany, Brett entered the travel industry in 1984. In 1999, Brett and Louise
acquired a travel agency in Newcastle, with their then business partner Helga Saxarra, beginning what would become the Hunter Travel Group. Over the following 27 years, the business has grown from that single agency into one of Australia’s largest privately owned travel groups, today encompassing 35 locations across Australia, including 10 in the Hunter, and more than 175 travel professionals. The group includes Helloworld Travel agencies as well as a number of other retail, cruise, corporate and specialist travel businesses. On the surface, travel and wine seem worlds apart. But for Brett, the connection is becoming increasingly clear.
“They’re both about people, places, discovery, stories and memorable experiences.”
“Customer service is at the heart of everything we do. We want everyone to slow down, to relax and enjoy the experiences we offer. In this way, the vineyard complements our work in the travel industry.”
“Louise and I began building what would become Hunter Travel Group 27 years ago. Despite changes in how the industry operates, we find people still want experiences curated for them, and that’s what we do – we care for people, build relationships, and provide personalised service. We do the same thing at the cellar door.”
“And after more than 40 years encouraging people to explore the world, Greenway has given Lou and me the chance to invite people to slow down and discover our little corner of it."
The couple have consciously chosen not to overhaul what Anne Greenway created during her 16 years at the property.
“We never came in wanting to change what Greenway was,” Brett says. “Anne had already created something very special, with wonderful wines, a real sense of place and an incredibly loyal following. For us, it’s about respecting what she created, looking after it and building on it carefully. Hopefully, when the time eventually comes to hand Greenway on, we’ll leave it even stronger for the next generation.”
Greenway’s vines were first planted in the 1990s, but the vineyard’s personality really began to emerge after Anne took the reins in 2009.
Rather than following the traditional Hunter Valley path, Anne deliberately chose to do things differently. There was no Semillon, Chardonnay or Verdelho. Instead, she championed lesser-known varieties, drawing inspiration in part from her travels through Italy. Fiano and Pinot Grigio were grafted into the vineyard alongside established plantings of Merlot, Shiraz and Gewürztraminer. As Anne said at the time, she wanted Greenway to be “a small producer doing something different” and was “never interested in what the crowd was doing”.
Fiano, in particular, found a happy home. It became one of Greenway’s signatures as Favoloso Fiano and later the Hunter Valley’s first Sparkling Fiano. The range also includes Grace, the estate-grown Fiano and Gewürztraminer blend, and Luminoso Pinot Grigio, inspired by the traditional Italian Ramato style. Alongside them are Sabine Rosé,
Momento Merlot, the Architect Shiraz and a handful of other stunning small-production wines.
It is an unusual line-up for the Hunter, but that was always the intention. Greenway has never seemed particularly interested in following a prescribed route. The Red Barn cellar door was established in 2016, giving Greenway a place from which to share not only its wines, but the story of the vineyard itself. A tasting at the Red Barn might take place beneath the pergola, under the old mulberry tree or among the orchard rather than across a conventional cellardoor counter.
Guests begin with a glass of Sparkling Fiano before moving through a selection of Greenway wines, accompanied by complimentary artisan food pairings designed to complement the wines – goat’s cheese with house-made sweet chilli jam, double brie and honeycomb, dark chocolate and chocolate-coated Turkish delight.
It is less about rushing through a list of wines and more about settling into the surroundings, discovering something you may not have tasted before and having a conversation along the way.
“It’s about how people feel while they’re here,” Brett says.
“Getting to know them, making them feel welcome and having them leave, when they’re ready, feeling like they’re part of the Greenway family.”
Tastings run Friday to Sunday, and while about an hour is usually set aside, guests at Greenway tend to set the pace. The conversation, personal connection and complimentary food pairings are all part of the experience, naturally encouraging visitors to slow down rather than watch the clock.
“Nothing here is rushed,” Brett says. “It’s all about slowing down and letting people enjoy Greenway at their own pace. Some guests might spend an hour with us; others stay considerably longer. We want people to enjoy the wines, enjoy the conversation and simply enjoy being here.”
For Brett, visiting a vineyard is about much more than what’s in the glass.
"We're genuinely touched by the emotion we sometimes see when people leave, and by the hugs we receive. Someone may have arrived as a stranger an hour or two earlier, and suddenly, we're saying goodbye like old friends. We’ve been incredibly humbled by the things people say about their time with us and the reviews they share afterwards.”
At a vineyard producing only around 15,000 bottles each year, there is still time for that kind of connection. And for Brett and Louise, being small isn't something they're looking to outgrow; it's part of what makes the Greenway experience so special.
Doing things a little differently has long been part of Greenway’s character.
When it came to the reds, Anne Greenway was particularly adventurous, with Greenway becoming just the fifth vineyard in Australia to plant Teroldego, a little-known northern Italian variety rarely seen in this country.
Those vines were already growing when Brett and Louise took over, and in February this year they produced their first harvest.
“Nothing here is rushed,” Brett says. “It’s all about slowing down and letting people enjoy Greenway at their own pace. Some guests might spend an hour with us; others stay considerably longer. We want people to enjoy the wines, enjoy the conversation and simply enjoy being here.”
For Brett, visiting a vineyard is about much more than what’s in the glass.
"We're genuinely touched by the emotion we sometimes see when people leave, and by the hugs we receive. Someone may have arrived as a stranger an hour or two earlier, and suddenly, we're saying goodbye like old friends. We’ve been incredibly humbled by the things people say about their time with us and the reviews they share afterwards.”
At a vineyard producing only around 15,000 bottles each year, there is still time for that kind of connection. And for Brett and Louise, being small isn't something they're looking to outgrow; it's part of what makes the
Greenway experience so special.
Doing things a little differently has long been part of Greenway’s character.
When it came to the reds, Anne Greenway was particularly adventurous, with Greenway becoming just the fifth vineyard in Australia to plant Teroldego, a little-known northern Italian variety rarely seen in this country.
Those vines were already growing when Brett and Louise took over, and in February this year they produced their first harvest.
“Anne deserves the credit for planting the Teroldego,” Brett says.
“She was prepared to try something different, and that really sums up Greenway. We’re a small vineyard and doing things a little differently has always been part of who we are.”
The first Teroldego vintage will be released later this year, continuing a philosophy that has long defined Greenway: small production, interesting varieties, and wines that offer something a little different from what people might expect to find in the Hunter Valley.
Originally from northern Italy and closely associated with Trentino, Teroldego is known for its deep colour, freshness and dark-fruited, savoury character.
Greenway’s 2026 vintage will be the Hunter Valley’s first commercially released estate-grown Teroldego and has been aptly named Inizio, Italian for “beginning”.
The name is particularly fitting. It marks a first for Greenway and the Hunter Valley, while coinciding with Brett and Louise’s first year in the business.
The 2026 Inizio will be released on 4 December. For Brett, the significance of that first Teroldego vintage goes beyond adding another wine to the Greenway range. It captures something of what being a custodian means to them.
“Greenway’s story isn’t Anne’s story followed by ours."
“It’s one continuing story. Anne planted something for the future, and we’ve been fortunate enough to nurture it through to its first vintage. In time, we’ll add our own part to the story too," Brett said. A year into their guardianship, Brett and Louise are still discovering what that means. There are vines that predate them, wines shaped by Anne’s influence and a Red Barn cellar door that already had its own character long before they arrived. They want to preserve those things while gradually bringing something of themselves to Greenway. For Brett and Louise, one of the greatest pleasures has been the change of pace.
“For Louise and me, there’s something about arriving at Greenway and almost immediately feeling yourself slow down,” Brett says.
“There’s nothing quite like that feeling of escaping and settling into a more relaxed, unhurried way of being.”
It is a feeling they want their visitors to share.
“Great wine should be a given. For us, it’s also about how people feel while they’re here. We want to get to know them, make them feel welcome and hopefully have them leave feeling a little bit part of the Greenway family.”
There are wines in the cellar for the curious, some unexpected varieties growing in the vineyard, and a little Red Barn where visitors can settle in, share a few stories and sip it slow.
Sometimes the road less travelled really is worth the detour. Visit www.greenwaywines.com.au.
