The Burgundy influence arrived early and stuck. In 2018 the pair chased harvest to the Côte d’Or, and what they encountered there – the reverence for individual parcels, the unhurried attention to place – reshaped how they saw wine permanently. “Site first, always,” they say. A vintage in Napa Valley followed in 2019. Back home, their paths diverged professionally before converging again: Hugh rose to winemaker at Agnew Wines alongside Xanthe Hatcher; Emily honed her craft at Brokenwood before leading winemaking at De Iuliis, where Glover Wines was quietly taking shape alongside her day job. Both completed their studies through Charles Sturt University. Emily was named Hunter Valley Young Achiever in 2024. This year she stepped into Glover Wines full-time, and the label shifted from passion project to fully-fledged pursuit. “Glover Wines was born out of a uni assessment,” they say, “but because Emily’s never been one to do things by halves, it quickly evolved into something much larger.”
The Hunter Valley is home in every sense – both grew up here, both have built their careers here, and both feel a genuine sense of custodianship toward it. “We truly believe the Hunter and its wines are some of the most unique and distinctive wines in the world,” they say. The region accounts for just one percent of Australia’s national wine output, which makes its outsized influence on the industry all the more striking. The community that produces it is close-knit and generous, and Emily and Hugh are clear that their formation as winemakers owes a great deal to the mentors around them. “The Hunter Valley winemaking community is exceptionally close, and it has been the ultimate classroom for us.”
The technical approach at Glover Wines is quietly distinctive within the Hunter context. The key decision is the elimination of fining at the juice stage – a process where clarifying agents are added to the freshly pressed juice before fermentation to remove solids, which can also strip away flavour and aromatics. “When the free-run juice is truly pristine, we see no need to strip away its natural character,” they say. By skipping it, they preserve the integrity of the juice, which they believe results in better fermentation nutrition and a more expressive, palate-weight-driven style. The golden rule from there is patience. “Wines evolve dramatically throughout maturation, and it’s easy to become reactive when a wine enters a transition phase. We’ve learned that the best results come from supporting one another’s initial vision and resisting the urge to make rushed, reactionary adjustments.”
The core range reflects the vineyards they’ve worked hardest to secure. The Oakey Creek semillon – from the Bonvilla Estate – is prized for its purity and capacity to age. The Wollombi Brook chardonnay comes from the original Pooles Rock site, a vineyard with a well-established pedigree in the Hunter. The Hunter River Burg Shyrah – note the deliberate old-school spelling, a nod to the Hunter’s historic wine culture – comes from the Steven Vineyard. Each is a site-specific expression made with minimal intervention, from grape to bottle, entirely by the two of them. “We want to encourage people to take our wines and extend that connection and experience with more people,” they say. The long-term dream is a home vineyard, a legacy brand, and perhaps one day, chardonnay and pinot noir made in Burgundy itself. For now, the Hunter is more than enough.
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