14/04/2026
Introducing Vignerons Schmolzer & Brown
High in the cool, sub‑alpine reaches of Beechworth, Tessa Brown and Jeremy Schmolzer have created a home, a vineyard, and a life amongst the rugged beauty of the high country. Together with their two young children, they are Vignerons Schmolzer & Brown, partners in wine and in life.
began with the planting of the Thorley Vineyard and the establishment of their home in the high country of North East Victoria. Perched among some of the highest and coolest sites in the Beechworth GI, their vineyard is farmed organically in all but the most challenging seasons. Their approach to winemaking is intentionally minimal, with a focus on purity, precision, and expressing the character of this elevated landscape.
Their story is one woven from diverse beginnings. Tessa, a third‑generation farmer, grew up among the cane fields of Far North Queensland, with family roots extending back to remote outback cattle country beyond the Great Dividing Range. A chance cellar‑door visit with her father in her teens ignited her passion for wine and grape growing, a career she has pursued since working for vineyards and wineries throughout Australia and overseas.
Jeremy, a Melburnian with Austrian heritage, spent years working as an architect in London and Austria. His upbringing, spanning his mother’s childhood on a small sheep farm in the Otways to his father’s village in rural West Styria, shares the same rural thread that runs through Tessa’s heritage. In 2014, with their first small harvest and the planting of the Thorley vineyard, Jeremy stepped into a new chapter.
Today, the family lives in Stanley, surrounded by apple and walnut orchards, crafting Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Noir and more, from their Thorley vineyard as well as neighbouring high‑altitude sites like the Brunnen vineyard.
Open by appointment only, located at 39 Thorley Road, Stanley.
