Aaron grew up on the Mornington Peninsula. His foray into wine started in the early 2000’s when he started leasing a disused vineyard at a friends farm. From there it was a combination of building his own family wine businesses (Fallen Giants & Circe) and  working across leading fine wine producers, initially Mount Langi Ghiran, and later Yering Station & Xanadu. In 2015 Aaron left for NZ to take up the GM role at iconic New Zealand Winery, Craggy Range. After 8 years in Hawke’s Bay, the opportunity to come home and be part of the next chapter of Stonier was too amazing to pass up.

Aside from Stonier, Aaron sits on the Board of Craggy Range and Brick Lane Brewing.

Rebecca has a finance background and after 10 years in Investment Banking around the world decided working with her brother Aaron in the Vineyard was far more fun…she  may have been slightly dillusional! However 10 years later Rebecca is still running her Grampians vineyard and working with her Brother at Stonier overseeing the Finance function.

Julian is one of the most talented winemakers in the country and a great fit for our world class team and our aspiration to be one of Australia’s benchmark producers.  After graduating Dux from his Oenology and Viticulture studies, and receiving the Leeuwin Award for future leadership, Julian was awarded a scholarship to make wine in Burgundy.

After stints in Margaret River, Central Otago, and Oregon, Julian took up a role as Senior Winemaker at Giant Steps in the Yarra Valley, before returning to Margaret River to join McHenry Hohnen as Chief Winemaker in early 2017.  Later that year, he graduated Dux of the Len Evans Tutorial, one of the biggest honours for Australian winemakers.

Julian has spent the last 5 vintages at Craggy Range as Chief Winemaker, helping to take the winery to the no.1 rank in the 2023 Real Review, highest ranked NZ & Australian winery in the 2022 Worlds Best Vineyards award. Julian will continue to consult to Craggy, supporting the transition to the new winemaking team.

Tim began his viticulture career in 1990 at the pioneering iconic cool climate vineyard, Virgin Hills in the Macedon Ranges and continued over the next 15 seasons working with other producers in Macedon region and cool climate regions beyond, including Helm and Lark Hill in Canberra and Rochford in the Yarra valley, before joining Bindi as their first viticultural consultant.

“My Viticulture consultancy has given me the opportunity to travel, visit and work with many great new and established producers in diverse wine regions throughout Europe Australia and New Zealand. Much of this work has been in planning, establishment and management of new High-Density vineyards (planted five times more density than conventional) and farmed free of herbicides using only organic inputs”

Stonier is primarily where Tim spends his time since our change of ownership in late 2022. “It is a privilege to be able to work with such well-regarded mature vineyards and help drive an uplift in quality and productivity as we introduce best practice organic farming principals”.

Duncan has 30 years of experience crafting cool climate wines the Mornington Peninsula is famous for; Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Shiraz. Duncan has a wealth of knowledge, not only in winemaking but also viticulture and has honed his craft here in Australia as well as Burgundy, France; Barolo, Italy and The Okanagan Valley in Canada, working with renowned winemakers of those regions. When he's not in the winery, or wrangling his kids you might find him surfing, riding his bike or occasionally on the airwaves of 3RRR's Eat It program.

Sara began her wine life in 2004 as a vintage cellar hand in the Willamette Valley, Oregon making Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, working her way up to cellar master and then an assistant winemaking position with a small, family-owned winery and vineyard. In 2010, she travelled to Central Otago to make Pinot in the Southern hemisphere where she met her now husband, Julian. Together the two shared a passion for wine and travel and made a life working and living in wine regions, including Oregon, Yarra Valley, Margaret River, and Hawke’s Bay. 

Though she made the move from winemaking to wine marketing while in the Yarra Valley, she can still be found walking the vineyard and helping out in the cellar during vintage. Excited to be back in the land of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, Sara is at home with the Stonier family.

Paula has a lot of experience in large scale events around food and wine. Her passion for the business and people is infectious as she manages the cellar door, collaborations with others in our community, and events at our cellar door!

Busy mum of 3 boys, favourite spot is the beach, enjoy yoga, gym and spending time with family or friends. Passionate about working with people either serving them in hospitality or supporting them as a support worker. Loves a good chat and making people smile.

Andrea has always had a strong cool climate passion, having worked in Geelong's Surfcoast & Bellarine, Yarra Valley and Tasmania. A multi-generational Melbournian, she broke the mould by moving to the idyllic peninsula in 2022 to work with Stonier as Assistant Winemaker. With a family background of small independent businesses, as such she was thrilled when Stonier was independently purchased in November 2022 aligning with her personal ethos.

After work Andrea can be found outside, noodling about with her dog, dawdling on the beach, riding her bike and missing Melbourne's iconic fresh food markets. 

Although quite talkative, writing about herself is not a strong point.

Josh grew up in Shoreham and comes from a family of ceramic artists. After doing a Masters in Fine Art and Education at Melbourne University, his deep love of the land the surf brought him back to the Peninsula. Given his appreciation for aesthetics, eye for detail and strong work ethic he is an integral leader in the vineyard. Josh is also responsible for the grounds and the transformation of the site that has taken place since December’s ownership change.

Sophie has completed multiple vintages on the Peninsula & Macedon Ranges whilst working in the Winery, Vineyards and Cellar Door at Stonier and is currently undertaking part time studies at Charles Sturt University. 

She lives by the motto:

‘A day without wine, is like a day without sunshine.’

Sophie brings a strong understanding of business management and hospitality having owned a bustling Melbourne Cafe with her sister for 7 years.

On her days off she can be found with her family and friends, entertaining and indulging in great food & wine. 

Nicole is our longest standing staff member, having started 22 years ago when Brian Stonier was at the helm. Nicole is a source of knowledge for many of the staff, and is passionate about the Stonier business, with her daughter Imogen also involved in the vineyard.

Len is a Kiwi born machinery operator who does the thankless tasks with a nod or a grunt. He loves the outdoors and can be find with a beer in his hand over a fine Pinot, but we are working on converting him!