Belinda van Eyssen, winemaker and co-founder of The Cutting, has been named the 2026 Barons of Barossa Winemaker of the Year, with her story of resilience, family legacy and community leadership at the heart of the recognition.
The announcement was made at the Declaration of Vintage ceremony in Tanunda on Sunday, celebrating a winemaker whose influence extends well beyond the cellar door.
The award, presented annually since 1988, honours those who have made outstanding contributions to the Barossa wine community through excellence in winemaking, dedication to the region and a willingness to share knowledge.
“This recognition is deeply meaningful to me. Making wine on Ngadjuri Country in the Barossa, a region I once benchmarked from the other side of the world, is a privilege I don’t take lightly. This award reflects not just my story, but the support of this incredible community, my family, my husband Daniel and our two young sons, Thomas and Luca.
“My grandmother picked grapes for others. My mother, too. Today, I make wine as a named winemaker in the Barossa Valley,” van Eyssen said. “This award honours every woman in my family who worked vineyards but never got recognised for it. It reminds me why breaking down barriers in this industry matters.”
Van Eyssen’s journey began in Cape Town, where she studied food technology before moving into winemaking in post-apartheid South Africa, becoming one of only a few Indigenous female winemakers in the country. Her career later took her through the Western Cape, Sonoma, Bordeaux, the Douro Valley and Marlborough, before she relocated to Australia in 2010.
After working across several Australian regions, she began making wine from Rod and Jude McDonald’s Stone Well vineyard in 2014. In 2018, she and her husband Daniel founded The Cutting on the family vineyard, focusing on varieties including Shiraz, Grenache, Cinsault and Chenin Blanc.
Since then, the boutique winery has earned significant acclaim, including a trophy at the 2019 Marananga Wine Show for their Stonewell Shiraz, Decanter scores of 97 points for both the 2022 and 2023 Shiraz vintages, and a recent Best Varietal Red win for their Cinsault — a first for both the variety and the region.
Beyond her winemaking, van Eyssen’s commitment to the Barossa community has shaped her impact. She has served on the Marananga Wine Show committee for five years, spent three years on the Barossa Wine Show committee, and was recently appointed as an Associate Judge. She is also active within the Seppeltsfield Road Business Alliance and a graduate of the Wine Australia Future Leaders program.
Her work is also grounded in sustainability and stewardship, with native plantings and regenerative practices guiding how she and Daniel care for the land.
The recognition comes at a time of evolution for the Barossa, where traditional expressions of Shiraz sit alongside alternative varieties and new approaches. For van Eyssen, that diversity reflects a region that continues to honour its heritage while embracing its future.
