Sommelier of the Year: Zoe Brunton

We had just locked in the copy for this award, detailing how vital Zoe Brunton is to the Olympus Dining team, when the news came that she was leaving Redfern’s premier Greek restaurant for John Singleton’s Grand Saddles Lodge in Mount White. A loss for Olympus; a big win for Singo and the Central Coast.

Zoe Brunton has recently moved to Grand Saddles Lodge.Brunton has a vast knowledge of French and Australian wines from her time at Monopole (not to mention a Wine & Spirit Education Trust diploma), while at Olympus, she championed exciting new and old producers with a style of communication that could dive deep, but never felt elite. (She is not the kind of sommelier to smugly correct your pronunciation of assyrtiko, xinomavro or Gimonnet Cuis.)

A longtime supporter of diversity in wine and hospitality, Brunton was selected to represent Sommeliers Australia as a judge at the 2026 NSW Wine Awards. The experience will surely lead to even more championing of great winemakers at her new role.

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