Mt Yengo is a unique venture. Started by Gary Green and Ben Hansberry, Mt Yengo was created to bring the culture and values of the First Nations People of Australia and fuse them with the more recent culture surrounding wine: to create not only a wine brand, but a true community entered around wine. A community that values bridging the cultural divide, instilling cultural understanding, and embracing reconciliation and diversity.

Gary Green is a Gamilaraay and Githabul man from New South Wales, whose father was a prominent businessman and leader in the Aboriginal community. Gary has inherited his father’s business acumen, entrepreneurial spirit, and social justice orientation, and has employed these traits in the food and beverage space. He founded a premium Australian Wagyu wholesaler called Mr Wagyu Beef, as well as Gondwana Wines in 2016, which was rebranded as Mt Yengo Wines in 2019.

Mt Yengo has always featured Aboriginal art on its labels. In 2021, the winery announced that Wayne Quilliam, who had been the featured artist on the labels, would join the team in a permanent role as a director. This is an extension of Mt Yengo’s mission to include their artists in the commercial success of the winery, as they have been giving a portion of the proceeds of each bottle sold to the artists for years. Mt Yengo also gives a portion of the proceeds of each bottle sold to the National Indigenous Culinary Institute, which is a program of national significance to create highly skilled Indigenous chefs.

Mt Yengo sources from many sites across Australia, in particular Adelaide Hills/Peramangk Country, but in 2020, they joined forces with Bisous Estate in NSW’s Hunter Valley/Wonnarua Country, to establish a more permanent home for Mt Yengo. To Gary, the goals of land-custodianship, community, and quality wine are inextricable. “You don’t get successful social outcomes without commercial success,” he says. “We’re able to make a difference only if we make great wine.”