declared on 18 March 1997. It is not as large as the Hunter Valley zone, but includes most of the significant vineyards. It does not extend east of the Pacific Highway. The Hunter region has three subregions. The three recognised subregions of the Hunter Wine Region are Broke Fordwich (registered 2 September 1997), Pokolbin (registered 29 July 2010) and Upper Hunter Valley (registered 29 July 2010). Broke Fordwich Broke Fordwich surrounds the towns of Broke, Fordwich and Bulga. Some of the oldest vines in the Hunter Valley were planted in 1924 around the village of Fordwich. The Broke Fordwich subregion is between the Upper Hunter Valley to the northwest and the lower Hunter Valley (including Pokolbin) to the east. Broke Fordwich is sheltered on the south side of the valley on the Fordwich Sill volcanic red clay and nearby free-draining alluvial soils and sandy loam. It has lower rainfall and higher diurnal temperature variation than Pokolbin. The Broke Fordwich area is located along the Hunter River tributary of the Wollombi Brook near the suburb of . The area was founded in 1830 by Major Thomas Mitchell who named the region after his fellow Napoleonic War veteran Sir Charles Broke-Vere. The area's location along the convict trail helped it to flourish as convicts were shuttled through to work in the coal mines of Cessnock. In September 1997, it was granted official sub-region status of the Hunter Valley. For most of the Hunter Valley's history, Broke Fordwich was noted for the quality of its fruit. Max Lake, of Lake's Folly, noted in 1970 that "Much of the reputation of Pokolbin rests with fruit from Fordwich". The Broke Fordwich subregion includes the communities of Broke, Bulga, Fordwich and Milbrodale. Many of the vineyards of the area are located on the undulating hills around the villages of Broke and Bulga leading up to the southwestern edge of the Brokenback range. The large Yellow Rock escarpment that border Broke also has numerous vineyards and is the regions dominant geographical feature. The area is one of the warmest in the Lower Hunter with some continental influences due to extenuating foothills of the Brokenback range that particularly encircle the area and block many of the breezes coming off the coast. Broke Fordwich accounts for around 14% of all the Hunter Valley's plantings. More than three-quarters of the vineyard land in the area is dedicated to Chardonnay, Semillon,