Cullen Wines is an

Australian wine The Australian wine industry is one of the world's largest exporters of wine, with approximately 800 million out of the 1.2 to 1.3 billion litres produced annually exported to overseas markets. The wine industry is a significant contributor ...

ry based in Wilyabrup, within the Margaret River wine region of Western Australia.

History

Trial vines were planted on one acre of land by Diana and Kevin Cullen on a Wilyabrup property in 1966 after having read advice and received encouragement from Dr John Gladstones, who believed the Margaret River was ideal for planting vines due to a similarity he saw with the climate and soils of

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture ...

. The trials were promising, and 17 acres of vineyards were planted, this time on their own property, in 1971, with the business founded under the name "Wilyabrup Wines". The first grape vines planted were

Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Leban ...

Riesling Riesling (, ; ) is a white grape variety that originated in the Rhine region. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet, and sparkling ...

and

Gewürztraminer Gewürztraminer () is an aromatic wine grape variety, used in white wines, and performs best in cooler climates. In English, it is sometimes referred to colloquially as Gewürz (; although this is never the case in German, because "Gewürz" me ...

. Kevin Cullen was given the Western Australian "Citizen of the year" for "The Professions" in 1993, and was inducted as a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian ...

in 1994 for "service to medicine" and service "to the wine industry". He died in 1994.THE SENATE - MATTERS OF PUBLIC INTEREST - Cullen, Dr Kevin and Mrs Diana
/ref> Diana Cullen was inducted as a Member of the Order of Australia in 2000 for "service to the development of viticulture and the wine industry". She died in 2003. Vanya Cullen, the daughter of Diana and Kevin, took over the wine making role in 1989 after graduating from

Roseworthy College Roseworthy Agricultural College was an agricultural college in Australia. It was north of Adelaide and west of Roseworthy town. It was the first agricultural college in Australia, established in 1883. It is now part of the University of Ade ...

with an

Oenology Oenology (also enology; ) is the science and study of wine and winemaking. Oenology is distinct from viticulture, which is the science of the growing, cultivation, and harvesting of grapes. The English word oenology derives from the Greek word ' ...

degree in 1986, and is the current managing director and senior winemaker. Prior to undertaking the Oenology degree, in 1982 she graduated from the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany, Western Australia, Albany an ...

with a degree in

zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and ...

. Vanya Cullen received the "Australian Winemaker of the Year" award from Gourmet Traveller Wine magazine in 2000 and was voted "Woman of the Year" by UK based wine magazine '' The Drinks Business'' in 2008, becoming the first Australian to receive the award. Cullen Wines has been run according to

biodynamic farming Biodynamic agriculture is a form of alternative agriculture based on pseudo-scientific and esoteric concepts initially developed in 1924 by Rudolf Steiner (1861–1925). It was the first of the organic farming movements. It treats soil fertili ...

principles since 2003, after having adopted organic methods in 1998. Cullen Wines was the first winery in Australia to be certified carbon neutral, starting the process in 2006. Vanya Cullen is on the board of the "Days of Change" program, which aims to help Western Australian people and businesses live and operate in a more sustainable way.

Wines

About 20,000 cases of wine are produced each vintage from the 45 hectares of vineyards owned by the winery. The best known wine produced by Cullen Wines is the "Diana Madeline Cabernet Merlot", It is made of around 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30%

Merlot Merlot is a dark blue–colored wine grape variety, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name ''Merlot'' is thought to be a diminutive of ''merle'', the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to t ...

and 10%

Cabernet Franc Cabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone, as in the Loire's Chinon. In addition to being use ...

in most vintages. Langton's Classification of Australian Wine placed this wine at their highest level of "Exceptional" in the 2005 classification, and it stayed at this level for the subsequent classification in 2010. It is named in tribute of Diana Cullen, the co-founder of the estate. From the 2006 vintage, a "Kevin John

Chardonnay Chardonnay (, , ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand. For new ...

" has been produced, which is named as a tribute for the other founder of the estate, Kevin Cullen. Other red wines produced include a

single vineyard A vineyard designated wine is a wine produced from the product of a single vineyard with that vineyard's name appearing on the wine label. Throughout the history of winemaking and viticulture, the differences in quality between one plot of land ...

Malbec Malbec () is a purple grape variety used in making red wine. The grapes tend to have an inky dark color and robust tannins, and are known as one of the six grapes allowed in the blend of red Bordeaux wine. In France, plantations of Malbec are n ...

Petit Verdot Petit Verdot is a variety of red wine grape, principally used in classic Bordeaux blends. It ripens much later than the other varieties in Bordeaux, often too late, so it fell out of favour in its home region. When it does ripen it adds tannin, ...

and Merlot blend called ''Mangan East Block'', a

Pinot noir Pinot Noir () is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French language, French words for ''pine'' and ''black.' ...

and a Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot blend called ''Margaret River Red''. A number of other white wines are also produced, including two single-vineyard

Sauvignon blanc is a green-skinned grape variety that originates from the Bordeaux region of France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French words ''sauvage'' ("wild") and ''blanc'' ("white") due to its early origins as an indigenous grape in ...

– Semillon blends from the ''Cullen'' and ''Mangan'' vineyards and a ''Margaret River White'' which contains Sauvignon blanc, Semillon and a small amount of Chardonnay.

References

Citations

Sources

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External links