Cullen Wines

Cullen Wines is an Australian winery based in Wilyabrup, within the Margaret River wine region of Western Australia.

Cullen Wines
Location4323 Caves Road,
Wilyabrup WA 6280, Australia
Coordinates33°49′09″S 115°02′15″E
Wine regionMargaret River
Founded1971 (1971)
First vines planted1966
Key peopleVanya Cullen, managing director
Known forDiana Madeline Cabernet Merlot
VarietalsCabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Chenin blanc, Malbec, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Pinot noir, Riesling, Sauvignon blanc, Semillon, Shiraz
DistributionInternational
TastingOpen to public
WebsiteCullen Wines

History
Cullen Winery semillon grapevines

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.[1][2][3] 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".[1][4] The first grape vines planted were Cabernet Sauvignon, Riesling and Gewürztraminer.[1][5]

Kevin Cullen was given the Western Australian "Citizen of the year" for "The Professions" in 1993,[6] and was inducted as a Member of the Order of Australia in 1994 for "service to medicine" and service "to the wine industry".[7] He died in 1994.[8][9]

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".[5][10] She died in 2003.[9]

Vanya Cullen, the daughter of Diana and Kevin, took over the wine making role in 1989[9][11] after graduating from Roseworthy College with an Oenology degree in 1986,[5][12] and is the current managing director and senior winemaker.[13][14] Prior to undertaking the Oenology degree, in 1982 she graduated from the University of Western Australia with a degree in zoology.[12][15][16]

Vanya Cullen received the "Australian Winemaker of the Year" award from Gourmet Traveller Wine magazine in 2000[5][14] 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.[11][17]

Cullen Wines has been run according to biodynamic farming principles since 2003,[18] after having adopted organic methods in 1998.[19][20] Cullen Wines was the first winery in Australia to be certified carbon neutral, starting the process in 2006.[13][21] 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.[22]

Wines
Cullen Winery cellar door

About 20,000 cases of wine are produced each vintage from the 45 hectares of vineyards owned by the winery.[13]

The best known wine produced by Cullen Wines is the "Diana Madeline Cabernet Merlot", It is made of around 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc in most vintages.[23] Langton's Classification of Australian Wine placed this wine at their highest level of "Exceptional" in the 2005 classification,[24] and it stayed at this level for the subsequent classification in 2010.[25] It is named in tribute of Diana Cullen, the co-founder of the estate.[25]

From the 2006 vintage, a "Kevin John Chardonnay" has been produced, which is named as a tribute for the other founder of the estate, Kevin Cullen.[26][27]

Other red wines produced include a single vineyard Malbec, Petit Verdot and Merlot blend called Mangan East Block, a Pinot noir and a Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot blend called Margaret River Red.[28]

A number of other white wines are also produced, including two single-vineyard Sauvignon blanc–Semillon blends from the Cullen and Mangan vineyards and a Margaret River White which contains Sauvignon blanc, Semillon and a small amount of Chardonnay.[29]

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See also

References

Notes
  1. "Cullen". Margaret River Wine. Archived from the original on 21 February 2011. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
  2. "WESTERN AUSTRALIAN CABS WORTH EFFORT TO FIND". San Jose Mercury News. 9 March 2008.
  3. "Wine Regions – Margaret River". Wine Australia. Retrieved 9 December 2010.
  4. "History". Cullen Wines. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  5. Atkin, Tim (1 September 2001). "Producer Profile The Cullens". Decanter.com. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
  6. "Recipients 1973 - Present". Celebrate WA. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
  7. "It's An Honour – CULLEN, Kevin John". Itsanhonour.gov.au. 26 January 1994. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
  8. "Chronology". Cullen Wines. Archived from the original on 21 December 2010. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
  9. THE SENATE - MATTERS OF PUBLIC INTEREST - Cullen, Dr Kevin and Mrs Diana
  10. "It's An Honour – CULLEN, Diana Madeline". Itsanhonour.gov.au. 7 June 1999. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
  11. "WA's Vanya Cullen named 'woman of the year'". WineBiz. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
  12. "Cullen – Vanya Cullen CV". Cullenwines.com.au. Archived from the original on 21 December 2010. Retrieved 4 December 2010.
  13. "Jame's Halliday's Wine Companion – Cullen Wines". Winecompanion.com.au. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
  14. "A Winemaker Revels in the Family Business". NY Times. 3 October 2001.
  15. "ABC Landline – Margaret River wine boom spurs grower's group". Abc.net.au. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
  16. "South African Wine – Vanya Cullen". Wine.co.za. 13 June 2006. Retrieved 4 December 2010.
  17. "Vanya Cullen – Managing director, Cullen Wines". Perth Now. 20 October 2008. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
  18. "The Cullen dynamic". WA Business News. 7 September 2009.
  19. Winepros Limited. "The Weekend Australian – Cullen Wines – Margaret River, WA". Winepros.com.au. Archived from the original on 9 March 2011. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
  20. "NSW Industry and Investment – CASE STUDY: BIODYNAMIC WINERY". Retrieved 28 November 2010.
  21. Shannon, Skye (14 November 2006). "Australia's first carbon neutral winery". ABC. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
  22. "The Team". Days of Change. Archived from the original on 3 May 2010. Retrieved 4 December 2010.
  23. "2008 Diana Madeline". Cullen Wines. Archived from the original on 16 December 2010. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
  24. Lechmere, Adam (29 July 2005). "Ringland, Cullen, Rockford enter Langton's Classification IV". Decanter. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
  25. "Langton's – CULLEN Diana Madeline Cabernet Merlot Margaret River Western Australia". Langtons.com.au. Archived from the original on 30 September 2009. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
  26. "2006 Kevin John Chardonnay". Cullen Wines. Archived from the original on 18 February 2011. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
  27. WINE: James Halliday (13 December 2008). "Christmas Day tipples present and correct". The Australian. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
  28. "Reds". Cullen Wines. Archived from the original on 18 February 2011. Retrieved 9 December 2010.
  29. "Whites". Cullen Wines. Archived from the original on 18 February 2011. Retrieved 9 December 2010.

Bibliography
  • Halliday, James (1985). The Australian Wine Compendium. North Ryde, NSW: Angus & Robertson. pp. 473–477, 490–507. ISBN 0207151377.
  • Halliday, James (2008). James Halliday's Wine Atlas of Australia (rev. ed.). Prahran, Vic: Hardie Grant Books. pp. 234–239. ISBN 9781740666855.
  • Jordan, Ray (2002). Wine: Western Australia's Best. Osborne Park, WA: The West Australian. pp. 50–99. ISBN 0909699887.
  • Scott, Jane; Negus, Patricia (2011). Stories from the Cellar Door: Fifty Margaret River Wineries Tell Their Tales. North Fremantle, WA: Cape to Cape Publishing. pp. 34–35, 106–110. ISBN 9780980333763.
  • Zekulich, Michael (2000). Wine Western Australia (all new ed.). Perth: St George Books. pp. 146–149. ISBN 0867780614.
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