Cullen is a Biodynamic estate winery in Wilyabrup, within the Margaret River wine region of Western Australia. The first 18 acres of vines were planted 1971 by Diana and Kevin Cullen. They bought 40.5 ha of land (100 acres) in 1956. It had previously used for grazing sheep and cattle. Kevin had read a paper by Dr John Gladstones in which the Margaret River climate was compared to Bordeaux.

Owner: Vanya Cullen (DOB: 24 August 1959. Vanya’s siblings already had careers by the time their parents started planting the vines so by default she became the winemaker. In 1982 Vanya graduated from the University of Western Australia with Bachelor of Science majoring in Zoology. In 1983 she enrolled in the Wine Science Course. She gained a Graduate Diploma of Wine at Roseworthy and also completed one year’s Music Studies at Adelaide University. In 1983 Vanya worked harvest in New Zealand at the Te Kauwhata Wine Research Station.

Having completed her studies Vanya began working with her mother Diana in 1984 as Assistant Winemaker at Cullen Wines. After her mother’s death 2003 Vanya became Senior Winemaker and has been there ever since. In 1985 she worked vintage in California at Robert Mondavi Winery. In 1986 Vanya Graduated from Roseworthy Agricultural College with a Graduate Diploma in Wine. In 1999 she became Managing Director of Cullen Wines. In 1987 she vintaged in France in Burgundy at Domaine Joseph Drouhin. In 2000 she won the Qantas / The Winemagazine Winemaker of the year award.

Vineyards: 1971 7.3ha of Cabernet Sauvignon, Riesling and Gewürztraminer were planted. The Cabernet did best (bearing out Dr John Gladstones’ theory. Since then, Merlot, Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay have been planted.

Viticulture: One local pest is the South Australian garden weevil so clovers–which the pest hates–are sown and every other row is ploughed too to discourage it. Chickens are also deployed.

Biodynamics: The soils here are very old so Vanya uses sprays more Horn manure 500 than usual in Biodynamics.

White wines

Chardonnay, Kevin John

Sauvignon-Semillon: 1999 Produced.

Cullen Amber Wine: 2014 This wine is the first Amber wine made from Cullen Wines. It is a blend of Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc coming from our certified Biodynamic vineyards. The idea behind this wine is to make a white wine like a red. The grapes were left on skins and fermented partially before being pressed. The skin contact went from 2 days to 1 month depending on the grape/parcel. The fruit was processed in different vessels: open fermenters, closed tank as well as amphora. This explains some of the complexity and the many layers of this wine. 2014 being an amazing vintage for Semillon, we thought it was great time to launch “Amber”. We look at it being a natural step in creative as well as artisanal winemaking.

Red wines

Diana Madeline: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot.

Mangan: Petit Verdot, Malbec

Contact

Cullen Wines

Bibliography

Margaret Rand, ‘The Vanya Vanguard’, Harpers Wine & Spirit Weekly, 12 September 2003, p.28-30.

Oz Clarke, Oz Clarke Wine A-Z (Pavilion, 2015), p.105.

Tim Atkin, ‘Wonder Women,’ Decanter, September 2001, p.47-48.