The late Di Cullen was one of the genuine pioneers of the Margaret River wine industry. She was made a life member of the Margaret River Wine Industry Association in 2002.
The Cullen dynasty carries on
With her husband Kevin, a doctor in general practice, Di established Willybrup Wines (now Cullen Wines) in 1971, after first trialing vines in 1966. When Kevin died in 1994, Di continued to run the winery with her youngest daughter Vanya as winemaker. This winemaking combination of mother and daughter is at least uncommon, possibly unique in Australia.
There was nothing average about Kevin Cullen either. With enough qualifications to be a specialist (he was the first person to receive a M.D degree at the University of WA and later became a Gellow of the Royal College of Physicians), he chose to stay in general practice because he liked working with people. He founded the pioneering health survey which has brought the town of Busselton to world notice in the field of preventative medicine. He was a good jazz pianist. Di said of her husband: “Kevin always had his eggs in about 20 baskets.”
When, in 1956, the Cullens bought 100 acres of land on the coast at the surfing break The Gallows, it was not for wine.
“Kevin wanted to go fishing and we would have bought a quarter-acre but we couldn’t get it, so we bought 100 acres for 100 pounds,” Di said.
They ran sheep and cattle. They bought the land on Caves Road where the vineyard now is in 1961 and now own 2,000 acres.
The Cullens, like Vasse Felix founder Tom Cullity, knew John Gladstones, the first scientist to see the wine potential of the region, and Bill Jamieson of the Agricultural Department. They also knew that people were experimenting with wine.
“Joy and Bill Minchin planted some vines at Jingdong in 1966. Tom Cullity had trial planted vines near Bunbury. Kevin’s maternal grandfather had grown vines on land that is now a street (Clarke Street) and a sports oval in Bunbury. So, one they got interested, Tom and Kevin went round digging holes in all sorts of places, looking for the best soil. Kevin also tried to get other people to plant, to get an industry going.”
They traveled across Australia, in Europe and the United States, looking at how others made wine. The family: Kevin, Di and five of their six children (Vanya came later) spent a year in California. Di said the most memorable event had nothing to do with wine; it was hearing the famous jazz pianist Earl Hines. But they did see vineyards.
“They were quite basic then; there was hardly any trellising and they used mouldy wooden vats.”
In 1971, they planted 17 acres of vines at Willybrup.
“We planted cabernet, riesling and traminer, because these were the only cuttings we could get. You couldn’t get merlot, sauvignon blanc, semillon, chardonnay or pinot. It was hard work and we had dairy cockies laughing at us while we did it.”
No one appreciated the merits of merlot then.
“It adds to the middle palate. But then, people would say: ‘Don’t give me any of that mer-lott’”.
At first it seemed as if the cockies had a point. Di had a good story about the mysteries of viticulture. Vines may appear incredibly vigorous, producing their massive canopy of leaves, their burden of fruit each year from seemingly inert trunks, often flourishing on land where no other crop would survive, but they have their weaknesses too.
“Black beetles killed the vines, especially in old kikuyu-grass dairy paddocks. We also had to fight off cutworm and cope with heat stress, but the most baffling thing was when we saw the vine shoots just dying when they reached the wires on the trellising. We thought it might be the 2-4D weed-killer being used on neighbouring farms and drifting on the wind but it wasn’t. It took a lot of detective work but we finally found out that the string we used to tie the shoots to the wires had been contaminated with 2-4D in the supplier’s warehouse. Imagine – poisoned string!
Kevin and Di made the first two vintages themselves.
“The 1974 was dreadful (it only made 45 litres) but the 1975 is still good,” Di said.
Bruce Allen was their first winemaker from 1976 – 1978.
“In 1977 we made a rhine riesling which was very good and our first trophy at the Canberra Show that same year was for riesling. At first, we had trouble selling our wine. Helen Waddell from the Waratah Wine Bar in Dalkeith ordered five dozen – she was the first person to buy more than two bottles. Now people ring up for 24 dozen magnums.”
In 1982, Di won a trophy at the Perth Show as the most successful exhibitor in varietal classes with chardonnay and sauvignon blanc, and there have been other awards since.
“I’m not interested in awards. We have a firm philosophy that people should taste our wines, not buy them because they have won medals. Some people make faces when they hear we make a late-harvest cabernet with a touch of sweetness, but people like it, then some of them come back five years later and ask to try another red”.
Cullen’s make a fine pinot, which some believe cannot be made in Margaret River.
In her 28 years in the wine business, Di has seen it grow, prosper and change. The question of people’s perception of the vineyard is very important, she said. You can create a high profile as, say, Leeuwin Estate if your wines are good enough – and in her opinion, Leeuwin’s unquestionably are.
“If you establish a reputation as a high-priced vineyard, people accept it. We had a man who wanted 200 cases of pinot. When he asked the price, we said $150, meaning the wholesale price for the case. He thought we meant the bottle and didn’t seem to think it was unreasonable.
“The crucial thing is that we keep the quality of our wine, not only in the best places, but everywhere. Nothing else matters.”
Vanya Cullen supplied the Association with scanned copies of original correspondance between Kevin Cullen and Bill Jamieson and the Hon. S Bovell MLA.
13.7.66 Letter to Bill Jamieson
25.7.66 Letter to Hon. S Bovell MLA
