About Cruickshank Wines

John Cruickshank, as President of the Student’s Union at the University of Tasmania, met and entertained a visiting history Professor of Spanish History at Oxford, the famous Spaniard, Don Salvador de Madariaga. The Don told him that ‘Australians should drink wine instead of beer for the good of their health.’ What a clever little professor!

This was the start of the journey into a career in winemaking for John, who, when he later moved to Canberra in 1952, set up the Canberra Wine and Food Club (a first in the world of such clubs) for the locals who were of like mind.

In 1973, he bought an old property called Callatoota at Wybong in the Upper Hunter Valley and set about the realisation of his dreams by creating his own vineyard from scratch. He planted four hectares of the best clone of Cabernet Sauvignon he could find and the rest, as they say, is history.

At first he had a nearby winery make the wine, but in 1981 he designed and built his own winery and from 1982, began making his own. His dream was coming true. He placed the cellars completely underground; a clever use of topography, since the winery lies on a slope.

Now Cruickshank Wines was under its own steam and John added a further three hectares of Cabernet Sauvignon and one hectare of Cabernet Franc in 1986 and 1987. Then, in 1996, another two hectares of Shiraz was planted to Shiraz.

Callatoota Estate is one of the smallest wineries in the Upper Hunter, but it stands tall against its more well-known neighbours. Indeed, their wines have won many medals at the Hunter Valley Wine Show and accolades galore from wine lovers around Australia.

Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Shiraz, Verdelho are among the wonderful wines on offer at the Cellar Door

and are well worth a visit the next time you go to the Hunter Valley.