About Drayton's Family Wines

The Drayton family name has been associated with the Hunter Valley for over 140 years and is still family owned and operated.

Joseph Drayton, from Lincolnshire in England, arrived first in Lochinvar and a few years later moved to Pokolbin where he bought eighty acres of prime land. He and his son, Frederick, built the ‘Bellevue’ homestead and after initially growing grain, switched to planting vines and thus a great and long tradition was established.

In 1885, Joseph’s son, William, purchased forty acres of land next to his father’s and planted vines on it. William and his wife Susan, who had ten children over the years, took over his father’s ‘Bellevue’ property, too. When he retired, he shared his assets between all the children and it was his sons, Harry, Walter, George, Leonard who now took control.

And so it went over the decades, until 1947, when the W. Drayton & Sons company was formed. Control of the estate passed to the fourth generation in the form of Max, Bill, Reg, Jock and Ron, who, with the help of some of their children, began marketing itself as Drayton's Family Wines.

Today, Max Drayton and his sons John, Trevor and Greg run the business. Max has over half a century of experience in the wine industry and is a great source of advice and inspiration to his sons and many other growers in the region.

The Drayton family is naturally very proud of its history in winemaking and its role in the Hunter Valley’s development as one of Australia’s premier wine districts.

Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Riesling, Semillon, Shiraz, Traminer, Verdelho are among the great wines they produce and are a wine lover’s delight to experience. A visit to the Drayton's Family Wines vineyard will be well worth the effort.