Di Cullen

Di Cullen was born in Hobart; she was a physiotherapist; she married and moved to Western Australia and had 6 children; they did their first planting in 1969 and another in 1971; they became interested in grapes after reading a paper by John Gladstone that said the Margaret River was one of the best 3 areas in the world to grow Cabernet; also recommended to them by Bill Jamieson; the land was being used for dairy and timber; their first planting was Cabernet; in 1976 they planted Merlot and then Cabernet Merlot in 1979; they learned by trial and error; it was a very poor farming area and many families were struggling; their first vintage was in 1974 and it was terrible - they gave it away to friends; visited by Bill Hardy who was very supportive; their 1976 wine won gold medals in eastern states; initially difficult to get equipment; talks about the "3 doctors" who set up Margaret River - Kevin, Tom and Bill; by the 1980s they could buy plant and equipment locally; it took 6 years to get good fruit; they all helped each other and shared their knowledge; the biggest change has been money coming into the area; international reputation has been through Leeuwins and their concerts