Vanya Cullen
Nature's trailblazer
At the helm of one of Margaret River’s founding wineries, Vanya Cullen’s passion and innovation are driving the winery – and the region – into the future. She’s never been afraid to go her own way.
Since taking the reins of Cullen Wines several decades ago, Vanya has transformed the family business into one of Australia’s best boutique wineries and most environmentally sustainable vineyards. She’s a pioneer of biodynamic grape-growing, an award-winning winemaker and respected wine show judge. At the heart of her success is a deep respect for the land.
Love of the land
The youngest of six children to pioneering parents, Vanya has worked on the family farm most of her life. Her parents, Kevin and Diana, planted the property’s first grapevines in 1971 and helped lead Margaret River in its transformation from sleepy surfer town to world-renowned wine region. Vanya studied music after finishing school but soon came back into the wine fold, eventually becoming Cullen Wines’ Chief Winemaker in 1989 and Managing Director a decade later.
Biodynamics is the secret to making the greatest wines according to Vanya. Using animal, mineral and plant substances, as well as the planets give great balance to the land, producing healthy soil, vines and the best quality grapes. What you give to the land, the land gives it back.
“It’s a great privilege to be able to work here for that number of years,” she says. “I’m sort of in this land – the land’s me.”
For Vanya, Cullen Wines and the Margaret River wine region are inextricably linked. She says the vineyard is “louder in the winery than it’s ever been”. Her wines echo the soils.
“There isn’t anywhere else in the world, any vineyard area, that has the purity of place [of Margaret River],” she says. “We’ve got the Indian Ocean, the cleanliness of the air and the ancient land, which makes such great wine.”
Thanks to Vanya, Cullen Wines is organic and biodynamic certified and was the first winery in Australia to be certified 100% carbon neutral. She brings these holistic principles into the winery too, gently handling hand-harvested fruit and fermenting using wild yeast.
Her progressive approach has paid off, with her wines being poured in some of the world’s best restaurants and her list of accolades growing. Vanya has been named Winemaker of the Year by Qantas/The Wine Magazine as well as Woman of the Year and Green Personality of the Year by UK Drinks Business Magazine. In 2015, she was inducted into the Australian Business Women’s Hall of Fame.
“You can never be complacent,” she says. “Being in nature is about being in the present. But you’re always thinking what you do next and how can you make a better wine.”
“My inspiration comes from nature and what that produces in these great wines. It’s always renewing, it’s always something different.” – Vanya Cullen
Winemaker of the Year 2019
Vanya was awarded the 2019 Australian Women in Wine Awards Winemaker of the Year. The award proudly recognised her passion for organic and biodynamic practices as well as the stunning region she calls home.
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