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1978
1 June 1978
Licensed Wine Exporters For 3 Year Period Commencing 9 June 1979 New South Wales
Huntington Estate Pty Ltd P O Box 188 Mudgee 18592
1982
Wine Producers New South Wales
Huntington Estate Pty Ltd P O Box 188 Mudgee 2850 Telephone (063) 7338253
1985
17 November 1985
Solicitor Bob Roberts planted 40 hectares in 1969 and thus began Huntington Estate, one of the larger Mudgee wineries. Red wines make up 60 per cent of the output and they include a beaujolais-style called Barton Rouge. In 1978, Bob and other Mudgee wine growers formed the Society for the Appellation of the Wines of Mudgee. Wines carrying the appellation originate entirely from Mudgee. Bob says that "a surprising number of visitors come from Brisbane, stopping on their way to Sydney or points further south." Huntington is open on Saturdays from 10 am to 5 pm and on Sundays from 11 am to 3 pm4
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2005
12 December 2005
Winery sale hits chamber event
AN era has come to end. The sale of Huntington Estate winery in Mudgee, NSW, has raised questions about the future of the boutique music festival held there each year.
At the festival last weekend, patrons learned that violinist Richard Tognetti, who programs the event and whose Australian Chamber Orchestra is a festival fixture, will be taking a year off from Huntington.
On Friday Bob Roberts, Huntington's owner and Tognetti's father- in-law, announced that the winery had been sold.
New owner Tim Stevens, who runs the neighbouring Abercorn winery, says there will continue to be music amid the vines each year. "We will have something of some description, but it won't be without Richard's support and approval," he says.
Roberts and his wife Wendy planted the first vines at Huntington in 1969. Their daughter Susie, Tognetti's wife, became the estate's winemaker. The festival began in 1989 and is among the nation's most admired chamber music events. Such is its reputation for musical excellence — and convivial atmosphere — that tickets sell out in hours, without the festival advertising guest artists or repertoire.
The eclectic roll-call of guests in recent years has included singers Anne Kirkpatrick and Neil Finn, guitarist Slava Grigoryan, Dutch cellist Pieter Wispelwey and Scottish accordionist James Crabb.
Stevens, who bought the 45ha Huntington Estate in a private sale, says he wants Roberts and Tognetti to continue organising concerts there. "It's Richard's baby," he says. "Whatever we do will only ever be done in consultation with him."
Stevens and Roberts met ACO management in Sydney last week. Roberts says it is too early to say whether next year's festival will involve the ACO or other musicians. "There certainly will be music in the winery in 2006 and it will be done in a serious way," he says5 .
2011
Huntington Estate
Cassilis Road, Mudgee, NSW 2850 Region Mudgee T 1800 995 931 F (02) 6373 3730 huntingtonestate.com.au Open Mon– Sat 10– 5, Sun & public hols 10– 4 Winemaker Tim Stevens Est. 1969 Dozens 20 000 Vyds 43.8 ha Bob and Wendy Roberts invested a lifetime in Huntington Estate, joined in more recent years by daughter Susie as winemaker. When the time came to sell, it was to next-door neighbours Tim and Nicky Stevens of Abercorn. Tim has deliberately remained faithful to the slightly rustic, traditional ageing style of Huntington, picking up from the ’06 vintage. Another element of continuity is the music festival held at the winery each November. Transition issues have been overcome, and Huntington Estate is now headed back toward its pre-eminent position in Mudgee. The enviable mailing list that Bob and Wendy built up has been substantially increased by Tim, with 15 000 loyal members6
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2019
5 February 2019
Huntington Estate Music Festival 2019 will be the finale
The Huntington Estate Music Festival will take a bow following the 2019 event, bringing one of Australia's most famous chamber music festivals to a close after three decades.
In addition to this year marking the 30th anniversary of the event, the winery will also celebrate 50 years of operation.
Owners Tim and Nicky Stevens have reluctantly decided to end the Festival in its prime in order to focus on the core business of growing grapes and making wine.
"The Festival has enriched our lives, bringing so many wonderful people and experiences into our winery," Nicky said. "We've shared some extraordinary moments with our audience over the years and this spring, we look forward to presenting an unforgettable Festival, a fitting finale to this amazing event."
Tim added, "an event of this stature and duration requires weeks of intensive preparation".
"Our barrel hall is transformed into a concert hall, the packing shed into an art gallery and the grounds into a restaurant and bar," he said. "Presenting ten concerts across eight days is exhilarating but exhausting for all concerned. Running a small business is already more than a full-time job, and we have taken the decision that the grapes, the wine, our young children and staff must come first."
Bob and Wendy Roberts established Huntington Estate in 1969 and, with Richard Tognetti and the Australian Chamber Orchestra, established the Festival in 1989; the first of its kind in Australia. Since 2006, the Stevens family has presented the Festival, with Carl Vine AO as artistic director, and Musica Viva providing the artistic content.
Huntington will continue its association with chamber music as sponsor of Musica Viva, Opera Australia Foundation and the Omega Ensemble, and by supporting music development in Mudgee.
Attention will now turn to sending the event out on a high note.
"Devising musical content for the last Huntington Festival ever has been a daunting prospect," Mr Vine said.
"In the end I had to let the magic of this unparalleled event speak for itself, and concentrated simply on assembling a stellar collection of chamber musicians from around the world and compiling the most interesting, satisfying and surprising repertoire I could find."
Tickets to the 30th and final Huntington Estate Music Festival go on pre-sale (by invitation only) throughout mid-February, with remaining tickets available to the general public on March 1. Opening weekend is November 16-17.
"Huntington Estate is so grateful for the support of Musica Viva, our many partners including Theme & Variations Piano Services, the ABC and our audience and artists who come from across Australia and all corners of the globe," Nicky concluded7 .
2020
14 February 2020
Vintage for 2020 dropped
Huntington make decision to cut their smoke tainted grapes
Mudgee's Huntington Estate has chosen to drop its vintage - for the first time in their 51 year history - due to bushfire smoke taint.
The effect is burnt, smoky or "dirty ash tray" characters in wines.
When vineyards are exposed to smoke it can bind with the grape sugars, and while it's "locked away" in the fruit and can't be tasted in that form, during fermentation it's freed and adds the unpleasant flavour.
For some 60 days the Mid-Western Region was blanketed in smoke blown in from bushfires in the south and east.
And when the winery got their results back for smoke taint testing by the Australian Wine Research Institute, they made the decision not to compromise the quality of their finished product.
Owner Nicky Stevens said that having made it through the drought and heat, then to have the recent rain arrive at the perfect time, the winery isn't the hive of activity it should be at harvest.
Instead the team are out in the vineyard cutting grapes off the vine.
"It's tainted our grapes and we can't pick them, so we're having to drop them onto the ground," she said.
"This affects all of our white grapes, our rosés, our pinot noir, and we've just got the news that it will affect our shiraz as well. To be honest, we're not hopeful of the cabernet either.
"We worked so hard to battle the drought and the heat - and we won the battle. The yields are above average, the fruit is beautiful quality and tastes amazing on the vine.
"But at the last hurdle we've fallen and lost the war. And it's incredibly upsetting, we've spent hundreds-of-thousands of dollars growing the grapes, we've got an incredible team who's worked hard all year, and it's all for nothing."
The grapes can't be left on the vine, and it's not recommended feed for livestock in that form.
However, she added, "on the bright side, those grapes that we've dropped will help 2021 vintage be better, because they're putting organic matter back into the soil.
And while Nicky is confident that Huntington is in a position that they'll be able to ride this out, she's concerned about those who may not and the knock-on effect that would occur in the wider local economy.
"There will be a massive impact on the wine industry because of this. Our strategy is to release our red wines at four/five years of age, so we can spread the pain of the reds over that time and we will cope," she said.
"And we've got some good stocks of our whites, so we'll manage, even though it will be tough because we've spent so much in the vineyard. We are relatively lucky, it's some of the smaller guys who will suffer - who rely on contract winemaking or make just enough wine every year to sell and have nothing to fall back on.
"The wine industry is not only an important part of the local economy, but also an important part of the soul and feel of the town, which draws so many visitors and this is a massive knock."
The second impact of the fires came in the reduced tourism during the summer - either being physically unable to cross the mountains or choosing not to because of the perception of smoke and dust. However, with relief from those conditions - and the major fires declared 'out' - she added that now is the time to fly the flag for local wine.
"It's beautiful now, we've had blue skies, the rainfall we've had is making everything green - we are so very open for business," Nicky said.
"There were so many images of dust and drought, with the sky orange and opaque, and people thought 'I'm not going anywhere'. But the truth is it's beautiful here and now more than ever we need to get the message out.
"And we also need locals to continue to support the local wine industry, so go to the cellar doors. If you want to contribute to the local community, there are hundreds of local families that are relying on people buying what is a really beautiful product8 ."