Click on images to enlarge
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
.
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
.