History | Allandale Winery
Boutique winery & cellar door open 7 days.
winery, hunter valley, wine, wine tasting, cellar door, lovedale, lovedale long lunch
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Established in 1978, Allandale Winery boasts an acclaimed portfolio of distinguished boutique wines with a vast range to suit all tastes. Allandale wines are made from our own and carefully selected vineyards in the Hunter Valley, Mudgee, Orange, Hilltops & Goulburn Valley. All of the wines are made on-site using state-of-the-art winemaking equipment. The wines are of the highest quality and consistency, and are renowned for their distinctive varietal characters and superb balance of flavours.

The site of Allandale Winery is close to what was one of the largest wineries in the Hunter Valley in the 1890s, also called Allandale. The 1890’s Allandale winery had a capacity of 518,000 gallons (2.35 million litres) and included some fine stocks of claret and hock. In 1891 Allandale was awarded the champion medal for NSW, and by that time had received over 70 awards in exhibitions around the world. It was technologically advanced for the time; it boasted a machine used for the purpose of immediately separating the stalks from the fruit before finding its way into the presses; a steam engine was used for driving the crusher and cleaning casks and centrifugal pumps were used for racking the wine. Historical records are scarce on who owned and operated the old Allandale Winery and why it ceased operation in the late 1920s. The Great Depression that started about 1929 was a likely contribution to it finishing.

With the growth of the wine industry and tourism in the Hunter Valley in the 1970s, a group of friends including long term owners Wally and Judith Atallah and Allandale’s first winemaker Ed Jouault, purchased 30 acres of land in the Lower Hunter Valley wine growing area in what was then known as Allandale, now Lovedale. By 1978 the winery/cellar door was built on the hill which overlooks 17 acres of plantings of Semillon, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and captures the panoramic views over the Lower Hunter and Brokenback Mountain Range.

Within two years Allandale’s 1980 Chardonnay won the Farmer Brothers Trophy at the 1981 Canberra National Wine Show. The continuing success of the early Chardonnays was a sign of things to come as we built a reputation over four decades as one of Australia’s premium Chardonnay producers.

Chief Winemaker/General Manager, Bill Sneddon began his winemaking career as a trainee winemaker at Allandale in 1983 and went on to complete a Bachelor of Applied Science (Oenology) at Charles Sturt University. In 1986 he became the winery’s second ever Chief Winemaker/GM. With Bill at the helm, the success of Chardonnay continued with international accolades, trophies from major Australian wine shows, and being named Winestate Chardonnay of the Year.

Alongside Chardonnay, Allandale has also built an enviable reputation over the years for producing some of Australia’s finest Semillon, often taking the trophy at respected wine shows around the country and regularly appearing in Winestate Magazine’s Top 40 Wines in Australia.

In January 2016 the Lee and Leung families purchased Allandale after a long association as Allandale’s Hong Kong wine distributors. They have retained the same staff and management and are committed to sustaining the fine service and quality of wine on which Allandale has gained its reputation in its nearly 50 year history.
Alex Woods started as a trainee winemaker in 2006, remaining at Allandale for 18 years and becoming a senior winemaker. He departed in 2024.
Jeremy Churchill joined Allandale for the 2021 vintage working with Alex and Bill. He quickly proved to be a valuable asset to the winemaking team as his skills and love for wine became evident. He is in the midst of studying for his Bachelor of Wine Science through Charles Sturt University and is the winemaker at Allandale currently working with Bill. Together they carry on the tradition of crafting consistent quality wines, expressing the unique attributes of the grape varieties and regions.