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 Allandale was purchased by the Lee and Leung families, who the winery has had quite a long association with as their Hong Kong wine distributors. They have continued to employ all of the same local Hunter Valley based staff & management, buy grapes from the same small grape growers from around Australia and have all the wines made onsite by the same winemaking team that have been making Allandale wines for decades. Together they are committed to sustaining the fine service and quality of products on which Allandale has gained its reputation for over 40 years.
In November 2023, after 40 years at the winery, Bill Sneddon retired from his position at Allandale. Alex Woods, whom has been with the winery since 2006, took over this role as Allandale’s third ever Chief Winemaker & General Manager.