The Kirkton Estate story begins with John Busby who sailed for Sydney from England on board The Triton in 1823, with his wife, Sarah, and son, James. While John would on go to establish the first vineyard in the Hunter Valley at an estate named after his Scottish birthplace, Kirkton, James Busby would go on to publish, “A Treatise on the Culture of the Vine and the Art of Making Wine’ in 1825 after gaining experience in Spain and France, which ultimately earned him the unofficial title of “Father of the Australian Wine Industry”. Kirkton Estate grew to include a 40-acre vineyard, with 365 different varieties of vines planted and the first positively identified Chardonnay in Australia. Intertwined with the story of the Hunter Valley, the Kirkton Estate wines are a benchmark for the classical Hunter Valley varietals: Semillon and Shiraz.

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