Our Story
Here at Willunga 100, we take great pride in our award-winning McLaren Vale wines. Our small and passionate team have created an exciting and vibrant range that truly showcases the magic of our region.
Before our first vintage in 2005, we explored the region and came across plots of 50-year-old Grenache vines. At the time, most Grenache was destined for blending. We decided this had to change, so we made these vines our focus and gave them the attention they deserved.
McLaren Vale has great geological diversity from sub-region to sub-region, and the soils are among the oldest in the world estimated at over 500 million years. This, along with the mediterranean climate and old vines, combine to produce low yields and stunning, concentrated fruit.
Where do we get our name? We take our name from the historic ‘Hundred’ of Willunga that was established in 1839, only three years after the settlement of South Australia. At the time, 100 households were needed to occupy an area in order to qualify for a place on the map, this was called a ‘Hundred’. Today, the Hundred of Willunga is where much of our fruit comes from.
The tree featured on our bottles is an old River Red Gum that stands tall over the vineyards. It was well over a hundred years old when the first vines were planted in Australia in the 1840’s.
Renae Hirsch
For the 2023 Vintage we are delighted to announce that Renae Hirsch has joined us as Willunga 100's new Winemaker.
Renae is an accomplished winemaker with extensive experience with McLaren Vale Grenache. Renae's winemaking was highly acknowledged in the industry when she was crowned as the 2020 McLaren Vale Bushing Monarch for the Chalk Hill Alpha Crucis Old Vine Grenache.
"I like to make and drink wines that have a purity of fruit expression, and showcase the varietal, regional and also individual vineyard characteristics.
I like to use as little intervention as possible, aiming to guide the wines through maturation in the winery to maintain freshness while having balance, elegance and finesse; with the intention of allowing the potential of each parcel of fruit to be realized." -Renae Hirsch
We are excited to welcome Renae to the team and we look forward to sharing more winemaking updates from Renae as she takes over the reigns from Skye Salter.
Skye Salter
Skye Salter has been the Willunga Winemaker from the 2019 vintage through to Vintage 2022.
Her drive, impressive experience, and extensive knowledge of the McLaren Vale region has been a great asset to our team and shows through in her delicious vintages of wines that she created here at Willunga 100.