Glendonbrook

Sydney businessman Tom Smith and wife Terese purchased the Bingleburra homestead at East Gresford in the mid-1990s. The 600-ha property raises beef cattle, but in 1997 vines were planted (8.3 ha shiraz, 4.2 ha verdelho). This in turn led to the construction (in 2001) of a $2 million, 300-tonne capacity winery. The estate production is supplemented by contract- grown grapes, and the winery offers contract winemaking facilities for others. It marks a major return to the Gresford area, where Dr Henry Lindeman established his Cawarra vineyards in the mid-1800s. -JAMES HALLIDAY