New owners of Blackwood Valley vineyard Bunderra Estate produce award winning wines in third year

A family-run vineyard located in the scenic Blackwood Valley region has hit the ground running, securing three major awards in only its third year of operation. Bunderra Estate — named after the rolling hills around it — has gone from a “pretty” yet “neglected” farm property to a vibrant family home and successful vineyard. Chasing a tree change, owners Kelly and Stewart Kay relocated their family to Boyup Brook in November, 2021, with a “quiet” and “relaxed” lifestyle in mind. Mrs Kay told the Times the couple never had intentions of going into the winemaking business, even after seeing the 80 hectare property listed for sale online. “We just found a really nice house we liked with some acreage and when we rolled up it just happened to have a vineyard on it,” she said. “We weren’t planning to own a vineyard... we thought ‘let’s see what we can do with it, how hard can it be?’. “It turns out there’s a lot more to it.” The vineyard is home to a variety of grapes with “unparalleled quality” including shiraz, cabernet sauvignon, sauvignon blanc and chardonnay. Now an award winning vineyard owner, Mrs Kay puts their quality grapes down to the fertile soil and favourable climate. The 2023 Bunderra Estate sauvignon blanc won best white wine at the 2023 My Vintner WA Boutique and Single Vineyard Wine Show, and the 2022 Bunderra Estate shiraz won best shiraz at the 2024 Southern Forests and Valleys Wine Show and best Blackwood Valley red at the 2024 My Vintner WA Boutique and Single Vineyard Wine Show. “We got in contact with the old owners’ winemakers — Denmark-based Coby Ladwig and Luke Eckersley — who agreed to make a little bit of wine for us from the grapes we couldn’t sell... it’s just sort of grown from there,” Mrs Kay said. “They’ve done a fabulous job getting us some awards up our sleeve already. The very first wine that we bottled (2023 sauvignon blanc) won an award. “We thought we’d just stick it in (the show) and see how it compares to others and it got the award. We literally sold out of that really quickly.” Mrs Kay said the foundations were laid for their future in viticulture by former owners Trevor and Mary Dickinson who boast a legacy of producing remarkable, award-winning wines. “Our neighbours put us in contact with the old owners and they gave us heaps of guidance,” she said. “Sometimes we’ll call Trevor and ask ‘what do we do?’, ‘what’s happening?’, ‘what’s the next step?’.” Since bottling their single pallet of sauvignon blanc in 2023, Bunderra Estate has almost tripled production, now producing multiple pallets of each of their four varieties of wine. “We wish we had done this sooner... but we’re loving every minute of it,” she said. “We’re in such a wonderful place — there’s a great community here, everyone’s been so supportive of us and so willing to help us, which I love. “You don’t get that in the city — you can’t just ask for advice from someone that will just willingly come and help.” Mrs Kay said the next goal was to increase visibility of the brand. “We’re trying to get ourselves into a few bottle shops now... try to get out there and spread the word and introduce people to the label,” she said. “We’ve still only got limited stock and mainly online sales but down the track I’d love to open a cellar door, then expand throughout WA and then hopefully interstate and overseas... but you’ve got to start small.”