History

The history of the Winmark Wines is richly layered in stories and entwined with personal connections.

The vineyard was established in 1988 by the late founder of Macquarie Bank, David Clarke. David named the vineyard after the iconic large rock on the property, Pooles Rock. Local rogue and former convict Richard Poole was known to sleep in the hollow of the rock he eventually bequeathed his name to.

Pooles Rock vineyard quickly became famous for its award-winning chardonnays until it was sold in 2011. The vines languished, neglected, for the next five years until Karin Adcock and John Winstanley rediscovered the property and purchased it in 2016.

The couple had rented a house on the Mornington Peninsula the previous Christmas to host their large family. Their primary motive in buying Pooles Rock was to recreate the tone of this successful holiday and nurture an environment where family and friends could comfortably connect. The pair’s combined backgrounds as executives and entrepreneurs and their varied experience in the wine industry and in managing large properties quickly saw them restore the vineyards and the luxury and cottage homes.

“The property gives me an immense sense of peace,” Karin said. “I love being there and creating a beautiful space we can enjoy and share. I feel quite strongly that if you have something that is very beautiful you should share it with friends and family and extend it outwards.”

Karin’s love of trees and interiors gave the property its personality. She commissioned one of Australia’s most outstanding landscape architects, Paul Bangay OAM, to create and link the perennial and rose garden and gazebo, the 12.5m pool and tennis court. She also commissioned relatively unknown sculptor David Ball, just before he won the 2017 Bondi Sculpture by the Sea major prize, to build Biosis, a massive steel structure that is perched above the vines.

The pair employed two talented individuals with strong links to the area, viticulturist Liz Riley and vineyard manager Dave Grossner.

Karin and John created a series of Winmark landmarks, including the fire pit entertaining area and Karin’s Koppie, a formal stand of 40 deciduous trees overlooked by the ancient Yellow Rock escarpment.

The rebuilding of the cellar door, designed by Karin’s sister, award-winning international architect Fong Chan Zeuthen, is due for completion in 2019.

The Pooles Rock name was not sold with the property so Karin and John settled on “Winmark Wines”. The name works on two levels. Firstly, it combines John’s surname, Winstanley, with Karin’s maiden name, Enemark. Secondly, “Winmark” – in Karin’s native Danish – means “field of wines”.

The following Restoration pictures show the transformation from early 2016 to late 2018

The Vineyard

The 28 acres of vines have been carefully nurtured back to full health after a five-year period of neglect. Two talented professionals, 2017 Viticulturist of the Year Liz Riley, and Vineyard Manager Dave Grosser have made this their professional mission.

About 10 acres of verdelho in poor health was replaced by a new chardonnay clone from Burgundy in September 2017. Its first vintage is due in January 2019.

Money and energy were not spared to refurbish, revitalise and – where necessary – remove and replace – other blocks.

Roses now bookend each row in a nod to tradition. Roses were once known as “the canary of the coalmine” as they acted as an early-warning system for fungus. They also attracted insects such as aphids away from the vines and were said to encourage draft horses to turn properly because of their punishing thorns.

Cellar Door

The original humble cellar door has been re-designed by renowned Danish architect Fong Chan Zeuthen, Karin’s Adcock’s sister. Its earthy, stylish, yet unpretentious character honours the history of the property and the beauty of the landscape. It is set to open around 2021 and become another Winmark landmark.

Our Team

The Winmark Wines estate takes its personality from multi-award-winning businesswoman Karin Adcock. Karin has poured other lifelong loves, ranging from a passion for interiors to expertise in revitalising large properties, into the estate.

Karin is renowned for bringing PANDORA jewellery from her native Denmark to Australia. She started the business in her Northern Beaches garage and transformed it into the world’s most successful PANDORA entity. She achieved double per capita sales of the second most successful PANDORA country, Britain, and five times the sales of Denmark before selling it back to PANDORA.

Karin’s skill in “being the glue” that binds her talented team together helped her win the NSW Telstra Businesswoman of the Year award in 2010.

Karin spent a decade in her youth as a project manager, revitalising scores of large properties in Denmark and offshore, ranging from educational facilities to what was the world’s largest mango farm at the time.

She and partner John purchased the former Pooles Rock property, which had been neglected for five years, in 2016 to create a special place for family to gather and connect. The pair quickly applied their extensive collective experiences and talents to the project.

“We are dedicated to restoring Winmark, to creating a unique and beautiful place to explore, experience and unwind,” Karin said. “We are passionate about its history and feel a responsibility to provide an authentic restoration for future generations to share.

“I don’t skimp on the details and I want people’s visit to Winmark to be a unique experience that stays with them.”

John considers the restoration and reinvigoration of Winmark as a lifetime highlight.

John invested in his first vineyard in South Africa in his early 20s and has pursued a global passion for wine ever since. He moved to Australia in 1995 to become CEO of Rugby NSW where he worked with prominent wine figures, such as the late David Clarke, the Macquarie Bank founder and original owner of Pooles Rock.

John’s tenure as CEO of the Wine Society from 2005 to 2008 expanded his commercial understanding of the Australian wine landscape and fuelled his passion.

“The concept of what you have in your glass and everything that goes before that is a perfect blend of nature, commercialism, creativity and a result that stirs your senses,” says John.

John has 35 years of experience in board positions with national and global brands.

Liz Riley, Viticulturist of the Year 2017, has a prestigious list of credentials that began as a teenager and spans global territory.

Liz won the coveted Australian Nuffield Scholarship after completing a Bachelor of Wine Science and travelled to Europe and North America to focus on global agriculture and sustainable viticulture. She has also worked on vintages in the Naper Valley, California.

Liz and her local winemaker husband have lived and worked in the Hunter Valley since 1996.

“You get to know the vines over time,” she said. “You learn to work alongside Mother Nature. No two seasons are the same. I’m always learning and using my knowledge to make good decisions. Timing is everything.”

Liz and Vineyard Manager Dave Grosser have been entrusted to reinvigorate this iconic vineyard because of their reputations, passionate attention to detail and experience.

Dave was born into a viticultural family in Broke to parents who worked collectively for three decades on the Winmark property when it was known as Pooles Rock.

Dave completed a Diploma of Viticulture in 1999 and worked with his father in vineyard development to learn about all facets of viticulture. He started his own consultancy in 2006.

“I love working outdoors in the vineyards,” he said. “The vines talk back to you and respond to how you treat them. They show you what mood they are in. Vineyards are a beautiful thing. They are a living environment that change day by day.”

Dave’s experience, best practice methods and attention to detail have earned him admiration from within the industry.