Over the past century, the Credaro estate, just like the family, has grown, yet the business remains family run, making it the oldest family run winery in Western Australia’s southwest. They
Margaret River is synonymous with fine wine, and the Credaro name is one that’s been in Western Australia’s south west for over a century. It all started in 1921 when Cesare Credaro went searching for a better life, leaving his small village in Lombardy to follow his brother to Fremantle. Soon after he and his older brother Olympio moved to the south west for work.
Fast forward 100 years of hard graft, and the Credaro name remains and the empire has grown.
In 1922 the brothers were offered an opportunity too good to refuse, a conditional purchase 146 acres of land in the subregion Carbunup, halfway between Yallingup and Busselton from the WA Government for 1000 Crowns (equivalent of 250 pounds) – the condition was that they continued to cut sleepers and thus clear the land for farming. That same parcel of land is now worth $1.5 million in today’s terms.
The Credaro family celebrating 100 years with a long table lunch in the vines
Robert Credaro, Cesare’s grandson, still has the broadaxe his grandfather used.
“They had saw pits where they’d roll a big log over and they’d be one guy above and one below ground in the pit sawing by hand, which would have been hard work,” said father-of-five Robert.
Cesare sourced vine cuttings from Italian neighbours, the Meleri family in Yallingup, and planted his first Fragola vines. Cesare helped the Meleris tend their own existing five acres of Fragola while he waited for his own to fruit, from which he made table wine for family, friends and the community that was known as “Red Dynamite”.
Cuttings from that first Credaro vineyard live on with Fragola one of the winery’s cornerstone varietals. It’s my husband Zorba’s favourite wine.
Alongside Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay that have traditionally thrived in the region, the five Credaro vineyards, a total 110 hectares under vine, produce Pinot Gris, Merlot, Sangiovese, Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Cab Franc, Shiraz, Malbec, Petit Verdot and Fragola – their wines are made using only the fruit that they grow.
Lovers of Italian varietals have reason to get excited, Credaro has grafted Montepulciano, Nebbiolo and Barbera earlier this year for a future Credaro Heritage Range. You’ll have to be a little patient and wait three or four years for those.
The first commercial crop of vines was planted in 1988, and in 2003, the Credaros built a winery and soon after established their own namesake label.
The Credaro wine range includes the 1000 Crowns, named after the inception of the Credaro story, Kinship and 5 Tales, all linked to the family’s history over the past hundred years.
With the added Italian varietals, the full Credaro range of wines represents the core of the Credaro identity, a tribute to Italia from Australia, carefully crafted and blended together in bottles of fine wine.
Credaro 1000 Crowns Chardonnay
Disclosure: Credaro Wines is a new client of my business Pronto PR and I’ve been a fan of their wines for many years and interviewed the family for articles long before they became clients.