Every great wine has to have mystery.

Those are the words of Vanya Cullen, managing director and chief winemaker at Cullen Wines, a winery based in Wilyabrup in the Margaret River wine region of Western Australia.

'€œGreat wines are those that make you wonder as you taste it and go '€˜What'€™s in it? What is it?'€™'€ Cullen said in Jakarta recently.

'€œGreat wines have something extraordinarily mysterious. They are alive and change all the time: in the bottle and in the glass.'€

Australian wines, she said, have been blessed with distinction from wine from other parts of the world because of the land and the weather the vines grow in.

'€œIt has to be about the ancient Australian land and the beautiful fresh air; that combination makes great wine,'€ Cullen said.

Cullen said that Margaret River wines were unique because of the area'€™s closeness to the sea.

'€œMost of the vineyards in the area are no more than 5 kilometers away from the shore. You can taste the sea weather in the wine along with hints of chocolate, capsicum and ironstone. The tastes of soil and environment are part of the wine, which make it unique, and [it] can'€™t be made elsewhere,'€ she says.

Cullen Wines was founded by Kevin and Diana Cullen in 1971. The Cullens began growing grapes on their property on advice and study findings that showed that the Margaret River region had some very special qualities, with the climate suited to growing Bordelais varieties, and Cabernet Sauvignon in particular.

After an encouraging result following an acre trial planting back in 1966, the family decided to plant more vines on 18 acres of its Wilyabrup estate in 1971.

The Cullens added Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Semillon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc vines between 1976 and 1978.

Vanya, the youngest of Cullens'€™ six children, said that after planting the vines, the family'€™s energy became focused on the vineyard. She then naturally joined the family business.

'€œI was on my way to study music in Adelaide when my father asked if I could study wine also. Two years after that I came back and went into the business. It just happened that way,'€ she said.

Cullen took over a wine making role in 1989 after graduating with an Oenology degree in 1986. She was appointed the winery'€™s chief winemaker in 1989 and managing director in 1999.

Ever since the Cullen estate was founded, the family has employed minimal chemical intervention and has put its concern for the environment at the forefront of its work.

In 1998, the Cullens made the shift to total organic viticulture, led by Diana and Vanya, aiming to heal the soil by putting back what had been taken out.

They received A Grade Organic Certification in 2003 from the Biological Farmers of Australia (BFA) thanks to their efforts in installing drains, planting cover crops and composting.

In the same year, the Cullens decided to further their holistic and natural approach to vineyard management and winemaking by employing biodynamic viticulture as proposed by Austrian scientist and social reformer Rudolf Steiner.

'€œBiodynamics is a holistic way of growing wine, in which everything is connected: the soil, the vines, the people and the air. Everything is part of the wine,'€ she said.

Among the elements that differ between biodynamic methods and organic farming is the use of homeopathic preparations.

Cullen said that the vineyard used preparations 500 and 501, as well as 502 to 508, as coded by Steiner.

Preparation 500 involves putting cow manure in female cow horns and burying them underground over winter. The resulting substance is then mixed with water and sprayed onto the soil three times a year.

For preparation 501, quartz crystals are placed in cow horns and buried underground during spring, before being dug up in autumn. The substance is then sprayed over the vineyard three times a year.

'€œPreparation 500 ['€¦] helps the soil develop humus, attracts earthworms and microorganisms, while preparation 501 helps fight disease and boost vine general health,'€ Cullen said.

She said that biodynamic viticulture has a number of benefits, including enhanced expression of fruit, minerality and integration of flavors; lower alcohol, lower sugar and higher acidity; and better expression of terroir from vineyard to bottle.

Cullen Wines, which produces 16,000 to 20,000 cases of wine in each vintage from its 45 hectares of vineyards, treats the grapes and wines with great care.

The winery process includes hand harvesting, very little fruit transport, sorting of the fruit before crushing, minimal wine movement, minimal fining and filtration.

'€œWe are just caretakers, custodians of the land and crop. The wines are making themselves, like the magic of alchemy.'€

'€” Photos courtesy of Cullen Wines