The company, headquartered in Chullora in the
Hunter Valley in the
Australian state of New South Wales, was founded by Samuel McWilliam in 1877 when he planted his first vines at Corowa. Today, it is run by the sixth generation of the family. The vineyards with a total of almost 1,200 hectares are located on six sites in three Australian states. The son of the founder, John James McWilliam, planted the first vines in the
Riverina area in 1913. He remarked on the fertility of the area, "
If you drive a six-inch nail into this soil and irrigate, you'll have a crowbar in a year". Four years later he founded the
Hanwood Estate winery. Wines were exported to the UK for the first time in 1935. Today, the vineyards cover 500 hectares, on which the varieties Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon, Muscat, Shiraz and Verdelho are cultivated. Specialities are fortified wines in the style of
sherry and
tawny (port), as well as dry and sweet vermouths. A large proportion of production is simple bulk wines. The
Barwang Hilltops vineyard, bought in 1989, covers 100 hectares (Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Shiraz, Merlot).
The top estate is
Mount Pleasant in the Upper Hunter Valley, acquired in 1941 by legendary winemaker Maurice
O'Shea (1897-1956), with 130 hectares (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Sémillon, Shiraz, Verdelho). The former owner remained cellar master until his untimely death. Incidentally, McWilliams founded the Maurice O'Shea Award for outstanding achievements in Australian viticulture in his honour in 1990. At Mount Pleasant, the long-lived top wines "Elizabeth" (bottled after 5 years) and "Lovedale" from Sémillon are vinified, which are among the best white wines in Australia. In large areas of the three wineries mentioned above, artificial
irrigation has to be used. Since 1994, the company has also owned the Brand's vineyards in the
Coonawarra area (state of South Australia) with 300 hectares (Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Shiraz) and
Lillydale Vineyards in the
Yarra Valley area (state of Victoria) with 13 hectares (Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Shiraz, Merlot, Pinot Noir). The company is the exclusive Australian importer of the
Taittinger (champagne),
Henkell (sparkling wine),
Mateus (rosé) and Holsten (beer) brands, among others.