Karin Adcock, the entrepreneur who created the Pandora jewellery craze in Australia, has transformed one of the Hunter Valley’s historic vineyards into a wine tourism destination.
Danish born Karin owns Winmark Wines, formerly known as Pooles Rock, which was owned by Macquarie Bank executive David Clarke.
Winmark has been shortlisted for Best New Winery in the Halliday Wine Companion Awards.
And last Thursday Winmark Wines & Art Gallery was named Cellar Door of the Year at the Hunter Valley Wine Industry and Legends Awards.
“Winning the trophy for Best Young Chardonnay for our 2021 Winmark Reserve Chardonnay recently at the NSW Small Winemakers Wine Show was such a high for my new brand, but this week’s news from Halliday and recognition as Cellar Door of the Year really raises the bar for Winmark and puts it in amongst the top echelon of wine producers in Australia,” Karin says.
“It’s such a joy to be recognised in such great company.
“The Hunter Valley is home to some of the best cellar doors in Australia, so it’s such a huge honour to be named Cellar Door of The Year and we are so humbled by this recognition.”
Karin has spent the past seven years refurbishing the property “from a dying vineyard” to a thriving cellar door and luxury accommodation, and has installed the region’s largest sculpture garden.
The three large luxury houses (plus one stylish tiny house) on the property are distinctive for both their generous proportions and for the fact that Karin has used her lifelong passion for interiors to create memorable and luxurious spaces that are full of treasures from around the world.
The revamped 130-acre estate, with 28 acres under Chardonnay, includes a number of Winmark landmarks.
There is a monumental sculpture, Biosis, by sculptor David Ball; a perennial and rose garden and gazebo by Australian garden designer Paul Bangay OAM; three pools and two tennis court; fire pits and barbeque area on the banks of a large dam; and an array of deciduous trees in the Tree Park.
Winmark Wines is framed by the Brokenback and Hunter mountain ranges.
The natural features include the Yellow Rock escarpment and Pooles Rock itself, named after the convict Richard Poole, who slept in the rock’s hollow in the early 1800s.
The Pooles Rock name was not sold with the property, so Karin decided to call it Winmark Wines.
In Karin’s native Danish, ‘vin mark’ means ‘fields of wines’.
Winmark Wines are represented by Young & Rashleigh’s Cuttings Wine Merchants.
The range consists of four Chardonnays made by Xanthe Hatcher under the watchful eye of international winemaker John Belsham.
The wines are now on the wine lists of many great Sydney restaurants.
Creating the Pandora craze in Australia, Karin had to first convince a reluctant Pandora to give her a chance with the brand.
She says she won them over with her enthusiasm, charm and display of business nous and went on to apply these same skills to dominating the Pandora brand worldwide.
Karin started the business in her Northern Beaches garage and doubled per capita sales of the second most successful Pandora country, Britain, and made three times the sales per capita in the United States before selling it back to Pandora in 2012.
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