Scarborough produced its first wine 20 years ago, which began with the purchase of a stunning 30-acre hillside property in Pokolbin in the Central Lower Hunter Valley. Ian Scarborough recognised the importance of the unique terra rossa soil in creating what would become the Scarborough flagship wine—the Yellow Label Chardonnay. More recently, it is a barrel selection of wine sourced from this hillside property that is used to create the White Label Selection Chardonnay.

In 1998, Ian and Merralea purchased the centre acreage of the former Lindeman’s Sunshine property, which is now simply referred to as the Sunshine property. It was again the unique soils, hourglass fine sand and very deep in areas, that convinced Ian that this vineyard was the right step towards creating a Semillon, and further developing the White Label Selection range.

Within the family, Scarborough is often referred to as ‘the third child’ of Ian and Merralea. Their ‘real’ children, Jerome and Sally, carry on this passion. This shows in the very successful family working relationship, which will ensure a seamless transition when the next generation takes the reins of this vibrant and ever-growing business. Jerome has worked closely with Ian over the past four years as winemaker and also overseen the development of the Sunshine vineyard. Sally has recently expanded her role to oversee all aspects of national sales—from the Cellar Door to the top end restaurants and retailers of Australia.

From the first release in 1987, the Scarborough philosophy was to provide the wine consumer with wine of international standing, classic character and style.

Through perseverance and commitment to quality, Ian and Merralea grew the company. To this day, the Scarborough family manages all facets of the business—from vineyard to distribution.