About Our Hunter Valley Winery

Declan and Danielle spent ten years together travelling around Europe and exploring the wine regions which formed the nugget of the dream that was to become McCaffrey’s Estate. Declan’s passion for all things oenological (especially sampling it) and Danielle’s yearning for the country life and a guest house filled with interesting people were to come to fruition on their return to Australia.

Never ones to shrink from a challenge, Declan and Danielle decided to pack up their life in Sydney, and, along with their one-year-old daughter, establish a home, winery and hospitality hotspot in the Hunter Valley back in 2014. Now, with a second daughter, two dogs, four babydoll sheep, numerous chickens and 25 acres to manage, they are enjoying the peaceful surroundings of McCaffrey’s Estate — producing quality single vineyard wines and happily entertaining friends old and new.

Declan’s boutique winery ambitions are well and truly under way. The vineyard spans 11.2 acres planted in 1990 and produces five estate varieties: Shiraz, Semillon, Verdelho, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Every grape is hand-picked, and the wines are crafted with a focus on expressing the character of the Pokolbin terroir rather than following trends. The result is a range of honest, food-friendly wines that reflect the place they come from.

That commitment to quality has been recognised beyond the Hunter Valley. In 2025, Declan represented Team Australia at the World Tasting Championship in France — one of the most prestigious blind tasting competitions in the world — a proud milestone for a winery that started as a family dream on Hermitage Road.

McCaffrey’s Estate has also been recognised with multiple Hunter Valley Tourism Awards, Hunter Region Business of the Year, and a TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice award — acknowledgements the whole family takes genuine pride in.

The cellar door is open daily from 10.00am–5.00pm, centrally located on Hermitage Road in Pokolbin. Declan and Danielle look forward to welcoming you.