Hollydene Estates Executive Director and Owner Karen Williams' passion for the land and agriculture began early in life and in 2004 she began her grape growing experience by purchasing a property called Roseglen, a vineyard adjacent to Rosemount Estate near Denman. Karen completed Certificates in Viticulture and Wine Making while supplying grapes to Rosemount, keeping only small parcels to bottle for her original label ‘JUUL’. After industry rationalisation and the sale of Rosemount, Karen and her family decided to expand the business and in 2005 purchased Hollydene vineyard at Hollydeen between Denman and Sandy Hollow. The following year they bought the Wybong vineyard, previously known as ‘Reynolds Yarraman’ and sold Roseglen. From then the Wybong and Hollydene vineyards were run under the banner and brand of Hollydene.
For several years Hollydene exclusively supplied Arrowfield Estate Wines with grapes and in 2005 had the first JUUL Chardonnay bottled at Arrowfield winery. However, Arrowfield closed in 2010. Karen decided she needed to make a presence with her wine labels and therefore needed an outlet in the area for her wines. With Arrowfield Estate winery & vineyard sitting idle, negotiations with its Japanese owners took place in 2010 and by 2011 Hollydene had taken over. This step cemented the business plan and the Hollydene team set about bringing the iconic facility back to life.