When Rosie and Griff Cupitt bought a property in Ulladulla on the NSW South Coast in 2001, their plan was to run cattle on it. But, inspired by their European travels, they soon had another idea.
“I really love the way the French and the Italians do their hospitality and thought that it would be a great thing to do in our region,” says Rosie, who was studying viticulture at the time.
The two established a vineyard, winery and restaurant on the land, founding Cupitt’s Estate in 2007. In the years since, their sons Wally and Tom and daughter-in-law Libby have come on board to help run and grow the business—and navigate the inevitable ups and downs along the way.
Libby and her husband Tom joined 12 years ago after returning to Australia from London. "I’ve always loved food, wine and tourism so it wasn’t hard for me to get swept up into this world. Now I can’t imagine doing anything else,” she says.
Seizing growth opportunities
While Libby—Cupitt’s’ strategy and partnerships manager—says the business’s growth has “snowballed” over the past decade, it’s also faced its share of challenges. “2020 was a really tough year for the south coast. We had bushfires at the end of 2019, then the pandemic happened,” she says.
Realising the need to adapt, the family used this time to “double down” on their growth plans by upgrading the kitchen and building luxury villas on site with the help of a CommBank BetterBusiness loan and equipment financing.
“We were really fortunate to get a government grant but there was a timeline on the grant. Our bank at the time wasn’t working fast enough so we met up with CommBank—they understood our business, our vision and our potential,” says Libby.
