The Houghton property was named after one of its first owners, Lieutenant Colonel Richmond Houghton. He was part of a syndicate of British Army Officers who purchased the land in 1836 although he himself never set foot on the property.

In 1859, Dr John Ferguson purchased the Houghton property for the sum of 350 pounds. In that same year he produced the first 'commercial' vintage of wine from the vineyard, a modest 25 gallons.

Dr Ferguson had the original Houghton ‘Crofters’ homestead built in the manner of a Scottish ‘crofters’ farmhouse of the era. The beautifully restored building still serves as the grand home of Houghton wines. In 1860 Houghton received its first Wine Award, the “Order of Merit” at the Melbourne Exhibition.

This was just the beginning of many triumphs that have made Houghton Western Australia’s most awarded winery.

In 1922 a 16 year old began his winemaking apprenticeship at Houghton, under the guidance of his father George Mann. This young apprentice was the late Jack Mann, who became the driving force of Houghton for an astounding 51 consecutive vintages. No winemaker has brought more passion, creative genius and influence to the Western Australian wine industry. His best-known creation was Houghton White Classic (formerly White Burgundy), first crafted with incredible foresight in 1937 and an Australian favourite to this day.

Under the guidance and custodianship of further exceptional winemakers, Houghton has continued to flourish and now enjoys an enviable footprint across the length and breadth of Western Australian winegrowing regions.

Today Houghton operates from two winemaking locations: the original Swan Valley property and, since 2001, in the south west at Nannup. Fruit from the upper and lower regions thereby retains the freshest, most authentic characteristics in wines that truly represent the Western Australian landscape’s magnificent diversity.