This story begins with the Hogan family: five generations of Western Australians deeply ingrained in sheep grazing and forestry in the Great Southern District since the 1860s. The Hogan family story begins with one man, the first vigneron and patriarch of Xabregas, Terry Hogan. His view that the Mt Barker region was "far too good a dirt to waste on blue gums" changed his priority from forestry to viticulture and after planting three vineyards in 1996 and making a wine from the first vintage, we all tend to agree with him. Terry Hogan's wine passion was seeded from a visit with his elegant wife, Wendy, to the coastal town of Lisbon in the 1960's. He fell in love with the "European culture of wine appreciation and celebration" so foreign to his native home in Western Australia at the time.

The poignant moment being the couples' visit to the 15th century Monastery of Sao Lucien high on the hillside overlooking the central port region of Lisbon, known as Xabregas.