Rusden was founded in 1979 by Christine and Dennis Canute who bought 40 acres in the Barossa Valley. Christine grew grapes to sell to wineries but by the late 1990s the family was producing its own wine. Their son Christian Canute is winemaker. Today the estate makes Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Grenache, Chenin Blanc and several blends. Robert M. Parker Jr. gives the estate’s wine high ratings and notes that Christian Canute “has a unique ability to produce wines of great finesse combined with the intensity and power obtained from Barossa Valley fruit.”