APRIL 2017 | Joanne Eisemann

AS A winemaker you probably wouldn’t expect to win a gold medal with your first vintage of a variety untried in Tasmania, yet that’s exactly what White Rock boutique vineyard, located in the small Meander Valley hamlet of Kimberley, has achieved.

Established by Phil and Robin Dolan in 1992, White Rock began by producing Chardonnay and Pinot Noir with their first vintage in 1997, before introducing Riesling and Pinot Gris to their mix as the years progressed.

Looking for another cool climate red to grow, Phil chose the Dornfelder.

“Customers were often looking for heavier reds and this variety was bred by the Germans to be grown in cooler climates to address that need,” explains Phil adding “I think it’s a good variety for Tassie because we can’t always ripen cab sav and shiraz”.

Phil asked the Woodlea nursery at Scottsdale to grow the first vines which, when planted, yielded half a ton of grapes five years later. With such a small crop Phil had some difficulty in finding a winemaker to turn it into wine. Eventually he found the winemaker at Frogmore Creek Winery in Cambridge who was eager to take the job on as he was keen to be experimenting with a new variety in Tasmania.

Known as ‘Dawn Red’ that first vintage went on to win a gold medal for ‘Best Other Red’ at the prestigious International Cool Climate Wine Show in Red Hills, Victoria in 2014.

“People have been quite excited about it, but we don’t have much to push it hard yet,” mentions Phil. “140 cases for sale this year, we have a lot of vines grafted over so we should be able to get up to about 500 cases of just Dornfelder”.

When researching to find other Dornfelder growers in Australia, the Dolan’s were unable to find any.

They contacted Woodlea Nursery to find out where they had sourced the original cuttings and found they had come from the Riverland Vine Improvement Association.

Phil relates their response when he called them to find out more - “Yeah, we got some in from Germany, nobody seemed to like it so we’ve ripped most of them out now.” So, at the time of their win, White Rock was the only vineyard in Australia growing Dornfelder.

“If it is grown in hot areas they get massive yields, but it does not make a good quality wine.

“The Dornfelder ripens the same time as the Pinot Noir that’s why it’s a good other red for Tassie .“

“The reason why Tasmanian or cool climate wine is more flavoursome is because heat kills the acid. I liken it to slow cooking; the grapes ripen slowly so the acid and the sugars balance, but when it’s too hot the acid gets killed and it is all sweet. But here, we get a good balance”.

Harvest of their crop takes place sometime in March, depending on the season.

Once harvested the grapes are trucked to Frogmore Creek. “Then we get it back in bottles, we leave it to them because they are the experts. We also sell grapes to them as a crop which helps to offset the cost making the wine,” shares Phil.

After trying several methods of selling, Phil and Robin have engaged an agent who sells their wine to restaurants in Hobart and Launceston.

“Someone called in the other day. They had a bottle of our Dornfelder in Muirs in Hobart. They liked it so much they wanted to come and buy a case,” says Phil.

For more, visit www.whiterockvineyard.com.

Photo | Mike Moores