Winemaking

In line with DOOLE DOOLE's philosophy of only using the finest fruit and facilities, winemaking is placed under the direction of renowned winemaker Brian Light and is carried out at 'state of the art' Boar's Rock Winery, adjacent to Norm Doole's California Road Vineyard.

From its inception, DOWIE DOOLE has striven to make finer, more elegant wines than mainstream Australia. 

From the entry-level wines to the sublime, all DOWIE DOOLE products have been grown, made, matured, packaged and released to fit quite specific parts of the price scale, the market, and your dining table. 

CHENIN BLANC

DOWIE DOOLE specialises in Chenin Blanc, the elegant, characterful, firmly acidic white grape. Highly flexible in its nature, Chenin can be made simply, to highlight its natural fruit, or made in a more traditional manner, with wild yeasts, lees contact, old oak, and bottle age before release.  Either way, Chenin is a welcome addition to a world cluttered with dull mega-popular white varieties.  Its bounteous natural acidity makes it ideal table wine: a glass will actually make you hungry!

SAUVIGNON BLANC

All the DOWIE DOOLE Sauvignon Blanc is grown on the high cool Doole Home Block.  It is made to be more gentle than the skinny acidic styles which predominate this difficult part of the market.  But it’s still bone dry, focused, highly appetising wine that will accompany almost anything you can catch in the Gulf of St Vincent.

MERLOT

DOWIE DOOLE Merlot is never mellow.  We believe this hearty Bordelaise grape should be full of character, with the finest oak, and maximum natural acidity, to ensure a good future in the cellar. Having the disparate sources of Tintookie and California Road to select from, we can blend a dead serious luxurious pot of Merlot every year.

CABERNET SAUVIGNON

This thoroughbred grows in both the California Road and Tintookie vineyards.  We want it as fit and tightly-muscled as a thoroughbred, too.  Complex, adult and modern, with aristocratic tannins and the promise of great longevity, the DOWIE DOOLE Cabernet Sauvignon is always expected to be a step above the rest.

SHIRAZ

With premium Shiraz from Old Rifle Range Vineyard, California Road and Tintookie to choose from, DOWIE DOOLE could blend various popular shiraz types.  But we pursue the tighter, more intense, yet elegant and reserved style of wine that is perfectly satisfying, will not overwhelm your dining, and is highly rewarding if cellared.