We value our vineyards, we minimise our irrigation and only spray our vineyards with sulphur based sprays. All weeds are mowed and the use of herbicides are kept to a bare minimum or not used at all.

	Andrea’s Block - Riesling (650 vines) Andrea’s vineyard sits at an altitude of 320m tucked up under our main ridge and sheltered from the hot north winds. The vines were first planted in 2000 and were non irrigated, however, the never ending drought has forced us to irrigate the vineyard to ensure consistency of production and vine health. Careful attention was given to the selection of clonal material (GM 198 and D2V2) and the altitude and gully ensures cold frosty air drifts further down the slopes. There are 0.5 hectares of Riesling vines planted in this block. Our biggest problem is that the birds like to spend time grazing our lovely fruit which is not very helpful considering we planted a lot of trees for them to sit in.
	Elyssa’s Block – Riesling (450 vines) Riesling was planted in 2002 and also sits at 330 m above sea level across the gully from Andreas. Elyssa’s block was also a dry grown vineyard but has since been given the luxury of water on tap. Its location is nestled in among the remnant bush and tree’s which ensures protection from the hot January winds. There is 0.4 hectares of Riesling vines in this block.
	Pedro’s Block, Shiraz Pedro’s is one of our oldest vineyards and sits at an altitude of 300m on bottom side of the block. The vines in Pedro’s vineyard were first planted in 2000 and the name Pedro was given in honour of a dog from Allen’s childhood. The block has minimal irrigation and is split between Shiraz and Tempranillo (1.2 ha each) with Tempranillo being the 5th most planted wine grape variety in the world. The 2004 crop was our first and the entire block yielded only 350 kg, which was enough for one barrel of wine. The wine was a favourite and sold out prior to our next release. Tempranillo makes sensational wine and has elegant varietal characters with a surprising soft and long finish. It goes fabulously well with lamb shanks and cous cous.
	Freya’s Block – Riesling (1,000 vines) Freya’s vineyard is just to the left of Elyssa’s under the main ridge and was also planted in 2002. This vineyard has had minimal irrigation and will contribute to our wines once fully established. The soil profile differs a little from the other two blocks with heavier clay and less rock. The slope is also flatter and at a slightly lower altitude.
	Ned's Block – Shiraz (2,200 vines) Ned was one of the smartest dogs going round. He was last seen in Ned Kelly country chasing rabbits which is kind of fitting. Unfortunately, he went AWOL and was never seen again by his owner. The block of Shiraz named after him is on the right bank of DogRock and the rows run due north south. The vineyard is dry grown and was planted in 2003. The soil changes as it runs down the slope with rocky gravel at the top and deeper red clay at the bottom. The vines appear to like their home as they grown very well without irrigation in 3 very hard dry years. We believe the fruit off this block will make sensational red wine.
	Todds Block – Grenache (950 vines) Todd was a peaceful giant Huntaway dog who passed on long before his time. The Grenache block was given his name to ensure he was never forgotten. This block is north facing on the right bank and catches all the sun from morning to night. The vines were planted in 2002 and the soils are clay and rocky with surface rock appearing in many places. The fact that a grape vine will grow in it is a miracle in itself. The vines are non irrigated and the crop from 2005 was so good the birds ate the entire block in one week. We believe the fruit from this block will compliment our sparkling red and provide a beautiful fruit lift. We may even think about a Rhone style red once we keep the birds away.
	Cyril’s Block – Chardonnay (450 vines) We love Chardonnay. It is one of those wines that is too enticing to pass up. Our current bird chaser (Cyril) is only just learning the tricks of the trade and he only has a small block of fruit attached to his name. Cyrils block is south facing on the left bank and is protected from the north winds by the main ridge. The soils are loam and underlying clay and the vines were planted in 2003. The vines are minimal irrigated and we hope to have a small crop in the 2007 vintage.
	Muriel’s Block – Marsanne (550 vines) What’s Marsanne I hear you ask? It is a white variety that you will find on the hills around Hermitage in the Rhone Valley of France. The wine’s can be similar to Chardonnay but it makes spectacular sweet desert wine as well. Our other bird chaser (Muriel) is only a baby so its fitting that the Marsanne vines will be planted at the same time as her arrival at DogRock. Muriels block is adjacent to Cyrils and is also south facing on the left bank. The soils are loam and clay and the vines were planted in 2006. The vines are minimal irrigated and we hope to have a sweet wine within five years.

Our philosophy on Viticulture is simple, we minimise any herbicide use and have a permanent sward under our vines. We have only sprayed sulphur to date but have resisted the temptation to embrace organic practices as we want to reserve the right to use a more helpful spray should a bad disease year come along. This does not mean we are not conscious of the environment, in fact we would argue that to be truly organic you would need to remove your grape vines as they are an introduced plant to our landscape. As you will see later, we are helping the environment in a far better way.

Our vine canopies consist of a simple sprawl with a catch wire for stability and all pruning, positioning, shoot thinning, and fruit thinning is performed carefully by hand. We do not use cover crops and rely on the natural grasses and surrounding trees to supply a healthy population of biodiversity in the vineyard. This helps control disease and pests and allows vine balance. The use of a natural green mulch has recently been introduced to our vines and this is aimed at improving soil structure and minimising water use. Harvesting is all done by hand and starts around March with each block is harvested and vinified separately. Fruit is delivered to the winery and enters through a specially designed slide that utilises gravity to feed the fruit into the basket press or destemmer.

Our wines are made with minimal intervention once fermentation commences and no cooling is applied to the red ferments. Reds are all made in open fermenter’s with two pump overs per day. The length of ferment and skin contact varies in line with the season as we believe that each year the fruit should be treated in an individual manner with no pre-conceived ideas on how to make the wine. This also applies to the percentage of new oak and length of maturation. We believe a good wine evolves rather than a winemaker pushing it in the same direction every year. Secondary malo-lactic fermentation is natural with wines normally finishing prior to winter.

Reds are racked and allowed some air but this is dependant on their development. We avoid fining and adding other agents to the wine wherever possible and this can be achieved by careful winemaking practices from picking onwards. We filter our wines to ensure no unwanted spoilage yeast like Brettanomyces make it into the bottle. Having unfiltered wines sounds very glamorous, but it can lead to serious wine spoilage and this is not good for anyone.

Our Riesling is also hand harvested and whole bunch pressed in a basket press. Fermentation is conducted partly by indigenous yeast, then over-seeded with a stronger yeast to ensure no problems at the end of ferment. Some solids are retained in the initial juice and extended lees contact is used which builds palate weight and texture not normally seen in Rieslings. No malo-lactic fermentation or gas cover is used and we believe that our Riesling shows a complexity and length that is missing from most other wines from this variety. We are forging a new style that revolves around making the wine softer, has more textural palate weight and above all, will age and drink well for decades.

Us, the owners of DogRock winery are both graduates of the University of Adelaide, Australia, and hold honours degree’s in Oenology and Viticulture. We have both worked extensively in the Australian wine industry and have travelled to New Zealand, Rioja, Rhone Valley, Napa, and Bordeaux to further our knowledge. Myself, (Allen) has also worked at the famous Chapoutier winery in Hermitage during the 2003 vintage. Our philosophy, is for minimal intervention, and to only guide the vineyards and winemaking, rather than produce something akin to a mass produced beverage wine.

Additionally, many people in the wine industry banter words around like 'innovative' and 'unique' without stopping to think what they actually mean. We aim to be innovative and make 'unique' wines such as Pedro’s Sparkling Red which is a blend of three varieties that have not (to the best of our knowledge) been used in a sparkling red anywhere in the world before. That, in a true sense of the word is being innovative and unique. At the same time, the wines we aim produce will hopefully be second to none in quality, have high drinkability and above all else, actually taste good.