Meet the Winemaker: Dowie Doole (McLaren Vale, SA)

This month the Starts at 60 Wine Club is offering discounts and discovery packs for independent wineries in McLaren Vale, South Australia.

Dowie Doole is one of the two award-winning local wineries currently showcased. We spoke to Chief Winemaker Chris Thomas, who has been running the uniquely beautiful Tatachilla vineyard since 2015, on what makes their wines — especially their award-winning Rosé — such a popular pick among both local visitors and international connoisseurs. Watch the full video here.

The winery makes a striking first impression for visitors thanks to the design of their “Tasting Pod”, which was launched in 2019 by His Excellency the Honourable Hieu Van Le AC, Governor of South Australia.

“What we didn’t want,” says Chris, “was a standard cookie cutter building by the side of the road.”

“It’s right in the middle of the vineyard, it’s made out of upscale shipping containers, and it sits with a 360 degree view of vines. It faces true north, we’ve got solar panels, we reclaim all the water. So it’s basically off the grid.”

“I was doing a virtual wine tasting for a distributor in the UK once… We’ve got a picture window here at the cellar door that looks out the vineyard. I was doing this whole virtual tasting and this kangaroo comes jumping through in the background and they said, ‘oh! is that not a virtual backdrop?’ I said ‘no, this is our vineyard, this is where I’m standing, and yes, we got kangaroos… they just couldn’t believe it”.

Chris describes Dowie Doole’s crisp, vibrant taste as well-suited to those with a drier palate.

“We try not to manipulate the wines too much, but pick at the right time and really try to make them in a very vibrant style that exhibits the fruit characteristics of the region.”

“It’s supported by subtle use of oak in red wines, but certainly not oak-dominant.”

Among the wines he’s most proud of: Dowie Doole Rosé.

It was inspired by a visit to Provence, when Chris and his wife booked a tasting at Château La Coste, and were particularly impressed by their top Rosé; a blend of Grenache and Vermentino.

“When we flew back from that trip, the day I got off the plane. I went and signed the documents to buy this Vineyard… It had 10 hectares of Grenache and one hectare of Vermentino and I thought: ‘right, I know what I’m going to do with this. I’m going to make my own Australian-inspired version of this Provence Rosé we love so much’.”

“We released it in 2017 and we got a little gold medal at the McLaren Vale Wine Show. Then two years later, we took out the trophy the best Rosé at Royal Adelaide Wine Show, beating a hundred and twenty other Rosé.”

“But what I’m really proud of with that wine is that consistently, if you go to an Adelaide wine show, it’s consistently in the top ten.”

“We weren’t chasing a Rosé trend. We did the style because we loved it, and the rewards followed.”

“My vision is someone sitting down at sunset having a beautiful glass of Rosé at the beach… They’re having some local seafood cooked on the barbecue.”

“Or they’re at an amazing sushi restaurant down at Gouger Street in Chinatown in Adelaide, having a glass of the Rosé that matches the food perfectly.”

You can enjoy Dowie Doole Rosé either as an individual purchase or as part of our monthly discovery pack of some of McLaren Vale’s best wines. Join the club here.