Above the Vines: What Dalwood Taught Me About Respect

The birthplace of Australian wine: Dalwood Estate, Hunter Valley. Part one of three.

Mālō e lelei and bonjour, fellow wine explorers.

Friday. 6am. Sydney was barely awake.

The night before, we had poured New Zealand wines at a private dinner. Now Ofa and I were heading for the Hunter Valley. Our cameraman, Joshy, met us on the way.

We had a video to shoot for Sips & Scrums II.

And a French winemaker to meet.

This is a three-part piece. Dalwood first. Then Sweetwater. Then Hungerford Hill.

Start at the Rugby Club

Just after 8am we pulled into Pokolbin Rugby Club (poh-KOL-bin). A nice, cool morning.

Why a rugby club?

Because that’s our base. Ofa. Pierre. Joshy. Me.

We were rugby players before anything else. Rugby is our story. Wine fused into it afterwards.

Even our cameraman played. Joshy, Ofa and I all played in France.

So this wasn’t just a place for pictures. It was common ground. The right place for all of us to meet.

At the end of the day, rugby was our connecting ground.

Joshy got his shots. Thank you, Josh.

Then I met Pierre Durand (pee-AIR doo-RAHN).

Pierre is general manager and chief winemaker of Hungerford Hill, Dalwood Estate and Sweetwater. He also played rugby with Ofa. When we were planning this trip, Ofa got in touch, and Pierre was happy to show us around.

Sometimes life works like that. One teammate. One message. One open door.

Pierre grew up in a farming family in the foothills of the Pyrenees. His English is excellent. We talked wine. We talked rugby. We talked about what we’re building with Sips & Scrums.

Wine through rugby in Burgundy. I know that road.

It was an honour to meet the man himself, Pierre Durand.

Through the Gates

Then we shot over to Dalwood Estate.

The vines were budding and flowering. What a view coming through those gates.

Pierre started with the history. Bien sûr.

George and Margaret Wyndham (WIN-dum) reached Sydney on Boxing Day 1827. Within weeks they had bought this land on the Hunter River. Dalwood was born in 1828.

Its first vines came from Australia’s earliest collections, including those of James Busby. Yes, that Busby.

George put Margaret’s name on the property titles, and he needed her signature to borrow money. Not common back then.

And I love that.

Pierre showed us their house. It still stands today.

The Resting Place

Then he walked us to a place just above the vineyard.

George and Margaret are buried there, along with others who worked this land.

It felt respectful. Not overwhelming. Just sacred.

We know this in Tonga too.

Faka’apa’apa (fah-kah-ah-pah-AH-pah). Respect. You honour those who came before you.

A vineyard is not just where wine is made. It’s where people are remembered.

And not everyone came by choice. Convicts from England, Ireland, Jamaica and beyond worked here. Long before them, this was Wonnarua country.

That’s not background. That’s the story in the glass.

Quality, Not Quantity

Back at the winery, we tasted. The 2023 Shiraz. The 2023 Semillon (SEM-ih-lon).

Fantastic wines. True expressions of where they are planted.

Pierre told us Dalwood is the only vineyard the river crosses. He also told us the vineyard normally sits below sea level, and that makes for great growing conditions.

The Semillon is all about lemon and lime. The Shiraz brings spiced plums and cherries.

This is vigorous country. Left alone, the vines can run out of control.

Normally you would have two spurs, the short stubs of wood that new shoots grow from. That was for bulk production. Pierre’s answer is to dial it down to one.

Fewer grapes. Higher quality fruit. You taste it in the bottle.

Same with the Semillon. It is always picked early. Less sugar means less alcohol, about 10 to 11%, and much crisper notes.

That’s not chasing quantity. That’s chasing true expressions of Dalwood.

It’s what we do. And it’s what I love hearing.

Pierre only started in June. He looks after all three estates, and he saw where they could use some TLC. In the vineyard. And in the team.

We met Jeff, trimming the vines. We met Jenny, looking after front of house.

Pierre’s philosophy is simple. One goal. One direction. Everyone helps everyone. Vineyard, cellar, front of house.

Any rugby player knows that feeling. Pierre doesn’t just talk about team. He lives it.

The first vineyard he ever visited in Australia was Dalwood, at 17. Now he leads it.

How Do You Find the Story?

These are the vineyards and the stories I want to show you. From Australia. From Aotearoa. From France, Italy and the old world.

The wine matters. The terroir (teh-RWAHR) speaks from the bottle. But so do the people who worked the vines, and the people who created the place.

That’s the essence of Premier Ligne. Finding the roots of the vine. The history. The aroha. The mana.

With Pierre’s passion, philosophy and experience, Dalwood is one of the estates I’ll be looking at.

Next time you visit a winery, try these:

1. Ask who started it. Every vineyard has a founder and a reason.
2. Ask to see more than the tasting room. Walk the vines if they’ll let you.
3. Look for the old things. A house. A wall. A resting place.
4. Learn a name or two. The person trimming the vines knows things the label doesn’t.
5. Then taste. Same wine. Different meaning.

Final Pour

Part two: Sweetwater, which opens to the public only twice a year. Then Hungerford Hill to finish.

Wine Chief takeaway: honour the people first, then pour the wine.

Choose well, drink with joy, and keep it simple.

Mālō ’aupito

Semisi Telefoni — The Wine Chief