The Local Collection is:

- a tasting hub for six innovative,
passionate, artisan vignerons

- a casual, warm,
friendly restaurant
and function centre

- vibrant gallery

. . . and hang-out for
several aged, gentle
& very spoilt dogs

Dunns Creek Estate


Dunn’s Creek Estate is 25 acres in total, set in a natural north-facing amphitheatre with seven acres under vines.

These are offered the triple advantages of the second highest rainfall on the peninsula, the fantastic red soil which makes our area so famous and the ideal exposure to the sun of north-south planting.

Roger and Hannah Stuart-Andrews’ approach at Dunn’s Creek is all about varietals not commonly seen in the Australian market.

Their introductory planting was in November 2001 – one and a half acres of a traditional Mediterranean red varietal called Barbera.

Barbera is not widely planted or known in Australia but is the leading wine grape of Italy, grown mainly in Piedmont. Argentina has about 1000 ha and plantings in California are about 4100 ha.

“While a favourite of Lombardy and Piedmont, Barbera is consumed all over Italy.  Experienced Italian wine growers know that the best grapes are grown only on hilly land and on the sunniest slopes, both of which are offered to our vines by our unique enclave in Red Hill,” said Roger.

“The first vintage, of Barbera, was picked on ANZAC day 2004 and spent 10 months in French oak barrels, initially eight old and two new to assess the difference and guide us as to the handling of future vintages. After bottling we waited six months for the wine to achieve an acceptable balance.”

The remainder of the vineyard is equally split (in 1.5 acre lots) between the following three varieties

• An accompanying Italian white grape, also from Piedmont, called Arneis. Dunn’s Creek first picked this in April 2005, the wine has been matured in stainless steel vats, was bottled in August and was released in September 2005.

• Tempranillo (known in Europe as Rioja after its region of origin in north-east Spain), picked at Dunn’s Creek for the first time in April 2005. It lies in old French oak barrels with a release date in 2006.

• A Spanish / Portugese white called Albarinho.
“By 2008 we hope to be able to release boxed sets of four fascinating and complementary wines to fill the gap between the commonly promoted three or six bottle packs,” said Roger.

“The winemaker is Sandro Mosele of Tuerong Winery to whom we owe much for his skill in bringing the raw product to maturity. The man responsible for the product is Hugh Robinson of HPR Wines who manages the vines on our behalf.”