“My philosophy of soil health is a lot like mental health,” says Nick Dugmore. “They are both epidemics that we need to do something about to sustain this planet beyond our and our kids’ lifetimes. And they are both very hard to understand because they are often not visible. You can take meds and sort it out… sometimes. And you can spray your vines and sort them out too… most of the time. But we really need to go way back and focus on the preventative rather than the curative.”
For Dugmore this means a focus on vine health and resilience, which begins with revitalising the soil. “Vines don’t necessarily belong where they are grown, but they do belong in soil,” he says. “If we can regenerate the soil to a point where it can look after the vines rather than the vines relying on us to look after them, then we will be in a much stronger position going forward. There is a lot of wasted space between rows, but if we can get that soil sequestering as much carbon as it can handle, then we have done our bit for the globe as best we can. It all adds up right?”
Most of the fruit making up the Dugmore’s The Stoke label comes off the Cassini vineyards, along with the pinot noir that goes to making this edition of the Guroo label (where a master of a particular variety sets their talents to fruit from Kangaroo Island) with Stephen George of Ashton Hills fame. The remainder is sold to new brands (currently Moorak and Mary’s Myth, with another joining the roster in for the ’23 vintage) that help to raise consumer awareness of Kangaroo Island through cutting-edge wines.
“Often the island will be 5–10 degrees cooler than the mainland. This enables physiological ripening to happen slowly and evenly ahead of when it might happen in other regions, resulting in beautifully ripe tannin and lower Baume levels.”
“For us, considering we have only had our vineyard for three years now, it’s tough to tell if what we are doing is truly influencing our wines,” says Dugmore. “In our first year, 2021, we only got 3 tonnes and no whites from the whole 12-acre site. The following year, we picked 23 tonnes and now 90 per cent of our range is from our vineyard. We could compare to the previous owner’s wines, but he once said to me, ‘Nick, we don’t make wine for wimps.’ So, it would be like comparing apples and oranges.”
Dugmore notes that their style is “more modern”, with lighter and medium-bodied wines. “The tannin doesn’t rip your face off, but they spark interest and ultimately complement your meal. Wine for ‘wimps’, in other words. We have changed the viticultural practices dramatically, though. We have cane pruned 70 per cent of the vineyard now. We are treating it as organically as we can afford to, and we are in amongst the vines all the time. The best fertiliser is the gardener’s shadow; that’s our motto.”
Kangaroo Island offers a unique viticultural prospect, Dugmore says, referring to the conditions as “cool climate Mediterranean. The influence of the ocean sees warmer nights and cooler days, which lead to a really long and slow ripening period. The vines kick into gear earlier in the day, and they don’t peak too hard and shut down. Often the island will be 5–10 degrees cooler than the mainland. This enables physiological ripening to happen slowly and evenly ahead of when it might happen in other regions, resulting in beautifully ripe tannin and lower Baume levels.”
Those climatic conditions allow Dugmore to pick a bit earlier than is the norm for KI to retain natural acidity, while also achieving intense flavour and plenty of structure. That profile, as much as personal preference, directs the wines towards medium-bodied, food-friendly styles.
And though those conditions mark the island as wine territory of particular interest, Dugmore stresses that the vineyards are far from homogenous. “All the vineyards are out on their own and are treated differently by the operators,” he says. “They are all unique. The island separated 10,000 years ago, but it is a continuation of the Adelaide Hills. It is very hilly, and it comes around in an east-west direction, so there is a huge amount of north facing slopes perfect for vineyards.”
“Our vineyard is sandy loam and ironstone over clay. It was planted in 1999 by Ross Trimboli, and he did his research, scouring the island to find the best possible location. It’s a beautiful place, perfectly exposed, views over the valley to the north, ocean views in the distance to the east and a tree line on the south side to protect from the strong winds.”
While the island has a modest acreage of vines currently, the possibilities for growth are immense, which is very much what both The Stoke and Guroo projects are in part sculpted to emphasise. It’s a mission that Dugmore takes very seriously, with grape-growing on the island in steep decline. The 2020 bushfire was tragic on many levels, and it swiftly erased 40 hectares of vines, but the decline through lack of generational succession and willing buyers is having a greater impact, with the 200 hectares under vine at its peak now down to around 100.
“This is a marginal region and an extreme place to grow grapes,” says Dugmore. “The island culture is a beer drinking one, and most of the vineyards were planted by a generation that is now retiring. Many have been let go and our vineyard would have suffered the same fate if we didn’t purchase the gear and start managing the vineyard. I lost my full-time job due to covid the same week we signed up to this vineyard. It was a blessing in disguise, as we are now producing high-quality grapes and selling to new and exciting producers who are in the market talking about our region.”
That lack of interest in grape-growing is perhaps emphasised by the Dugmores’ leasing arrangement, where a case of each wine produced off the vineyard is taken as a tithe. No doubt, the meticulous care for a vineyard that was always a labour of love is payment enough. “Our vineyard is sandy loam and ironstone over clay,” says Dugmoe. “It was planted in 1999 by Ross Trimboli, and he did his research, scouring the island to find the best possible location. It’s a beautiful place, perfectly exposed, views over the valley to the north, ocean views in the distance to the east and a tree line on the south side to protect from the strong winds.”
That windswept location results in some challenges, but it also means lower disease pressure, which is further aided by the new arched cane pruning methodology that means a more open architecture and better airflow though the canopy. “Our site is special because it shows a person’s dedication to their passion,” says Dugmore. “The vineyard is truly in the middle of nowhere, a complete logistical nightmare. But it is so well thought out and has been so well executed. The wines that have come from this vineyard show that passion. I believe we are off to a good start, and I can’t wait to see the fruit and taste the wines into the future and really get a good understanding of our site and what we can do to help it show in the glass.”
The efforts are already paying dividends, with an anecdotal observation of more even ripening across the site in the ’22 vintage, with shiraz, cabernet sauvignon, malbec, pinot noir and pinot gris all performing well. Only the four rows of cabernet franc have taken longer to adapt to the new approach, but Dugmore has worked with that fruit prior to taking on the lease, and he has high expectations when it does finally settle down. He also has plans to graft over some cabernet sauvignon vines to nebbiolo and gamay, two varieties that he says are to yet to be grown on the island, but he expects to do well with the low disease pressure and long ripening window.
It is clear that Dugmore is relishing getting his hands dirty, after years working in the wineries of others. “The camaraderie and sense of achievement it has provided to our business is the thing I love the most about our vineyard. It is my connection to the land and to the island. But it has also provided something for me and my old man to do together and to get excited about. There is nothing like drinking a bottle of wine that you grew, made, aged and bottled with the people whose passion and dedication went into it. It is this spiritual side of winemaking that is so addictive and being able to grow the fruit to make our wine has taken it all to the next level.”
Please sign in or create account as candidate to bookmark this job
Please sign in or create account to save this search
Please sign in or create account as candidate to create a resume
