Regional pioneers Rhonda and Stephen Doyle play host at one of Australia’s most idiosyncratic cellar doors. Tastings are by appointment only – not because the Doyles are reluctant to share their time and their wines, but because they want to personally guide you through their quixotic range. Each wine has a story, well told – be you in the hands of Stephen, beneath his gruff exterior lies a super-intelligent man with a dry sense of humour. Ask him about his budgerigars. Rhonda is equally quirky (and one of the best cooks west of the Divide) so settle in for some spicy stories and, if Rhonda has been baking, delicious scones as you gaze over a swathe of 30-year-old vines and Dam Rhonda, which is rarely full – hence its dismissive name. For all the eccentricities, the Bloodwood wines are excellent, usually held for a few years before release and offered at old-fashioned prices.
Be sure to join the mailing list, the Bloodwood Bible is the most amusing newsletter in the country and Rhonda’s star sign dinner party menus show off her food and wine matching skills. Individual touches, such as the granite slab carved with motifs depicting each month’s ‘traits’ in the vineyard, add to the fun. You can sit on your month, or ‘date’ as Stephen prefers. Jancis Robinson MW did. Peter Bourne