Dog Ridge

Dogridge Vineyards is a family owned venture built up since the first vines were purchased in 1992 by Dave and Jen Wright. We produce a range of boutique wines from our 120 acres of premium McLaren Vale vineyards.

Dogridge is the name of an old-fashioned vine rootstock and strangely it caught our imagination. Given the main house is on a ridge overlooking the vines, and we are besotted with Curly Coated Retrievers you can figure it out.

So, Dogridge it is, a shared dream that includes art, an intimate cellar door and gallery, heritage vines and, above all, a commitment to distinctive wines that celebrate the beauty around us.

DogRidge “DUCK CHASE” vineyard was established in 2001 on a severely neglected elevated site overlooking McLaren Vale on the edge of the Onkaparinga Gorge National Park. The site was cleared again of all feral species and the valuable ancient gravelly soils brought back to life in preparation for the establishment of this state of the art vineyard. In our planning for this we retained significant open space which, with the help of Greening Australia and Urban Forrest Biodiversity Programme, has been revegetated by planting 6,000 trees and shrubs, all local native species, which has introduced some biodiversity into the project. This has created the beginning of a wildlife corridor which when finally completed will link the Onkaparinga National Park in the north to the Aldinga Scrub in the south. The joy is that the birds and animals have already moved back in and taken up residence.

We are acutely aware that the entire planet is under threat from nearly everything we do. The balance of scientific knowledge and thinking is that CO2 production caused by whatever means is causing global warming and climate change. These pundits also agree that unless we change the way we do things, generate and use energy and burn fossil fuels this climate change will be irreversible by 2050.

We at DogRidge are proud of our environmental record. Our property management is focused on sustainability and includes minimizing the impact of the things we do on the environment, the incorporation of biodiversity into our vineyards, management and renovation of remnant areas of native vegetation, recycling both oak and green waste and conserving valuable water resources. Cleaning out semi-trailer loads of rubbish from creeks at DogRidge “THE DIGS” Vineyard, removing feral non-native vegetation and rebuilding eroded creek banks so that we could revegitate them with native species grown from seeds collected from close by have all been completed.

The curly coated retriever-a dog not to be sniffed at.

Not every life-changing event announces itself with a bang- some just sneak up on you.  It all started when Fred left home at 17, leaving Jen with a bad attack of empty nest. Looking for a substitute for those endearing teenage traits of love, trusting naivety, helplessness, bad behaviour, no respect for property, unquenchable appetite and occasional incontinence, Jen decided a Labrador and a Retriever should do. However the asthma and hay fever sufferers in the family were doing it tough so a new search began for a more amenable variety. It had to be a proper dog not a lapdog, useful, good with children and importantly low allergenic.

The best suggestion from the research was a curly coated retriever, and, like a vampire bite, from the first slobber Jen’s life was changed. That is the way our dogs came to own us and make us an essential part of their family.

Jen has now been a registered breeder of this ancient English variety for 15 years. They are thought to be a cross between a standard poodle and possibly an Irish water spaniel, or perhaps setters or retrievers. They are graceful, robust and balanced and can be black or, occasionally and much sought after, brown.

The dogs love the property and are often at cellar door to greet visitors. They need exercise and chasing pesky rabbits helps. Mature curlys are very loyal and home based and excellent with children. Occasional wayward puppy behaviour can be cured instantly with a liver treat.

Many of Jen’s friends and visitors have fallen under the spell so you are likely to meet up with other curly coated retrievers when you tour the wineries of McLaren Vale.