A”little backyard hobby” for their retirement has turned into second careers for Bertel and Anne Sundstrup. Now the doctor specialising in cancer and the nurse clinical instructor are full-time vintners at Dalrymple Vineyards at Pipers Brook overlooking Bass Strait.
The area under vines has grown to 12 hectares and the hobby is a business that keeps not only the Sundstrups occupied, but also a vineyard manager and Anne’s sister Jill Mitchell, who is marketing and sales manager.
Bertel and Anne made an exhaustive search before buying the land, assisted by Dominique Portet of Taltarni Vineyards in Victoria, who also consulted on the initial development.
Bertel said the idea when they started the vineyard in 1987, the idea was to grow grapes and sell them to Taltarni, which was setting up the Clover Hill vineyard in Tasmania. “But when you do the sums you realise you would just steadily go broke doing that, and that we had to value-add,” he said.
Dr Sundstrup added a qualification in viticulture to his medical degrees, but at first contracted out the winemaking from the chardonnay, sauvignon blanc and pinot noir grapes. Once a winery was built at the vineyard in 1997 and he had retired from the Holman Clinic, he also became the winemaker.
“I just sort of picked it up,” he said. “Talking to people, watching how things were done using common sense.
“The big advantage with us is that you start off with good grapes, and it’s really a case of not mucking it up. When you have less than good grapes, that’s when the experts really need to come in to tweak it. Our wines do not need any tweaking at all, which makes life a lot easier.
However, for his latest venture, a sparkling wine, Bertel has left the winemaking to Dominique Portet, who is the ninth generation of his French family to be involved in winemaking. There are a couple of firsts about this wine, for one it is promoted under two different labels. Dalrymple’s is called Dalrymple Brut and is the first of their wines to carry labels of new design. Dominique Portet’s wine bears his own Portet Winemakers of Yarra Valley label, but is the same wine.
“The other daring thing we are doing,” says Bertel, “is putting a crown seal on it.” That is, exactly the same closure as a beer bottle, which, says, Bertel, is the best closure for any wine, including still wines, but still a step outside the comfort zone. “I am a bit shaky about it,” said Bertel. “I will miss the pop.”
The bottles look different too, because rather than be accused of misleading anyone by putting a hood over the top of the bottle, there is only a paper strip over the top of crown seal and down the other side.
The first release of Dalrymple Brut this month is four years old. Betel makes the base wine, then Dominique triages it and disgorges it.
The Sundstrups live in the vineyard, and can look out on it from their house and walk among the vines every day on inspection tours. With the exception of their Dalrymple Brut, they are one among the handful of Tasmanian single vignerons - the people who grow the grapes and then make the wine themselves.
Dalrymple Brut: Made from chardonnay and pinot noir grapes, it is a light green- yellow in colour with a very fine mousse. The bouquet is complex and tangy with some notes of bread coming from its time on lees. The palate has citrus and herb flavours, leading to a clean finish.
Dalrymple 2004 Unwooded
Chardonnay: Appealing aromas of ripe yellow peaches, melons and citrus lead to a fruit-laden palate with lovely balance and length, finishing crisply and cleanly.
Dalrymple 2004 Chardonnay: Lively aromas of nectarines and grapefruit are echoed on the palate, showing sensitive barrel ferment characters and leading to a crisp and clean finish..
2005 Sauvignon Blanc:Heady aromas of blackcurrants, passionfruit, and lychees leap from the glass, and are echoed on the fruit-laden palate leading to a crisp and clean finish.
Dalrymple 2004 Pinot Noir: Evocative aromas and flavours of raspberry and cherry fruits, with some pepper, spice, mint and forest floor characters, good oak, and supporting acidity. Adelicious drink.
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