Dudley Partners Winery: On Kangaroo Island in South Australia

Postcards' visit to the winery
Visitors to Kangaroo Island know that the area around Penneshaw at the eastern end of the Island is beautiful farming country. However, few know that it is also South Australiašs latest wine growing region. It is here on the Dudley Peninsula that the Dudley Partners Winery was created. It began with three blokes who thought that making wine might be more interesting than farming wool and beef. So they put in some vines and crushed their grapes by hand in the shearing shed. It resulted in a few hundred bottles of "Shearing Shed Red". The success of that vintage has led to some expansion. This year the partners hope to produce 20 thousand bottles - a number they hope doubles in 1999. The Dudley Partners Winery is the only one on Kangaroo Island. They have a cellar door for visitors and they are on the Dudley Peninsula between Penneshaw and Cape Willoughby.

Current Details of Dudley Partners Winery

Kangaroo Island's Pioneer Winery

Visitors to Kangaroo Island know that the area around Penneshaw at the eastern end of the island is beautiful farming country. However, few know that it is also South Australia's latest wine growing region. It is here on the Dudley Peninsula Winery was created. It began in 1994 when three blokes, Alan Wilson, Paul Mansfield and Jeff Howard thought that making wine might be more interesting than farming wool and beef. So they put in some vines and crushed their grapes by hand in the shearing shed. It resulted in a few hundred bottles of "Shearing Shed Red". The success of that first vintage in 1997 has led to some serious expansion and some impressive reviews.

Believing that the best quality wine could only be achieved if the time between harvest and winemaking was kept to a minimum, winemaker Jeff Howard convinced his partners that establishing a fully operational winery right next to the vineyards was the only logical way to go. Today, Dudley Wines boasts some of the latest winery systems and equipment, housed in buildings especially constructed for the purpose.

The range of wines has grown from the initial plantings of shiraz and cabernet sauvignon at Porky Flat and Hog Bay River as the other grape varieties have come on line. The high quality standards strived for in the early nineties are not only maintained, but exceeded on a regular basis. Dudley Wines have received accolades from the nation's wine press and are stocked in a growing list of restaurants and premium bottle shops around the nation and overseas.

"Winestate Magazine, March-April 2003 reviewed us on a par with other premium boutique wines from well-known makers in other cool-climate regions as their star rating for our 2000 reds show".

Porky Flat
2000 Shiraz

Shearing Shed Red
2000 Shiraz Cabernet

Hog Bay River
2000 Cabernet Sauvignon

White wines available are:

Island Chardonnay, the perfect summer drink to enjoy with or without food.

Peninsula Chardonnay, an ideal accompaniment to the island's incredible array of seafood.

For Kangaroo Island tastings and sales visit the Dudley cellar door at Cape Willoughby Light House, daily 11am to 5pm.

Visits to the winery may be pre arranged, please phone +61 (0)8 8553 1509 for details.

For tasting notes and a mail order form you can email lynmans@hotmail.com