A SMALL patch of land in Swan Hill has been producing some wonderful wines for owner Bruce Hall for the past five years.
The winery, Dos Rios, covers just 2ha but has produced a good mix of grapes, including shiraz, tempranillo, verdejo and the Italian variety moscato giallo.
- DOS RIOS
- SWAN HILL, VICTORIA
- Property: vines
- Size: 2ha
- Price: $405,000 (plus wine at stock cost)
- Contact: 0419 803 568
"When we bought the property it had one acre (0.4ha) of shiraz planted . . . in the early 1980s," Bruce said.
The other varieties have been planted since then.
Along with his wife, Patricia, Bruce has done all the work on the property, including pruning, mulching and wine-making.
"Pruning usually takes us about four weeks, just the two of us, but on average I spend about one day a week on the vineyard across a whole year," he said.
He has not been chasing high yields, rather focusing on quality.
"We have been getting 4.5 to six tonnes to the acre (11.1-14.8 tonnes/ha), which is relatively low, but we are very happy with this," Bruce said.
He has upgraded the irrigation from furrow to drip irrigation and has used the water allocation efficiently.
"We got through the last two seasons without buying in any water," Bruce said.
Dos Rios has an ample allocation of 14.6 megalitres of high-security water.
Bruce and Patricia have sold the wine directly through the cellar door, as well as through local restaurants and clubs.
"We probably sell about 60 per cent of our wine through about 25 restaurants and clubs, from Broken Hill to Echuca, and about 40 per cent through the cellar door," Bruce said.
They have set up a cellar door at the winery's residence, which fronts the Murray Valley Highway.
For visitors, Bruce has built a wood oven that can be used to make everything from pizzas to roasts.
There is an undercover dining area to accommodate up to 40 people.
The ranch-style, three-bedroom, brick-veneer house has a return veranda, office and the cellar door.
There is also a 50-tree quince grove and a 600-case cool room.
While the vineyard has only five grape varieties, Bruce makes nine different wines.
Dos Rios is available on a walk-in, walk-out basis, with wine stock available at cost price.
