About Us
DOGROCK
A new chapter, grounded in place
Dogrock sits above the small township of Crowlands on the western edge of Victoria's Pyrenees, surrounded by rocky ridges, native bushland and vines.
Established by Allen and Andrea Hart in 1998, Dogrock has always been a little different — an independent, off-grid vineyard and winery built around a remarkable site, thoughtfully planted varieties and wines that favour balance, texture and a clear sense of place.
Today, Dogrock enters its next chapter, with us, the new owners; vineyard managers; winemakers and all the roles in-between - Brett Morcomb and Glen Whitefield.
We came to Dogrock with enormous respect for what Allen and Andrea created here. Our ambition isn't to reinvent it. It is to care for what makes Dogrock distinctive, build on its foundations and take the vineyard, wines and story confidently into the future.
The people looking after Dogrock may have changed, but place remains at the heart of everything.
MEET BRETT & GLEN
New custodians of Dogrock
For us, taking on Dogrock is much more than just owning a winery. It means becoming custodians of the vineyard, the landscape and stewards of a small Australian wine brand with almost three decades of awarded history behind it.
Glen Whitefield brings extensive hands-on vineyard experience and a deep interest in thoughtful, increasingly sustainable viticulture. His focus at Dogrock is the land itself — understanding each block, caring for the vines and continually looking for ways to improve vineyard health and the quality of the fruit it produces.
Brett Morcomb brings a background in brand, marketing and business, and a desire to share the Dogrock's winery, it's story and of course the wines themselves, with more people while retaining the independence and character that make this small winery special.
From different perspectives, but with a shared ambition, we believe that the future of Dogrock should begin with the same thing that made it special in the first place: this place.
THE VINEYARD
A place worth protecting
Dogrock's vineyards lie within a horseshoe-shaped valley above Crowlands, framed by rocky ridges on three sides and looking across the Pyrenees landscape.
Those ridges, slopes and different aspects create distinct conditions within a relatively small estate — something that has shaped the vineyard from the beginning.
Varieties have been deliberately planted according to where they are best suited.
Riesling and Chardonnay occupy cooler southern-facing slopes, protected from the hottest northerly winds. Arinto and Azal have also been established on southern slopes.
Shiraz, Grenache and Tempranillo occupy warmer north-facing slopes where greater sunlight exposure helps ripen the red varieties through the Pyrenees' dry, warm summers.
This relationship between variety and place is central to how we see Dogrock.
Rather than asking the vineyard to produce one particular style of wine, we want to understand what each variety, block and season can express here.
OUR STORY
Progress anchored in history
Dogrock's story began in 1998 when winemakers Allen and Andrea Hart purchased 58 hectares of partially wooded land behind Crowlands.
What followed was more than the establishment of a vineyard.
Allen and Andrea planted the vines, established dams and water systems, built the winery into the hillside and created a property and business designed from the outset to operate with an unusually high degree of self-sufficiency.
Both brought extensive wine-industry experience to the project. Their travels and work across Australian and international wine regions — including Rioja, the Rhône Valley, Napa, Bordeaux and New Zealand — helped shape Dogrock's European-influenced approach and its willingness to look beyond Australia's most familiar grape varieties.
Over the following decades, Dogrock has became home not only to Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Grenache, but to newer to Australia varieties including Tempranillo, Graciano, Touriga Nacional, Arinto and Azal.
As its custodians, we are conscious that we inherit not a blank canvas, but a living vineyard, an established philosophy and a body of work and achievement created over nearly three decades.
We are enormously grateful for that legacy. Our responsibility is now to look after it, build upon it and realize the next chapter in the story of Dogrock.
OUR APPROACH
Expressed simply:
Place first. Variety second. Winemaking in service of both.
We want our wines to reflect where they come from - this place.
This means paying close attention to the vineyard, treating individual varieties according to what they need and allowing each growing season to influence the resulting wine rather than trying to reproduce exactly the same result every year.
It also means continuing Dogrock's curiosity about varieties.
While the Pyrenees is renowned for Shiraz - as are we with our Halliday awarded Shiraz - what makes our vineyard particularly interesting is the collection of Mediterranean and Iberian varieties growing alongside it.
Grenache. Tempranillo. Graciano. Touriga Nacional. Arinto. Azal.
They give us an opportunity to keep learning about this site and to make wines that are distinctly Dogrock.
Across the range, we favour wines with balance, texture, freshness and drinkability — wines with enough character to be interesting, without needing excess weight or intervention to make their point.
SUSTAINABLY GROWN
Working with what we have
Sustainability at Dogrock isn't a new initiative. It was built into the property.
The winery and property were designed with natural insulation and the estate operates off-grid, predominantly using solar energy. Rainwater is captured, dams provide water for the vineyard, and gravity and solar pumping are used where conditions allow.
In the vineyard, the approach has historically been pragmatic rather than dogmatic.
Irrigation and sprays are used according to seasonal conditions rather than simply by routine. Natural grasses grow beneath the vines, biodiversity is encouraged and celebrated, mulch is used to improve soil structure and conserve water, and vineyard work — including harvesting — has traditionally been undertaken by hand.
Thousands of trees have also been planted across the property, complementing the existing native woodland that surrounds and shelters the vineyard.
As we begin our stewardship of Dogrock, we want to build on those foundations.
For us, sustainability is not about making the biggest claim. It is about continually asking how we can leave the vineyard, soil and broader property in better condition than that before us for future generations to enjoy and appreciate just as much as we do.
WHAT'S NEXT
Dogrock, from here...
Taking ownership of a vineyard with such a rich and respected history brings both opportunity and responsibility.
There are things at Dogrock we intend to protect;
- Our independence and free spirit.
- Our connection between vineyard and wine, and the lands in which we're grounded.
- Our unusual varieties, and willingness to experiment and have fun.
- Our off-grid ethos.
- Our preference for wines of balance and texture,
- And the sense that Dogrock wine should always taste like this place rather than something manufactured to follow a trend.
There are also things we want to build upon.
- We want to understand the vineyard more deeply and continue improving the way we care for it.
- We want to tell the stories behind our varieties more clearly and make Dogrock a place people want to discover — whether that happens through a bottle shared at the table, at a favourite restaurant or wine bar, or here with us in the beautiful Pyrenees.
A new chapter is open for for Dogrock, but it begins with respect for everything that came before it.
Brett & Glen
Dogrock Winery
Pyrenees, Victoria.
we can't wait to share dogrock with you!
Contact & Visit Us
