Rob Dolan Blog

Bud to Bottle

Where does wine come from? How is it made? And how many months of the year are we actually making it?I’m relatively new to the wine industry, and I find myself asking these questions on the daily. ...

Rob's Post Vintage Ramble

Wow what a vintage – warm and dry, short and sweet with virtually no rainfall during the vintage period. The Yarra Valley have been fortunate to dodge the extreme heat that other regions have exper...

The Fork in the Road

As you drive down the Maroondah Hwy after Lilydale and make your way into the heart of the Yarra Valley, you are confronted with a fork in the road : “do I turn right into the Warburton Hwy or swin...

Tips for Planning a Successful Wine Tour

Before any planning begins you want to find out who is attending. Having these numbers is very important because it allows you to have a better idea of what to plan for, such as transportation, the...

2018 Vintage Report

Don’t be surprised to see big smiles on everyone’s faces throughout the Yarra Valley for the next 12 months. Growers who escaped the humid patch of weather unscathed around Christmas time have been...

The 2018 Pick and Stomp

10am, the day begun how most days should, with coffee and mimosas. After a debrief from Rob our newly recruited winemakers headed down into the winery for a tour and explanation of how things run a...

When I Grow Up I Want To Be A Wine Dog Too

Well, next week I turn 5 months old, which doesn’t sound like a lot but in dog years that’s like 3.5 years old. I’ve been hanging out at work with my new mum for a little while now and I’ve got to ...

Food/Wine Matches Please

At Rob Dolan Wines, whenever there’s a need for wine and food matches to be attached to tasting notes, the job seems to come straight to me. An email entitled “Food/Wine matches please”.I’m not sur...

Environmentally Friendly Rob

When I started working for Rob a million years ago he was always conscious of the environment and the effects that wineries have. So much so that he even let me do all of my environmental assignmen...

Christmas Party Conversations

“No one reads blogs anyway, right?” replied a friend at a recent Christmas party when I confided in him that I had no ideas to fill my page. That may be the case, but here we are…“Why don’t you wri...