Stephen Doyle
From backyard winemaking to pioneering a new wine region, Stephen Doyle has always done things his own way.
When Stephen and his wife Rhonda bought their property in regional New South Wales in 1983, it was a dry, dusty stretch of land. There was nothing but a clump of seven trees atop a hill, in a place that wasn’t even officially a wine region. These days the property is home to a diverse and thriving vineyard, and Stephen’s elegant, cool-climate wines have helped put the Orange wine region on the map.
Hand-picked and handcrafted
Before Orange was the buzzing wine region it is today, it was a quiet rural area known for its fruit orchards. Stephen and Rhonda have watched the region transform around them, after planting their vineyard along with thousands of trees.
“We’ve planted everything here except for those original trees, and I’m very proud of that,” says Stephen. “We were the only little vineyard here for a few years… We lived in a shed and there was just nothing happening. Since then the wine industry in Orange has grown enormously.”
Originally from Queensland, Stephen and Rhonda were living in Sydney when they pinpointed Orange as having exciting potential for grape growing. They’d been making small batches of wine with fruit from around Australia – some of it in their backyard – and were ready to take things to the next level (buoyed by winning a gold medal at a wine show – not bad for backyard wine).
Today their label, Bloodwood, is renowned for its elegant wines that have played a part in the rise and rise of Orange, including bright, age-worthy Riesling and silky Pinot Noir.
“The best wine is one I haven’t made – that’s the thing that drives me,” says Stephen.
In the winery, Stephen uses old-school, low-intervention techniques, and only uses grapes hand-picked from their organic vineyard.
“We don’t bring any fruit in and we don’t send any fruit out,” says Stephen. “That means there is vintage variation. It also means when I pick up a bottle of Bloodwood wine from a particular year, I can remember that whole year by drinking that wine, which is a delight.
“I think that wine is an expression of the earth; the blood of the earth. So it should reflect the place and the season in which it’s grown. It’s all about being authentic.”
“Wine is an expression of the earth; the blood of the earth. So, it should reflect the place and the season in which it’s grown.” – Stephen Doyle
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