Winemakers are becoming more reliant on a good dog these days.
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The trend is so entrenched that books are appearing about winery dogs and their colourful backgrounds. At Murrumbateman Winery one dog, Mollie, has become so useful at welcoming visitors to the cellar door her name appears on one of the wine labels. A husky-kelpie cross, Mollie has a Facebook following, evident in the large number of dogs who attended a Christmas party at the winery on Sunday.
Mollie belongs to the winery's owner Bobbie Makin, who adopted her in 2010, when she was a 16-month-old puppy. Mr Makin had returned to Australia from a two-year tour of Europe with friends.
After working as a chef abroad, Mr Makin wanted wide open spaces and a blue-eyed husky. As it happened, the ACT RSPCA had a husky-kelpie cross who had been languishing in the shelter because she defended her food, a legacy of a tough start in life.
On Sunday, dogs and their owners were invited to bring along a toy for the 80 or so dogs at the ACT RSPCA shelter. The high turnout follows a launch earlier this year of Mollie's Block Sauvignon Blanc. About 50 dogs and their owners attended, and 5 per cent of sales have been donated to the RSPCA ever since.
"I really respect the hard work and dedication of the staff and volunteers at the RSPCA," Mr Makin said. "It is unfortunate there are still dogs and other pets that are mistreated and need rescuing," he said.
Mr Makin's partner, Jennifer Lawrence, said Mollie was thriving in the open spaces around 10 acres under vines.
"Swimming in the dam is definitely a good source of exercise for her, she does it a lot in the hot weather," Ms Lawrence said." When customers arrive she greets them at their car door, gets some pats and escorts them up to the cellar door."
After flowering and a good spell of hot weather, berry-sized grapes are appearing on the vines. "We have been speaking to other wine makers as well – it is a tight-knit community out here – and everyone is saying it is looking like it will be a fantastic vintage," Ms Lawrence said.
"We want to make sure we have a good balance of rain and hot weather this time of year, so the grapes get a great environment to grow. Towards the end of the season, around February and into March, we want to the hot weather to stay and the rain to stay away.
"We try not to irrigate too much because when grapes are grown under a little bit of stress you get the best fruit," Ms Lawrence said.