Ben Dahlenburg
The year 2011, I was a recently graduated Environmental Scientist living in the big smoke. What better way to deny the impending reality of having to give away a life of midweek drinking and no responsibility than organizing a working holiday with your best friend to the famous Napa Valley. Six months and the 2012 vintage working at Stags’ Leap winery, with all its state of the art technology and ample crew of young party happy cellar hands I was convinced this might be something I want to. Next up was South Africa, no technology, one forklift in a 26,000 tonne winery, the silver lining, I lost 12kg and knew no vintage could ever be as physically demanding.
It was back home to Australia to find the Prime Minister of the time claiming climate change as a furphy, I figured there probably wasn’t a huge amount of jobs going to be coming up in my chosen profession of Environmental Science. The decision was made and I commenced study of a Masters of Viticulture and Oenology at CSU and began a brief but highly in enjoyable stint in the vineyards of Mornington Peninsula at Quealy. 2013 I found myself in Rob (Sticks) Dolans office and was given the opportunity to join his growing operation. Three years, many lifelong friendships and a head full of knowledge later and there was a yearning to go home.
Since then I have been at home looking after vineyards, behind the tasting bench at the Cellar Door and making wines for our fledgling endeavor that is Eldorado Road. I couldn’t be happier!