Testimonial

The Holy Grail

Story by Kat Johnston.

15 April 2024.

I travel to the Victorian Pyrenees, in western Victoria - a beautiful, unspoiled, lesser-known wine region. I’m curious to see what’s changed since I was last there in 2019, before the world was turned on its axis in a global pandemic.

I pay a visit to David K Jones, a man with a long legacy and formidable reputation for winemaking in the region. I’d heard on the grapevine (pardon the pun) that David is no longer the owner of Dalwhinnie, one of the best-known and most highly regarded vineyards in the Pyrenees. From the 1980s into the 21^st century, with David’s hands-on approach, Dalwhinnie amassed a loyal and large following, becoming famous for its Chardonnay, Cabernet and Dalwhinnie’s Signature Reserve Shiraz, The Eagle, bottled only during exceptional vintages.

I wonder why David has chosen to part with his family business, originally owned by his parents, planting their first vines in 1976. What has changed? What is David Jones doing now?

I meet up with David at his home in Avoca, along the Sunraysia Highway. The building is an old pub from the 1800s Gold Rush era. David makes good use of the pub’s original underground cellar to house much of his wine stash. I know a little of David, buying my first Dalwhinnie Chardonnay in 2016, but this is our first proper chat.

A larger-than-life character, David is in his early 60s, he’s tall and broad, with unruly grey, curly hair that swirls across his brow and frames his bright blue eyes and cheeky grin. He’s hard not to like. We sit down for a chat over brunch with one of David’s sparkling wines and some hot cross buns slathered in his favourite French jam.

I ask David candidly about Dalwhinnie, sold to Fogarty Wine Group on the 20^th of January 2020. David’s face immediately crumples.

‘Selling Dalwhinnie was the hardest thing I’ve ever done,’ he confesses. ‘I spent 40 years building my dream, striving to create luxury, world-class wine.’

David’s eyes pool and his voice becomes hoarse. He pulls out his handkerchief and wipes the tears away as we discuss the sale. He is bereft by the loss of his life’s work, brought about by a combination of converging life circumstances.

Like so many people who must start again, David says he was saved by his little dog, Poco.

‘I was depressed, I was so lost. Poco kept me going. I moved to Ballarat after the sale, but in 2022, I came back to the Pyrenees. I know this place. It’s where I feel right.’

With his move back to the beautiful Pyrenees, David Jones has a new story emerging.

‘Fortune favours the brave,’ he says, pouring me some more wine. The tears are gone. His grin is back.

David is re-building his brand as a vigneron and premium wine merchant, specialising in small batch wines and more specifically, wines from the Pyrenees region. He brings to the table decades of experience and knowledge.

As David talks about his new business, he becomes energised and animated.

‘My new passion is to source incredible wine for the most discerning buyers, people who want to try new and interesting wines they wouldn’t normally come across.’

David goes on to describe his underlying inspirations, his excitement evident.

‘I’m fascinated by design, by food, by art and architecture. I’m influenced and humbled by beautiful places – all these things bring poetry to me in the form of wine. Wine is a living thing. It almost has a human personality.’

David has his own sense of elegance and refinement. He shows me two of his prize possessions, an old-school forest green1976 Motto Guzzi T3 motorbike, once ridden by Italian police officers, and a second, more modern design, a 2014 Motto Guzzi Griso in silver and black.

He offers to take me for a ride, but my summer dress isn’t quite the right get-up. Instead, we go down the worn stone stairs to the cellar and he shows me his new wine range, David K Jones Wines. He has everything from magnums of Shiraz to a beautiful sangiovese cabernet, David’s nod to Tuscany.

The things David loves in life come together as part of his new brand identity.

‘When you love what you do, it comes through’, says David. ‘I hope to become the go-to person for some of the most respected and interesting restauranteurs across Australia. And as I build my business, I will keep searching for my Holy Grail – to find the best wine and food match ever.’

I ask David about sourcing the best wine in the Pyrenees. David laughs.

‘If I can’t find it for you, I’ll make it for you!’.

 I think he really means it. He certainly has the talent to do so.