Where’s Dookie

Where’s Dookie?

Dookie (pronounced do-key) is a picturesque farming community about 2.5 hours north of Melbourne, just off the Midland Highway between Benalla (25min) and Shepparton (30min).

Situated in a valley with the wonderful volcanic hills of Mt. Major and Mt. Saddleback rising either side of the township. The village atmosphere and natural beauty of Dookie has seen the growth of local business. Dookie has a wonderful community spirit and is lucky to have the University of Melbourne’s Dookie Campus in its midst, with which it enjoys a special relationship.

Regional History.

100 years ago, Dookie flourished with expansive vineyards covering the landscape. In the late 1800’s and at its peak Dookie produced one third of Victoria’s wine. Its stable climate and volcanic, red clay, loam hills provided the distinctive ‘terroir’ of the Dookie region. During this prosperous time, annual wine balls were held on our property in a vast, and still undiscovered (not that we haven’t tried), hidden cellar buried beneath the Dookie Hills. Unfortunately government subsidies for planting wheat, a slump in the wine industry and the threat of phylloxera took the focus away from wine grape production in Dookie throughout most of the 1900’s.

Dookie Rebirth An Emerging Wine Region.

Once again due to the rich volcanic hills and the suitability of the soil and climate for premium winegrape growing new vineyards are appearing throughout the area and the Dookie Hills are providing the backdrop for row upon row of grapevines.