Dodgy Brothers

The Dodgy Brothers: not all that dodgy really…

So the story goes:
A long time ago, the original Dodgy Brother Peter Bolte and his good friend decided they were going to make some wine. As a consulting viticulturist, Peter not only had the knowledge of what quality grapes were all about, but he also had the connections to be able to procure some of these grapes. As one of the “large” Australian wine companies would move through picking one of their top vineyards, Peter would swing a deal with the grower: “How bout you leave the last row for me mate and I’ll take care of it”. This technique seemed to work well, and the deal was always sealed with a handshake. Eventually the grapes made it to Peter’s shed to be made into wine. With the advice of a few local winemakers, and some rudimentary winemaking equipment, the grape crush began. There was one thing that inevitably happened every time these boys undertook this process though (other than turning grapes into wine, which was also inevitable): they ended up having a few too many adult beverages. This led to the 9 year old son of Peter’s partner to dub them the “Dodgy Brothers”.

Fast forward to July 2010. Knowing he was on to something, Peter enlisted the help of Wes Pearson, a Canadian winemaker who with his family had recently relocated to McLaren Vale from France. Wes also saw this potential and the real, much less dodgy, Dodgy Brothers were formed. Shortly after that the dynamic duo recruited a third Brother: Peter Sommerville, grower extraordinaire and all around good guy. The quality of the product has changed, but the original Dodgy Brothers’ ideals haven’t: we still like to have a good time, a good laugh or two, and we still seal all our business deals with a handshake.

A grower, a viticulturist, and a winemaker: The Dodgy Brothers.