About us

The Wines

Cellar Door Hours

The Cellar Door is open on Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays from 10:00am to 5:00pm. Closed Christmas Day, Good Friday and until 1.00pm on Anzac Day. We welcome visitors at other times by appointment.

History

Located in the Canberra District at an altitude of 600m, Dionysus Winery is ideally suited to the production of high quality wine. The vineyard was planted over three years, commencing in 1998. In all 10 acres of vines have been planted. The varieties planted are: Cabernet Sauvignon; Shiraz; Pinot Noir; Merlot; Chardonnay; Sauvignon Blanc; and Riesling. The winery was constructed in 2002 and the Cellar Door opened in March 2003.

Dionysus Winery is a family business focussed on producing high quality wines from fruit grown on its own vineyard. Michael and Wendy O’Dea established the vineyard and winery following years of dreaming and talking about doing so. In 1996 they decided to purchase a 40 acre property in Murrumbateman and fulfill their dream of starting a Winery.

Michael has completed an Associate Degree in Winegrowing at Charles Sturt University and is chiefly responsible for Winemaking and Viticulture. Wendy O’Dea has completed Viticulture and Winemaking Courses at the Canberra Institute of TAFE as well as Small Business Management and Marketing and she is primarily responsible for wine marketing, business planning and looking after the Cellar Door!!!

Winemaking

The winemaking approach at Dionysus is simple, attention to detail at every stage of the process is paramount. For the floral white varieties cool fermentation techniques are in favour to emphasise the fruit characters. For Chardonnay, barrel fermentation and skilfull use of malolactic fermentation are the key to producing complex wines. For the reds the emphasis is on warm fermentation, followed by 12 to 18 months in oak barriques to soften the tannins and enhance the fruit flavours.

Who is Dionysus?

Dionysus is the Greek God of Wine. More commonly known by his Roman name, Bacchus, he appears to be a god who has two distinct origins. On the one hand, Dionysus was the god of wine, agriculture, and fertility of nature, who is also the patron god of the greek stage. On the other hand, Dionysus also represents the outstanding features of mystery religions, such as those practiced at Eleusis: ecstasy, personal delivery from the daily world through physical or spiritual intoxication, and initiation into secret rites.

Dionysus is the son of the god Zeus and the mortal woman, Semele. Semele is killed by Zeus' lightening bolts while Dionysus is still in her womb. Dionysus is rescued and undergoes a second birth from Zeus after developing in his thigh. Zeus then gives the infant to some nymphs to be raised. Hence, Dionysus also signifies re-birth.

Michael and Wendy chose the name Dionysus Winery to tie in with the theme of wine, but also to represent the risk they took in totally changing their lives to follow their dream of owning a winery.

Where is Murrumbateman?

Murrumbateman is a 30 minute drive from the centre of Canberra or a two and a half hour drive from Sydney. Murrumbateman is a lovely town and home of a large cluster of Canberra District Wineries. As well as wineries, Murrumbateman offers 5 cafes and restaurants, award winning B&Bs as well as other attractions close by in Canberra and Yass. We recommend lunch at Crisp Lane Cafe (located at Yass Valley Wines), Country Guesthouse Schönegg, Shaw Vineyard Estate, Grazing (at Gundaroo), Poachers Pantry (located at Wily Trout Winery) or the Murrumbateman Country Inn.

To find out more about the area visit:

Yass Tourist Information

Visit Canberra

Country Guesthouse Schönegg

Redbrow Garden

The Canberra Wine District

Web site

This web site was created by Chris Cahill.

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