How low-profile Dilip stunned the big names

Source: Maitland Mercury

SEEING RED: Dilip Kumar whose Dimbulla tempranillo shiraz caused a stir when it was named top red in the recent Hunter Valley Wine Show.

Chances are you haven’t heard of Dimbulla wines. Don’t worry, until recently a lot of Hunter Valley wine people probably hadn’t either.

But they do now.

Located in the “back blocks” at the far northern end of wine country, this tiny operation with a very low profile stunned the industry when they were awarded best overall red wine at the recent Hunter Valley Wine Show.

Not only that, but in territory where shiraz is the undisputed red wine king, they did it with a blend made up mostly (75 per cent) of the Meriterranean varietal tempranillo, and the remainder shiraz.

And at a modest $25 a bottle at that. Talk about put the cat amongst the pigeons.

Sri Lankan-born Sydney businessman Dilip Kumar is the man behind Dimbulla which, incidentally, is a tea growing region in the highlands of Sri Lanka where he was born.

“It was a big surprise,” he admits. “I knew it was a good wine, but it’s the first blend to win the trophy, so I was shocked. I thought we might be a chance for a trophy, but not wine of show.”

It should be pointed out that Kumar is an overachiever – owner of the highly successful Peninsula Motor Group, a former chairman of the Australian Rugby Union – and money is not something he needs to worry about.

“Wine is my passion, I’m not in it to make money. Rugby and wine are my passion, although I love a good quality tea too,” he says.

“I’m fortunate that I have a few thousand good bottles at home, so I know good wine and I knew what I wanted at Dimbulla. And we’re making some impressive wines, let me tell you. Not just the reds, our semillon is serious quality too. But having said that, we are low profile and that’s how I like it.”

Kumar’s goal was a lighter bodied, soft, easy drinking red. The plan to blend tempranillo and shiraz was his idea, and it’s fair to say those around him weren’t convinced.

“I like tempranillo anyway, but it also has the benefit of ripening early, sometimes up to four weeks earlier than shiraz,” he said. “We can have problems in the Hunter with rain falling at harvest time, so this was a way to help overcome that.”

So, does the fact that his set-up is so off the beaten track affect business?

“I like my privacy, and don’t want to change that. Besides, our neighbours are also picking up gold medals for their wines so I think we might have a nice little patch of ground there.”

The big question: if I placed a glass of red wine in front of you, and a cup of top Sri Lankan tea, which would you go for first?