Word of mouth keeps vineyard customers flowing

A hinterland winemaker has relied on the simplest of marketing strategies to help survive a tough couple of months.

Dingo Creek Vineyard owner Doug Tritton samples some of his winery's products.

Nestled in the Mary Valley lies a vineyard, a secret escape right on the doorstep of the Sunshine Coast.

Dingo Creek spans 10.5ha and produces four different varieties of grapes onsite.

The family run vineyard has been not only surviving but thriving during the pandemic.

Owner Doug Tritton said it was all thanks to overwhelming support from residents.

"We've had huge support, particularly since Covid," Mr Tritton said.

"The locals have been absolutely fantastic; we haven't done a lot of advertising intentionally because we want to get it right before we started getting people to come here.

Dingo Creek Vineyard's Oliver O'Reilly pours out a sample.

He said support had largely come from social media and word of mouth.

"It was very daunting, particularly when we were closed business went to zero.

"But since Covid, we've reopened, and it picked up nicely.

He and partner Michelle bought the winery in 2013 and opened their cellar door in March 2018.

"It took us awhile; we had a lot of work to do," Mr Tritton said.

"We were wanting a sea change originally, but it turned out to be a tree change.

"One of our other businesses was going to use the property as a training camp for sports but the vines basically got us, and we decided we were going to open up and let everyone enjoy the wine.

Some of the collection available at Dingo Creek Vineyard.

He said quality control was a key focus.

"It's definitely an ongoing effort, but fun it's very enjoyable, we've got great people working with us and they're all passionate about their jobs."

The vineyard stocks 14 different wines, including three premium, with winemakers in Ballandean and Stanthorpe handling the production.

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