The Waterfall Way links the seaside village of Urunga, through the villages of Bellingen, Dorrigo and Ebor  to the New England Tableland University city of Armidale. Dorrigo, at 760 metres, sits on the edge of the eastern escarpment of the Great Dividing Range. The Waterfall Way descends from Dorrigo down through the rainforest to the valley below and on to the coast. The Waterfall Way Winery is located right within the central business district of the vibrant village of Dorrigo. Our winery is the only fruit winery in the Bellingen Shire, and an excellent place to stop for a tasting!

The commercial production of wines made from fruits other than grapes is very small in Australia.  In New South Wales, as far as we can determine, there are only four such specialty wineries. History tell us that wine was produce from fruits other than grapes for many centuries before grapes became the dominant fruit for making wine.

Our winery was established in 2000 within the Good Food Shop in Bellingen and was moved to Dorrigo in December 2005. We source premium local and regional fruits to produce our wines.With excellent quality water,  a feature of the Dorrigo plateau,  and a building with good thermal properties conducive to a controlled and slow ferment, we produce unique, handcrafted wines.

In October 2007 we were delighted to be successful in our application for a Distillation License. We now distill our wines and use the spirit to fortify the original wine, thus producing delicious aperitif and port style wines at a strength of 21% alc/vol. Those responsible for the issue of Distillation Licenses (the Federal Government) advised us that there were only a handful of vignerons in Australia that use their own spirits for fortifying wines. We are very proud to be able to take The Waterfall Way Winery to another level of uniqueness!

We ferment and store our wines in 200lt or 400lt stainless steel variable capacity tanks, which are sealed with a stainless steel lid and air lock. Using stainless steel highlights the fruit's true characteristics.  No fining agents are used in the production of our wines. We prefer to use natural methods and  regularly rack the wine to remove the lees and to assist in the clarification of  our product. We do not "oak" our wines and do not add additional sulphites to the wines once fermentation has been completed.

Our wines have a relatively high alcohol content - typically around 12% to 14%. The fortified wines have an alcohol content of 21%.

Bottling is undertaken in small runs,  with  the wine being passed through a 1 micron filter prior to  gassing the air space with carbon dioxide and sealing with a "Zork". This type of closure has been heralded in the wine industry as a major breakthrough, replacing the non renewable resource of cork with a recyclable product and providing a seal that ensures the wine's longevity without cork taint. There is the added bonus of the Zork making the distinctive "plop" sound on opening,  that is music to the ears!!

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