WHO knew a rickety old gate could become so iconic?
Not just any normal gate, but the charismatic structure that springs up like a welcoming beacon as you drive into one of Denmark's most breathtaking wineries.
Situated 19 kilometres along the scenic Scotsdale Road tourist route, Rickety Gate Wines is living, thriving proof that a blank canvas can be turned into a masterpiece.
The artists were novice winery owners Russell and Linda Hubbard, who had stumbled on their little piece of paradise by chance in August 1999.
They were fresh into their retirement years and after purchasing a Winnebago and travelling to South Australia and back, they decided to live a little and take a detour on their way home to Perth.
That detour was the catalyst that set in place a chain of events which included a week-long visit in Albany and Denmark and a visit to their friends (and now neighbours) at the Denmark Farmhouse Cheese factory.
While in Denmark they happened to taste some great wines emerging from the region.
As a throwaway remark, the Hubbards said they would love to have their own winery in the area and the Farmhouse Cheese factory owners pointed them two kilometres up the road to a vacant block that had recently come on the market.
"We just sat out the front of the property and started coming up with a plan," Russell said.
"There was not much here at the time.
"That's really where the excitement started and by the time we got home to Perth there was a For Sale sign on our house and an offer in our name on the 60 hectares property in Denmark."
On January 1, 2000, the Hubbards started to hand-sculpt their vision for their winery.
But they didn't just buy a winery on a whim, as Russell had had the idea quietly bubbling away in his consciousness for nearly 20 years.
During his working career, Russell had lived in South Australia for four years in the early 1990s, where his desire to own a winery nearly came true when he considered purchasing a winery with a friend in the renowned McLaren Vale wine region.
"The wines produced in Denmark on WA's south coast, are quintessentially cool climate wines," Russell said.
"The cooler climate means a crisp, clean, elegant wine with lower alcohol levels and not those heavy, jammy style of wines."
The couple were also aware that soil type and health meant the difference between a good drop and an excellent one, so they had the necessary soil tests done to ensure the potential of the land was maximised.
Without entirely realising it, Russell went straight to the top when he asked after the best winemaker in town to make his wines.
He was specific in that it had to be the creator of those first Denmark wines he had tasted before they decided to buy their property.
That winemaker was John Wade, founder of Howard Park Wines (named after John's father), one of the most experienced winemakers in Australia.
He asked John for advice on what varieties he should plant and two years after planting and cultivating the vines, John came out to visit and saw Russell had followed his advice down to the last word.
"I think he was a little surprised to see that we had taken his advice so seriously," Russell said.
They had planted four varieties, merlot, riesling, chardonnay and pinot noir, which were ripe for the pickings by 2002 where they produced a small first vintage which was not sold commercially.
But the stars had aligned once again when John joined the Rickety Gate team and in 2003 they created the first vintage for commercial use in an on-site shed.
John has been with the winery ever since and is part of the Rickety Gate ethos, no compromises, which ensures everything from the soil up is of the highest quality.
"When you take a winemaker of John's calibre and don't impede them by allowing financial controllers and accountants to have any say at all, then you get them at their best," Russell said.
"It's all part of our no compromises ethos which is all about quality not quantity.
"If you're going to do it, you do it properly and you make sure that you go the extra mile."
Incidently, that is the title of a book written by Richard Keeler, in which Rickety Gate features heavily.
They built a stunning cellar door overlooking the vines and then down the Scotsdale valley, complete with a 450-year-old natural jarrah timber bar top, made by a local supplier.
As their popularity grew, so did their premises, with the processing shed at the back of the cellar door regularly receiving add-ons to become a fully commissioned working winery in order to make room for their increasing production.
They have also recently installed a myriad of solar panels which produce 22kW of energy. These were supplied and installed by local company Great Southern Solar, as part of the Hubbard's desire to be environmentally responsible producers, essentially making the entire enterprise carbon neutral.
But the hardest part, Russell said, was coming up with the name and an eye-catching label.
"One of the previous owners here was John Ricketts, who actually cleared the land in the early 1960s, and has the nickname of Rickety," he said.
"We just thought it was a perfect fit.
"The watercolour label was created by artist Pamela Eddy.
To find a gate that looked right and matched the name was a bit of a challenge.
"But it's us," Russell said.
"It's the colours, the image and of course the gate.
"But it's really all about the wine."
