Elly Bachmann
Several Coonawarra wineries have been included in a new tourism book with a furry author picking up the pen.
Adventurous Pyrenean Mountain Dog Kobe loves walking trails, making furry friends, wineries and books and with help from his owner Muriel Wang has written Boozehounds and Kobernet: Dog Friendly Wineries of Australia.
The book features wineries across Victoria, New South Wales, and South Australia – with several local wineries in the Limestone Coast being mentioned.
Coonawarra winery Zema Estate was featured in Boozehounds and Kobernet, and Marketing and Events employee Sally McDonald was one of the staff who was there to meet both Muriel and Kobe on the day of their visit.
She said that Ms Wang and Kobe were excited to see the setup at Zema Estate, and explored all that was to offer.
Ms McDonald said travelling with a pet could be restricting, but dogs at Zema Estate were always welcomed; their winery was both pet friendly and accommodating.
“We absolutely love dogs here,” she said.
“Dogs are most definitely welcome at Zema Estate.”
For food safety reasons Ms McDonald said there were some restrictions on where dogs are allowed, but there was plenty of space under the front veranda where owners and their furry friends may sit, and their dogs could certainly join them for a wine tasting.
“Come along, have a tasting, bring your dog, bring your kids, we cater for it all,” she said.
During the visit, Kobe was even able to find companionship with Zema resident German Shorthaired Pointer Neville.
Ms McDonald said the two canines “weren’t totally sure of each other, but they became friend’s by the end”.
“There was lots of talking in dog language,” she said.
By sharing her visit to Zema Estate and other local wineries, Ms Wang said she hoped to draw some attention to the Limestone Coast region.
She said she did the photography for the book, while Kobe did the writing, as she believed canine authors were just a bit more interesting.
Boozehound and Kobernet is the fourth book the pair have released and Ms Wang said they hoped to help make people more aware and informed of which wineries would welcome furry friends.
“People love travelling with their dogs, but when it comes to visiting wineries, they often don’t know where furry guests are welcome,” she said.
“Consider it a Halliday for hounds!” she said.
