Alinant de Dollon, generally referred to as the comte or Count de Dollon, was prominent in the early Victorian wine industry and among the first to argue for colonial wine licences, in 1865 opening Melbourne’s first wine saloon.
Born in Semur-en-Vallon, near Le Mans (Sarthe), de Dollon was obliged to flee France in the wake of unrest following the December 1851 coup d’état and arrived in Australia at the beginnings of the gold rush. He returned to France in 1856 and two years later emigrated permanently to Australia with his wife and family as marquis de Dollon, his father having died in 1856.
Although the Sarthe is not known as a winemaking region, de Dollon must have acquired some expertise, since in the late 1850S he began planting vines in Upper Hawthorn. In 1861 his estate was judged a close second to de Castella and Anderson’s Yering vineyard as the colony’s best managed vineyard. By 1863 he was producing wine and, with business partner Fortune la Moile, began to buy and store large volumes of the current vintage, as would a classic French négociant. In November 1863 de Dollon applied for a licence to open a wine saloon selling wine by the glass, in order to ‘promote the sale of colonial wines’. At this time alcohol —wine, beer and spirits— could only be sold by licensed hotels, which were also required to provide accommodation. His application, vehemently opposed by publicans, was rejected on the grounds that the proposed establishment did not come within the provisions of the existing law.
Calling out the ‘tyranny of the act’, de Dollon wrote a series of letters to the Argus in 1863 and 1864 emphasising the ‘growing importance of the vine culture in this colony, and the facility that should be afforded for its cheap and ready sale’. His actions effectively influenced public opinion and parliamentary debate, and the new colonial wine licences came into effect in June 1864. These allowed for the sale of colonial (Victorian) wine (or cider or perry) by the glass on licensed premises. A year later de Dollon opened Melbourne’s first wine saloon at 47 Swanston Street.
Demonstrating his allegiance to the French café model, de Dollon also provided food: ‘Luncheon, with tumbler hot spiced wine, 6d.’. The saloon attracted a respectable clientele and strong patronage prompted de Dollon to open a second, larger, saloon at 30 Collins Street, offering a hot lunch and a tumbler of wine for a shilling. Despite brisk trade, lack of capital forced closure of the Collins Street saloon but de Dollon continued at the original premises, in 1866 advertising ‘champagne and iced champagne’ for sixpence. This ersatz (and short-lived) ‘champagne’ was a carbonated white wine produced according to de Dollon’s patented method that used sulphuric acid and lime to generate carbon dioxide. In 1868 he obtained a full publican’s licence and converted the saloon into Dollon’s Hotel, while continuing to manage his vineyard.
Acknowledged as a ‘pioneer of the colonial wine trade in Victoria, de Dollon actively though unsuccessfully encouraged the immigration of skilled vineyard workers from Spain, France, Portugal and Italy. He also maintained a vigorous correspondence on matters connected with grape growing and wine, and even opened his vineyard to interested observers at vintage time. He participated in wine shows as exhibitor and judge and was a founding member of the Melbourne Vinegrowers’ Association. As a proud citizen of his adopted country, he was a generous donor to schools and the general community.
At the same time he retained his allegiance to France and was one of the principal organisers of a formal dinner in Melbourne in 1861 to honour the birthday of Napoleon I which also included the Lord Mayor and the French consul. In 1870 he was founder and president of the French Patriotic Fund (Association Patriotique) which raised £2368 for the relief of wounded French soldiers, and of widows and orphans, in consequence of the Franco-Prussian war, and in recognition of his efforts the French government awarded him a gold medal.
Following the death of his only son, he put his vineyard up for sale in July 1873, and in late 1874 moved to New Caledonia. Soon after his arrival he was made Secretary of the Municipal Council of Noumea and remained active in the French colony until near the end of the century. He died in New Caledonia in 1904.
Image winemaking at de Dollon’s in 1866: https://viewer.slv.vic.gov.au/?entity=IE548619&mode=browse
Copyright: This work is out of copyright.
Author Barbara Santich, Professor Emeritus, The University of Adelaide, December 2024
References
Cocquilhat, Georges. ‘Ma Nouvelle Calédonie,’ newsletter, https://gnc.jimdofree.com/biographies/de-dollon-a/.
Dunstan, David. Better than Pommard: A History of the Wine Industry in Victoria. Kew, Vic.: Australian Scholarly Publishing, 1994.
Age, 15 August 1861, 5.
Argus, December 3, 1863, 5.
Leader, February 12, 1870, 14.
Victorian Farmers Journal and Gardeners Chronicle, October 12, 1861, 18.
‘Weekly agricultural report’, Age, 1 May 1863, 7.
Keywords
Wine, Victoria, colonial wine licences, wine saloons