When Doug Balnaves left the wool industry in 1970 and found himself in the wine industry, he thought that he had left the life of sheep and shearing behind him.
However it was not to be so.
As winemaker, Pete Bissell settled into the newly built Balnaves winery in 1996 he argued that when there was a very good year, there should be a Super Premium Cabernet Sauvignon. And, in 1998 the first Super Premium was produced.
Then began the task of finding a suitable name. Memories of Doug’s days as a shearer of sheep flooded back. A shearer is paid by the number of sheep that he shears, or by his "Tally".
"The Tally" is the reward of one’s hard work and very best efforts. This is the way that we see our wine "The Tally", it represents the very best of everything we can do.