Taking bottles off the beaten track 

By Sam Talbot 

After four decades in busy kitchens, chef-turned-winemaker and SSAA member, Damon de Ruiter decided it was time for something new. Wanting to combine his passion for food and drink with his love of the outback, he set out to create Outlaw Wines, taking ownership of a vineyard home to Shiraz vines planted in 1890. Those gnarly old vines still produce exceptional fruit today – fruit that Damon now delivers to some of the most remote places in Australia. 

“I grow it, make it and I go out and sell it,” Damon says. 

While many winemakers settle in behind a cellar door, Damon has spent the last few years doing the opposite. He packs up his vehicle and heads bush, selling Outlaw Wines to remote pubs, roadhouses and tiny outback hotels dotted across some of the most isolated corners of the country. 

“I didn’t like selling wine in the city. I’d rather travel through the outback and sell my wine there,” he says. 

One of his favourite stops is the Betoota Hotel. “They still sell beer cans for five bucks, and I have travelled the Birdsville and Betoota tracks many times,” he says. 

Clocking up around 60,000km every year, including a recent run of 10,000km in just 22 days, Damon has become a familiar face on Australia’s long stretches of road. He stops at places few tourists ever see, swapping stories with publicans, truck drivers, station hands and other travellers. What began as sales trips have now become Damon’s excuse to continue exploring and have roaming campfires. Each stop adding another colourful character to his growing groups of mates spread across the country.  

Damon also has a simple philosophy for travel: never take the same road twice. 
“Taking the old tracks doesn’t save any time, but it does make the trip more fun,” he says. 

Damon has been a shooter since he was young and still helps with conservation work, tackling invasive species in some of the remote country he travels through.  

Damon grew up in a shooting family and still helps with conservation efforts today. 

“I see feral cats pretty much everywhere I go, and I wonder how we’ll ever get on top of them when they’re out in such remote areas,” he says. Being a former award-winning chef comes in handy though; he’s able to process some of the species he shoots, with goats being a personal favourite. 

Damon says that he might be the only wine sales rep in the country carrying a .243, and we think he might be right. 

Outlaw Wines can be found in many remote areas of the county, but it can also be found at Damon’s website – outlawwaines.com.au. SSAA Queensland members can secure a drink for themselves with 15 per cent off by visiting the Exclusive Deals section at ssaaqld.org.au (the code is SSAA15). There are also many other exclusive deals worth checking out.