With its maritime climate, long growing and ripening seasons, and mild sunny autumns, Tasmania seems ideally suited to cool climate viticulture. Yet for all that, the island's true wine-growing potential is still to be fully realised. Its 220 or so vineyards are for the most part small, family-run affairs, totalling less than 1,300ha.
Pioneering a cool climate wine region is a risky business. Physically demanding as well as costly and time-consuming, the task is always subject to the vagaries of site, soil and season.
Do we harvest now or do we watch and wait? That's the question on the lips of many of the State's winegrowers as the industry's 200-plus vineyards move into the business end of the season. It might sound simple, but there's no one simple answer. Grape growing is a complex issue, says Frogmore Creek's Tony Scherer.
Tasmanians have always loved a good rural field day. Indeed, the citizens of Van Diemen's Land celebrated the island's first show and field day way back in January 1822. And while it may have provided a rare opportunity for some fun and frivolity, its participants would have also viewed the day with considerable gravity.
Gone are the days when a winery visit meant hours of dirt-track driving and a glass of plonk poured at the back of a tin shed. With around 4.5 million tourists visiting Australian wineries each year – generating more than $1 billion in income – wine tourism is a key part of the business of licensed vineyard operators.
With Tasmania's embryonic wine industry now going from strength to strength, it's become clear that one of the biggest problems it still faces is its lack of a critical mass. The State's 200 or so vineyards are not just small, they account for less than one percent of Australia's total vineyard area.
When Judy and Ian Robinson first began planting vines in the red gravelly soils of their Lower Barrington property behind Devonport, their prime motivation was to share a winemaking hobby with some friends. The plan seemed like a good idea at the time.
When Hardys winemaker Tom Newton was first given responsibility for handcrafting a flagship white for its domestic and international portfolios, he could not have predicted he'd end up relying on Tasmania for a substantial proportion of his wine's vineyard resources.
There was a time when all you needed to know about buying red wine in Australia was whether you liked to drink 'claret' or 'burgundy.' These days, most of our table wines are labelled according to grape variety. And just three red grapes rule the roost, according to the Winemakers Federation of Australia.
When Gerald Ellis finally launched Meadowbank Estate's brand new wine centre in the Coal River Valley, industry insiders knew it was going to be a very smart operation. It was July 2000. Time for the 26-year-old farm-based wine venture to move on.