BACK ROADS

Image: Mark Smith

Imagine an island with the world's cleanest air, Europe's finest wine varieties, and a 'can do' approach to growing and making things.

Welcome to Tasmania, home to around 300 individual vineyards, more than 185 licensed wine producers, and around 3000 hectares of wine dirt producing stylish sparkling, pristine Pinots, and the coolest cool climate Chardonnays.

Tasmania's first vines were planted by Lieutenant William Bligh on a voyage of discovery, back in 1788. Today, you can launch your own voyage of wine discovery by navigating a course around our island's seven recognised wine-growing areas:

North West Tasmania
Tamar Valley
North East Tasmania
East Coast
Coal River Valley
Derwent Valley
Huon/Channel

A small number of wine producers lie outside those seven areas.

How might wineintasmania.com deal with those? Well, in the absence of a better means of grouping them together, they appear on this site under a newly-minted term 'Boundary Riders.'

These vineyard pioneers have literally carved out their own little bit of Tasmania in which to begin their wine adventures.

Image: Wine Tasmania

Tasmania has four established wine trails: North West Wine Trail; Tamar Valley Wine Trail; East Coast Wine Trail; Southern Wine Trail. Download your Tasmanian wine trails booklet here.

Finding your way to Tassie is easy. Getting back to reality is the challenging part. The State's relative isolation, small population, and vast tracts of World Heritage-listed wilderness make it a unique destination for visitors seeking quality of life in a busy world.

Staying a week... or staying forever?

Whatever your choices, there are plenty of wine adventures to be enjoyed on our tiny island in the Southern Ocean.

Most vineyards are small, hand-tended operations. Almost everyone has a top-notch Chardonnay or Pinot Noir to share. The best sites have a darker side - workers with tannin-stained arms and legs - sure signs of a resident winemaker crafting single vineyard Pinot Noir.