From the earliest days of colonial settlement, the Coal River Valley surrounding Richmond became synonymous with tough, gritty dry land agriculture. Cereal crops came first – wheat, oats and barley – then broad-acre farming, based around sheep and cattle.
Dr James Murdoch at Craigow raised small crops of medicinal plants along with the apricots that grew to become a vast orchard by the beginning of the 1900s. Higher value crops – small fruits, wine grapes, vegetables and seeds – had to wait another 80 years for their time to shine.
Completion of the Craigbourne Dam in 1986 changed valley landscapes forever. No longer dependent on rainfall and seasonal river flows to maintain healthy soils and bank balances, smallholders showed what could be done with niche crops. They included Chardonnay, Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir.
The past decade has seen spectacular growth and development of the industry in the Coal River Valley. In 2025, growers there accounted for more than 30 percent of Tasmania's total wine grape harvest. Ten years earlier, it had been 16 percent.
Valley floors, river terraces and rolling foothills all bear vines. Higher ground is underpinned by Jurassic dolerite and sedimentary rock. Basalt flows often snake through alluvial sands, mudstone and gravels; heavy clay and clay-loams. Valleys are a complex mix of soil types, structures and textures.
The wines here are quite simply world-class.
Pinot Noir is the fifth most crushed wine grape in Australia. Warm climate vignerons will tell you it's the most crushing grape of all. But Campania's Tracy and Malcolm Green will have none of that talk. Since 2016, they've put all their vineyard eggs in the one basket. They've planted and manage only Pinot Noir.
Aged just 15, George Drew represented Tasmania in the 2015 Australian Clay Target Shooting Championships. He was runner-up in his event. Turns out he's also a top gun when it comes to making wines. Lucky for us. Drew might have taken to bushranging or bank-robbing.
We've heard kids can drive you to drink. But giving them credit for an emerging wine brand. That is something else again. Alex and Josh Winen's two children – seventh generation Tasmanians – were only tiny tots when they acquired the nicknames Bear and Bird. Archy and Wren are the Bear and Bird.
It's an adage that's as old as the hill. If you want something done right, do it yourself. That explains almost the entire history of the passion project Brad Kelly and Elaine Clarke brought to life back in 2020.
They may be industry minnows – and their wines may be hard to find – but Tasmania's small scale Pinot Noir producers have been making their presence felt during the past five years. When Bremley won the prestigious 2024 Australian Pinot Noir Challenge, it was the fifth time in a row a Tasmanian producer had taken the coveted award.
Todd Goebel and Gill Christian began their Tasmanian wine odyssey in the Coal River Valley in 1999, when they purchased the Johnstone family's 1ha Treehouse Vineyard outside Cambridge. Subsequently renamed Coal Valley Vineyard and expanded to 4.5ha, it became a popular food and wine destination before the couple decided on a fresh start in 2017.
Anna Pooley experienced her first wine grape harvest when she was just eight years old. Her grandparents Denis and Margaret Pooley had planted a hobby vineyard in the Coal River Valley during retirement. By the time she was able to help out with picking at Cooinda Vale, the vineyard spanned just 17 rows of Riesling and Pinot Noir.
Sink or swim. They're the alternatives facing small-scale producers in today's super-saturated market. The world is awash with billions of litres of wine. And with more than 2100 wineries doing business here in Australia – roughly 6,000 grapegrowers – simply naming your venture presents all manner of challenges.
Caledon Estate – located on a challenging rocky site outside Richmond – began its transformation from sheep farm to vineyard in 2018, when James and Karen Stewart returned to their home State after 16 years away. The desire to establish a family-run vineyard dawned on them while living in Western Australia.
Louise and Jens Volkmann purchased Charles Reuben Estate in 2013 after spending years looking across the road at their neighbour, thinking they'd much prefer an established vineyard with room to grow than their small orchard set on seven hectares.