Hawley's quiet celebration
By his own admission a rabid Buddhist, ardent greenie and maverick tourist operator, Hawley Vineyards' Simon Houghton is hardly your average Tasmanian vigneron.
Articulate, urbane and totally committed to the growing enterprises which focus upon his historic (c.1878) family homestead of Hawley House, the one-time financial services player now figures among the small but passionate group of vineyard owners who are investing in cool climate viticulture on Tasmania's north-west coast.
The Taylor family at Lake Barrington Estate, the Bryants at Roland View Vineyard and Houghton at Hawley - east of Devonport - all planted vines in the mid-to-late 1980s.
"Tasmania is heart-shaped and we are all in the middle of its cleavage," Houghton muses.
His own patch of vines he says is part of a total life-plan finally put into operation with the opening of his colonial accommodation business on April Fool's Day, 1990.
"I try never to be serious," Houghton jests.
Talk further with Houghton and you soon realise his recent venture into wine grape production is as much a resolution of his 1960s' quest for enlightenment as it is a 1990s' foray into cool climate viticulture.
As a young man, Houghton spent more than a decade travelling the world on a motor bike, seeking truth and wisdom.
"I found none, so I came home again," he adds with a wry smile.
That noted, he's spent the past 15 years of his life putting into practice all that he learnt while away.
Nowhere near as bleak and windswept as it might seem at the edge of Bass Strait and the Roaring Forties, Hawley House is Houghton's celebration of nature and beauty.
His 26,000 vines (6.5 ha of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay) complement his home's magnificent, sprawling ornamental gardens and its veritable menagerie of animal life.
"I opened up the house to support all of that," he explains.
The vineyard was planted on the advice of his lifelong friend Julian Alcorso at Moorilla Estate.
Houghton sees it as a logical extension of Hawley House's celebration of life.
"There's a closeness to nature here," he says.
"If you're a Christian, or anything else, nature is close to God... to work this closely (with nature) has an impact on you, you're drawn to it."
Equally close to him are Houghton's four young children. He describes their home as an idyllic setting, with the vineyard in particular offering plenty of opportunities.
"There are jobs here that the kids can do which are real, that are so good for them... so good for their appreciation of what a day's work really means."
First planted in 1988, the vineyard provides a steady trickle of wine to meet the demands of paying guests accommodated in Houghton's rambling yet tranquil home. A meagre amount - well worth searching out - is left for cellar door sales and selected liquor outlets.
Presently available for sale is the 1993 Hawley Vineyards Rubicon Pinot Noir ($12). It was made by Dr Andrew Pirie at Pipers Brook Vineyard. Carefully crafted, it's a lightly oaked, medium-bodied style that clearly reflects the intense varietal characteristics of young Pinot Noir.
The sweet plummy/cherry fruit flavours are smooth and velvety in the mouth, with good weight and balancing acidity. Slightly chocolaty/gamey nuances already evident will develop further with short-term (2-3 years) cellaring.
Vintage 1993 also produced a crisp, flavoursome melon/grapefruit Chardonnay. The wine displays abundant fruit characters in its un-oaked form. Sadly, it's the privileged lot of only those who are guests at Hawley House.
Both wines wear the striking, naïve-influenced label created by Tasmanian artist, Bill Yaxley. Its vibrant harvest scene - wherein everyone in Houghton's household can be identified - readily projects a sense of celebration.
Uniquely Tasmanian in its setting, the lifestyle depicted has universal appeal, Houghton observes.
It should come as no surprise then to learn that a group of international travel-writers rated Hawley House one of 14 'gems' discovered anywhere in the world during 1992. It was the only such accolade awarded to an Australian business enterprise that year.
First published 30 June 1994: The Advocate