Jansz Tasmania
Tasmania's first sparkling wine was released amid rapturous acclaim. How and when ex-convict Bartholomew Broughton produced 'grape wine, made in imitation of Champaigne' – according to Hobart newspapers in 1827 – is a mystery. The greater mystery is that consumers would have to wait until 1989 for the next Tasmanian sparkling wine to be made.
The groundwork was laid by Graham Wiltshire at Heemskerk Wines, who planted some of Tasmania's earliest vineyards at Pipers Brook. Wiltshire's conviction that his island home could rival Champagne for sparkling wine quality was bold for its time.
A 1980 State visit by a delegation of VIPs from Möet & Chandon underscored French interest if not their concern.
In 1985, a landmark partnership was struck between Heemskerk and Champagne Louis Roederer. It brought French expertise, precious clonal material and increased self-confidence to the fledgling Tasmanian industry.
The French company despatched a young wine and viticulture graduate to its northern Tasmanian outpost. Barely out of Montpellier, Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon would spend three years working in the State. Less than a decade later, back home in Champagne, the talented Frenchman was made Chef de Cave, the prestigious position giving him full responsibility for Roederer's celebrated vines and wines.
Still the company's foremost employee and brand ambassador, Lécaillon regards his time in Tasmania as a watershed moment. Tasmanian-born permaculture pioneer Bill Mollison is credited with changing his thinking and Champagne Louis Roederer's most basic (and historic) farming practices.
The inaugural 1989 Heemskerk Jansz was launched with great fanfare in 1991. But within a few short years, the company partnership started coming apart at the seams.
Jansz entered a new phase in its development in 1997 when South Australia's Hill-Smith family purchased the company following its brief ownership by Josef Chromy (JAC Group), and subsequently Pipers Brook Vineyard.
The Barossa Valley company showed their commitment to long-term investment and brand building by purchasing 22ha of established vines. In doing so, it became Pipers Brook Vineyard's next door neighbour. The 20 blocks purchased included those that contributed to the embryonic program Wiltshire first began in 1985.
Natalie Fryar's 2001 appointment as winemaker and brand ambassador – together with the opening of the Jansz Wine Room in February 2004 – elevated sparkling wine visitor experiences to a new level of professionalism.
Persuasive marketing under the tagline 'méthode Tasmanoise' increased brand awareness and supported strong national and international sales growth. Plantings on the Pipers Brook site now span 30ha.
In 2012, Hill-Smith Family Estates acquired a southern Tasmanian outpost with the purchase of the Frogmore Creek Vineyard. The elevated site at Penna sits on the edge of the Coal River Valley. It was subsequently re-branded as Jansz Parish Vineyard (now Pontos Hills).
Carefully planned and executed developments on the site brought Jansz Vigneron Jennifer Doyle the distinction of being named Viticulturist of the Year at the 2017 Australian Women in Wine awards in London. The following May, Jansz Parish Vineyard was announced as the 2018 Tasmanian Vineyard of the Year by the Royal Agricultural Society of Tasmania.
Today, the property plays host to a state-of-the-art winery facility processing fruit from the company's 50ha Penna vineyards, in addition to its 40ha Woodside Vineyard, located at Forcett some 15km away.
The winery – on Brinktop Road – is not open to the public but is scheduled for further developments that will include a vineyard cellar door.
Stand by for more fanfare.
Key details:
- Hill-Smith Family Estates: owner/operator
Teresa Heuzenroeder: Jansz vigneron
Vineyard/cellar door address:
1337 Pipers Brook Road, Pipers Brook TAS 7254
Telephone:
+61 (3) 6382 7066
Email:
wineroom@jansz.com.au
Website:
www.jansz.com.au
Tasmanian viticulture takes place within a diverse mix of soil types and microclimates.
Climate data* for sites in the North East highlight the wide diversity of growing conditions here. Consider: Apogee (MJT 17.2°C; 975 GDD) and Handpicked Baxters Road (MJT 18.3°C; 1247 GDD).
Vineyard sites on the Australian mainland are far warmer than those in Tasmania.
South Australia's Piccadilly Valley* (MJT 20.4°C; 1730 GDD) and Macedon Ranges* (MJT 19.9°C; 1365 GDD) in Victoria are regarded as the coolest GIs in their respective states.
Climate data* for Pipers Brook Road, 1995-2024:
- Total annual average rainfall: 797mm
- Growing season average rainfall (Oct 1-Apr 30): 370mm
- Average autumn rainfall: 185mm
- Mean January temperature: 18.1°C
- Growing degree-days: 1213 GDD
- Average no of hot days (35°C or more) per year: 0
- Average no of cold days (minimum 4°C or less) Sept 1-April 30: 9
Climate data* for Brinktop Road, 1995-2024:
- Total annual average rainfall: 529mm
- Growing season average rainfall (Oct 1-Apr 30): 300mm
- Average autumn rainfall: 119mm
- Mean January temperature: 17.8°C
- Growing degree-days: 1155 GDD
- Average no of hot days (35°C or more) per year: 1
- Average no of cold days (minimum 4°C or less) Sept 1-April 30: 11
*Source: My Climate View, utilising past data from the Bureau of Meteorology and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. Funded by the Australian Government.
Last page update: January 2026