Tasmania now Australia’s top wine tourism region

Tasmania has long been the butt of jokes from the ‘mainlanders’, as Tasmanians refer to other Australians, but this rugged little island that started out as a prominent penal colony is fast becoming Australia’s premier wine tourism region.

A field of canary yellow canola near Launceston

This has come about thanks to outstanding wines that keep getting better and better, enchanting cellar doors, stunning scenery, excellent hotels and restaurants, as well as a fine road network and zero pollution. Throw in one of the most interesting museums in the southern hemisphere in MONA, as well as Australia’s top golf links course in Barnbougle, and you have all the ingredients for a memorable visit.

Tasmania is some 10,000 square kilometres smaller than Scotland, which it is often compared to on account of its mountainous terrain. Although the wilderness national park area in the southwest of Tasmania receives Scottish-like rainfall, Hobart, in the southeast of the island, has actually been the driest state capital in Australia in the last few years.

Top fizz from House of Arras

It is a common misconception that the populated parts of Tasmania are plagued by wet weather – indeed the east coast often suffers from drought – for it enjoys sunny summers, if not as hot on the mainland.

So much so that Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon even ripen in pockets of the island, which has multiple microclimates, although global warming has played a part in that.

Tasmania is still a cool-climate region, of course, and its most successful varieties remain Riesling, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, all blessed with natural high acidity thanks to cool nights and a wide diurnal range.

While Tasmanian Riesling remains relatively unsung on the world stage, despite its quality, its sparkling wines made from the traditional Champagne grapes have received deserved acclaim.

Your correspondent was fortunate enough to sample the gold medal winners in Hobart at the annual Tasmanian Wine Show in late January. Prominent among these was the House of Arras Grand Vintage 2007, made by the king of Australian bubbly, Ed Carr, from 75% Chardonnay.

While that had enjoyed eight years on the lees, his Arras Blanc de Blancs 2004 had spent eleven. Carr’s masterly sparklers can be tasted at the attractive Bay of Fires cellar door in northern Tasmania, half an hour’s drive from Launceston.

A few kilometres away is the Jansz Tasting Room, nestled in a gorgeous location overlooking their vineyards and lake.

Jansz makes only sparkling wine, and does so superbly under the overall direction of Louisa Rose, the Yalumba winemaker in South Australia, for Jansz is owned by Hill-Smith Family Vineyards. Next door is Pipers Brook Vineyard, whose Kreglinger label is another top-class fizz.

On the other side of the Tamar Estuary lies the Tamar Ridge winery, close to the settlement of Grindelwald. Both the cellar door and comfortable guest apartments have dramatic views of the river below.

Winemaker Tom Wallace crafts some excellent Riesling and Pinot Noir, while the sparklers, whose labels are named after his celebrated predecessor, Andrew Pirie, picked up three golds at the Tasmanian Wine Show. Article continued overleaf…

Two winery restaurants deserve a special mention in despatches: Josef Chromy Restaurant, just south of Launceston, and ‘Osteria’, at Stefano Lubiana, just outside Hobart.

Tribal art at MONA

The cellar door at Josef Chromy Wines has been named one of Australia’s top ten, and attracts 55,000 visitors a year. The wines are excellent (the 2016 Gewürztraminer having won gold at the Tasmanian Wine Show), while top Kiwi chef Nick Raitt, who was lured down from Sydney in September, has raised restaurant standards to a new level via the likes of kangaroo bolognaise.

Steve Lubiana is one of Tasmania’s most talented winemakers, and the only one whose vineyards are certified biodynamic. He is best known for his Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, although his sparkling wines are also top-notch. Wife Monique presides over Osteria, which has lovely views over the Derwent. All fruit and vegetables come from their biodynamic kitchen garden, while they only serve humanely-farmed meat and line caught fish, resulting in first-class cuisine.

A windmill near Cataract Gorge

From Osteria, it’s a short drive to the Moorilla Estate, where MONA (Museum of Old & New Art) is situated. Part of a £90m development, they are a must-visit. If Moorilla’s most interesting wine is its Syrah from the St. Matthias vineyard, a rare spot in Tasmania where this grape will ripen, MONA’s attractions are manifold.

Housing antiquities and modern art collected by Moorilla’s owner, David Walsh, who describes the windowless museum as a “subversive adult Disneyland”, MONA is largely built underground into cliffs on the Berriedale Peninsula.

MONA is linked by ferries from Hobart, seven miles away. Two hotels with an ideal central location in the capital are The Old Woolstore and Hadley’s Orient.

The former specialises in modern apartment-style accommodation while the latter, which was built by convict labour, offers comfortable heritage-style rooms. Both have fine views over the harbour.

The quaint town of Richmond, half an hour’s drive northeast of Hobart, is home to the attractive cellar door of Pooley Wines.

Three generations of the Pooley family have been involved in the business, with the latest, Anna, currently crafting a superbly elegant range that includes Riesling, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Not far away in Cambridge, the Riversdale Estate winery offers accommodation as well as a French bistro. Up the road near Campania, Domaine A manages to ripen some high-grade Cabernet Sauvignon.

Other wineries worth a visit include Holm Oak and Goaty Hill near Launceston, as well as Home Hill and Derwent Estate near Hobart. Finally, no trip to Tasmania’s wine regions would be complete without a stop-off at Freycinet Vineyard near Bicheno on the scenic east coast.

There, Claudio Radenti fashions some of the island’s best Pinot Noir, also crafting Riesling, Chardonnay and sparkling wine of the highest quality.

As Louisa Rose put it succinctly, “Tasmania is just starting to realise its potential, with regional diversity there increasing. For a long time, contract winemakers were making the wine. Now vineyards are expressing themselves, and local winemakers are doing the same, with intricacies of wines becoming apparent.”

The latest Nielsen figures speak for themselves. While 93% of Australian wine sells nationally for under $AUD15 (nearly £10), 100% of Tasmanian wines sell for $15 or more.