2025 Bird in Hand Tasmania Sparkling $30

05/13/2026

Bright sunshine, clear skies, crisp autumn air and a light carpeting of fallen leaves on surrounding lawns. What could be better suited to lunch at Bird in Hand's stylish new eatery at Hobart's Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens than this delightful, crisp Chardonnay/Pinot Noir blend from the Adelaide company's leasehold vineyard at Rowella in the Tamar Valley?

This is Bird in Hand's first vintage sparkling wine from Tasmania. Senior winemaker Sarah Burvill has really set the cat among the pigeons, if you can excuse the mixed birdlife metaphor. Well-crafted and neatly packaged – though I would certainly prefer a traditional hood to cover the cork – the wine really over delivers at this price point. A quick look around the tables occupied by diners revealed a very significant number of glasses with sparkling wines sitting at half-mast. Or completely empty.

Wait staff were working flat-out to keep up with overall wine demand on this stunningly beautiful and relaxing day at one of Hobart's most cherished tourism hot-spots. Corks were being gently popped left, right and centre. Diners ranged from young mums with infants to retired seniors, along with a few blow-ins from the nearby CBD.

OK, the wine's not likely to pick up too many wine show medals in its current phase of development. But Burvill has done a brilliant job in putting together a wine that offers very fresh and attractive drinking, albeit with a good bit of subtlety and finesse thrown in for good measure. This time a year ago, the wine would have seen little more than its primary ferment. Fourteen months ago, the fruit was still hanging on the vine at Waterton Hall.

The wine in the glass shows remarkable brightness and clarity. It's very pale indeed, with just the right amount of fizz. White flowers, citrus and a subtle green apple character drive the nose and flow seamlessly onto the light-medium bodied palate. The finish is pleasingly dry rather than assertive, in part due to Burvill's very wise decision to allow her base wines to proceed through 100 percent malolactic fermentation. That has removed the sharp edges from the finished product, without robbing it of its fundamental verve and vinosity.

Equally important, this is a sparkling wine that sits very comfortably alongside the excellent food being put out by Bird in Hand's talented team in their swish new kitchen at RTBG. The weather here won't always be bright and clear. But I'll guarantee guests will be impressed by the bright ideas and clear focus the Nugent family have already put into practice on the old time-worn site.

The next visit won't come soon enough.

Source: On premise purchase, Bird in Hand's re-imagined Restaurant, Tasting Room and Kiosk at RTBG.