Bellebonne passion project

Few places flatter to deceive like modern wineries. With their workspaces defined by concrete, stainless steel and glass, the added presence of hi-tech equipment soon promotes the idea that winemaking is essentially a manufacturing process. Nothing could be further from the truth, says celebrated sparkling winemaker Natalie Fryar.

It's the location of a vineyard site and the quality of its viticulture that determine the ultimate drinking pleasure of a bottle of wine. That's because soil type, vineyard aspect and a complex array of climatic factors all affect the ways in which wine grapes respond to their growing conditions.

"The perfect match between a wine grape and its vineyard site is the winemaker's equivalent of a marriage made in heaven," explains the founder and proprietor of Tasmania's Bellebonne wines.

It's been Fryar's passion project for the past six years.

Fryar speaks with the voice of experience. The former South Australian has been criss-crossing our vineyards for the past two decades. Indeed, it's exactly 20 years ago that Fryar first set foot on sites in the State's north-east. 

She was then the newly-appointed winemaker for the Jansz Tasmania Wine Company.

Owned by the Hill-Smith family since 1998, Jansz Tasmania became an industry flagship during Fryar's 13 years as its senior sparkling winemaker and brand ambassador. 

When the University of Adelaide graduate left the company in September 2014 to become a full-time Tasmanian resident, it was to begin the monumental task of establishing her own artisan sparkling wine brand.

According to Champagne and sparkling wine authority Tyson Stelzer, Fryar's successes to date have exceeded all expectation. 

Speaking as the host of a degustation sparkling wine dinner – held at Josef Chromy Wines in early February – the Brisbane-based author and wine communicator waxed lyrical about the brand that Fryar brought to life in 2015.

"There is no sparkling wine brand that's been introduced on the Australian landscape in recent years that has been as exemplary as Bellebonne," Stelzer told guests at the Relbia event.

Referring to Fryar as the country's sparkling rosé queen, the author of the annual Australian Sparkling Wine Report says that in his opinion Bellebonne wines deserve to share top billing with those of the House of Arras as the industry's 'best of the best.'

Speaking in reply, Fryar attributes much of her success to the quality of the wine grapes she has been privileged to work with as a cool-climate, sparkling winemaker in Tasmania.

"I love this place with the passion of a newcomer," Fryar told dinner guests.

"When I landed in Lonny on January 2, 2001 – and then drove to the Jansz Vineyard at Pipers Brook – my heart just broke. I thought, how can this place exist?

"It's just so stunning. And the amazing thing for me as a winemaker some 20 years later is that I still drive those same roads, and I still experience those same feelings. This place is astounding.

"All I want to do professionally is to capture some of that beauty and put it in a glass, so that when people are drinking this wine in London – or in Shanghai or in Uzbekistan – they see the same beauty that I see.

"The tagline of Bellebonne is that it's made by Tasmania. Not just made in Tasmania. 

"Tasmania is more than just a little island off Melbourne. It is something unique. It informs me as much as it informs the terroir – the soil, the grapes and the air. It informs me and I try to capture it here in every glass. That's the whole point of this project."

Now four weeks closer to harvest than she was back on February 5, Fryar is looking forward to her 21st Tasmanian vintage with her usual heightened sense of anticipation. This will be her seventh for Bellebonne.

A vintage filled with good luck?

"Despite the difficulties imposed by La Niña weather patterns, it is nowhere as confronting as 2011, our previous La Niña vintage," Fryar explains.

"It's similar at the moment to 2016, which was a cracker of a vintage for sparkling wine in Tasmania. I'm not worried by the seasons we've had to date. In fact, I'm really feeling confident about this year. I've been around quite a number of vineyards recently, and leaf canopies are looking really, really healthy.

"With good vineyard practices, sites should remain disease-free and allow us to enjoy a very good year for wine quality."

Fryar says Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from the Pipers River/Pipers Brook district of north-east Tasmania will continue to provide her with the essential elements needed for her vintage sparkling wine program.

"All our vintage wines are single vineyard wines from the region," she notes.

"This year, we've also got some fruit coming in from the Tamar Valley and from the East Coast. That will allow us to increase the production of our non-vintage wine. A big growth for us would be taking in another five tonnes. 

"For the first time, there'll be a little bit of Pinot Meunier from the East Coast, so that's very exciting, too."

Recently married to Wellington & Wolfe winemaker Hugh McCullough, Fryar adds that the couple are also looking forward to continuing the development of their cutting-edge Riesling and playful Wolfe at the Door labels.

Passion project indeed.

First published 6 March 2021: tasmaniantimes.com