Daring to be different

Of all the developments that have taken place in the global wine industry over the past 30 years, none has been more apparent than the trend towards easy-drinking, user-friendly wines. Today's consumers need no longer wait years for red wines to provide smooth-as-silk drinking pleasure. 

Aromatic dry whites, meanwhile, often come in the palest of hues, with a veritable flower garden of fragrances to capture attention.

Such wines fit neatly into our fast-paced lives. But is there a risk of them becoming the vinous equivalents of sliced white loaves – readily digestible but characterised by a mind-numbing sameness?

"I'm really troubled by the way Australia's wine industry has evolved over recent decades," says Bob Richter, co-owner of Grey Sands Vineyard at Glengarry.

"It seems we've become engaged in some in some kind of crusade, with the ultimate goal of achieving technical perfection in our wines. The trouble is much of what is produced misses what wine is all about – character. What I call 'vinosity.'

"Many Australian wines these days don't have this essential vinosity. They represent little more than the conversion of pure grape juice into grape-juicy wine containing a bit of alcohol."

They're strong words for a softly-spoken wine producer born into a teetotal family on the New South Wales Central Coast.

"Bob only started drinking wine when he met me," muses Rita Richter. 

"My family is Italian. I grew up with wine. We always drank it with our meals. When Bob and I were together at University, wine became a shared passion. After graduating with our degrees, we worked in England for three years. We spent as much time as we could doing wine courses and exploring Europe's wine regions – the lesser known as well as the better known."

It soon became clear that the wines the Richters appreciated most were those that came from Europe's cooler locations. The best came from sites with poor, impoverished soils and marginal wine-growing conditions.

On returning to Australia, the couple made plans to establish a vineyard of their own. While Rita worked as a pharmacist, Bob augmented his career in dentistry with graduate diploma studies in winemaking and viticulture at South Australia's Roseworthy Agricultural College.

The Richters headed south to cool climate, northern Tasmania in 1987. Their 3.5ha vineyard - not far from Exeter - began with the planting of Pinot Gris and Merlot in August 1989.

"Our site is on the western edge of the Tamar Valley," Bob explains. 

"It was chosen because of its aspect, slope and low fertility soil. Quite early on, we tasted barrel samples of Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon from nearby Glengarry Vineyard, then owned by Gavin Scott. The wines showed all the colour, tannin and body that we were seeking."

The name for the couple's new wine venture came easily. The 14ha property is characterised by its grey sandy loam. Various outcrops of heavier soils with distinctive yellow sand and black cracking clay are also present, ensuring a one-size-fit-all approach to viticulture could never be possible during vineyard development and its ongoing management.

The choice of grape varieties – all grown without irrigation – has been eclectic from day one. The couple's passion for Pinot Gris and Merlot in the late 1980s seemed at odds with the Tasmanian wine industry of the day. Fellow wine pioneers largely focused on Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

"Some of the Pinot Gris wines we tried in Alsace were just fantastic," Bob recalls.

"Many had strange flavours. Not so much fruity, but interesting and savoury. That's what we're keen on doing here. What drives us is the notion of producing Tasmanian wines with a difference – wines that challenge and excite the senses."

Take a good look around Grey Sands with its 8,800 vines per hectare – about double the industry average – and you'll find all manner of vineyard oddballs. Oddballs for Tasmania, that is. They include Malvasia, Touriga and Tannat.

"We do have a hectare of Pinot Noir and some Chardonnay as well," Bob adds.

"But Chardonnay is the most horrible grape to grow. It gets every disease. For us, it's the canary in the coal mine. It's like – are we going to get powdery mildew during the current weather? Check the Chardonnay. Are we going to see any downy mildew? Check the Chardonnay…. (Laughter.) 

"Local weather events can be pretty challenging here."

No less that 17 different wine grape varieties can be found on site. Around a dozen are experimental plantings used in blended whites and reds. At any one time, Grey Sands offers around 10 different wines for sale. All are made exclusively from grapes grown on the Richters' scrupulously tended property.

Vineyard flagships are given time to age gracefully before release. So forget mind-numbing sameness. These are wines that dare to be different.

First published online 10 April 2020: tasmaniantimes.com