Eastern promise

When vineyard founder John Austwick first planted vines at Craigie Knowe, passers-by shrugged their shoulders in disbelief. "You're mad, John," people told him. "Wine grapes will never grow here on the East Coast."

Maybe Austwick's weekend wine project was a bit eccentric back in 1979. After all, the State's other industry pioneers were grappling with grapes along the Derwent, along the Tamar, in the North East and out in the Coal River Valley.

Austwick's grapes grew, of course, and the former Hobart dentist lived a long and active life, with plenty to chuckle about before having his last laugh in July 2023. 

Nowadays, there are several dozen vineyards scattered up and down the region's 220km of coastline. From the northern outposts of Sterling Heights and Priory Ridge Estate at St Helens to Darlington in the south, overlooking Orford, each one has a special story to tell.

Not all have cellar doors, however. But collectively, vineyards here account for almost 15 percent of Tasmania's annual wine grape harvest.

A lot of top-notch wine has been made in this picturesque part of the world since Austwick's first vintage yielded 11 bottles of 1983 Cabernet Sauvignon. And with vines up and down the coast now looking resplendent after their winter pruning, next month will be the perfect time to head out onto the Great Eastern Drive.

With a little help from the weather gods, visitors will be able to witness budburst first-hand on some sites, the start of another bountiful growing season.

Producers there are already ahead of the game. From Friday 6 September to Wednesday 18 September, they'll be welcoming visitors to the Great Eastern Wine Week. Some will be opening especially for this event and remain closed for the rest of the year.

The 12-day regional celebration is the tenth of its kind on the coast and offers a veritable smorgasboard of local food and wine events. They number 30 in total, and are scattered across 16 unique venues and vineyards.

There's a packed program of tastings, long lunches, high teas and festive dinners. Add in film, live comedy, live music, creative cocktails and a handful of masterclasses and visitors will be hard pressed to set their own agendas.

Downloading the festival program will get you started.

According to Glenn Travers - chair of the East Coast Wine Trail Association - the success of previous weekend events has helped make the East Coast one of Australia's aspirational wine and food destinations.

Tourism virtually ground to a halt there three years ago due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Data published by Tourism Tasmania shows visitor numbers have been steadily increasing since then, with the Great Eastern Drive Touring Route figuring among the State's top three tourist destinations.

During the 12 months ending June 2024, more than 436,000 visitors toured the East Coast.

No wonder. The region features dramatic landforms and stunning ocean views. And on any given day, its local larders are chock-full of quality offerings from farms, fisheries and fine wine producers.

Bob Greenhill clearly remembers John Austwick's ground-breaking work at Craigie Knowe. His family's 200-year-old farming property lies on the opposite side of the Swan River from Austwick's former stamping ground. It's called Glen Gala. ('Gala' rhymes with 'valour').

Greenhill knew of some 19th century attempts at viticulture on the East Coast. They'd all come to nought. Twentieth century forays might prove more successful, but there was every chance they'd amount to little more than an agricultural flash in the pan.

But times change and industries move on.

In January 2009 – 30 years after Austwick – Bob Greenhill's son Adam planted 4ha of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Sauvignon Blanc on the 4000ha spread.

"We'd spent several decades grazing sheep and growing seed crops, mostly potatoes, brassicas, carrots and clover," he says.

"We just couldn't compete with the broad-acre crops and vegetables being grown elsewhere. We had higher freight costs and fewer support services – like agronomists and contractors – so we had to look around for other options."

Gala Estate – the wine business Greenhill now owns with his wife Grainne – hit the ground running. The vineyard produced five tonnes of fruit from its first vintage in 2011.

These days, 11 hectares are planted to vines, with Riesling and Syrah (Shiraz) being added just over a decade ago.

The couple continue to run thousands of merino sheep but also run one of the quirkiest and most attractive cellar doors on the coast. Previously the home of a local Cranbrook identity – and before that, the town's post office – the 1890s weatherboard structure has been lovingly restored and re-purposed.

Passers-by won't miss its Tasman Highway location.

The Greenhills will be operating their cellar door as usual during the Great Eastern Wine Week. Be sure to drop in to taste their fabulous Gala Estate Syrah.

Pinot Noir might well have given the East Coast its well-established reputation for rich red wines but the Greenhills have set chins wagging with the recent wine show successes of their black-labelled Emerald Syrahs.

The 2020 vintage won two trophies at the 2022 Tasmanian Wine Show. Meanwhile, the 2021 vintage followed up with three trophies at the 2022 Royal Melbourne Wine Awards.

Who said there's no such thing as the luck of the Irish? 

(Grainne Greenhill was born and raised in the Emerald Isle.) 

If Cabernet Sauvignon floats your boat, drop by Craigie Knowe to taste something rich and savoury there. It's just over a decade since Glen Travers purchased John Austwick's old vineyard. He and the new Craigie team have done wonders re-working those vines and bringing the property into the 21st century.

Rumour has it the family's inaugural release from the 2015 vintage is about to be re-released. It should be something very special. Cabernet Sauvignon from this site is invariably age-worthy. That noted, the earlier drinking White Label Cabernet Merlot wines from Craigie Knowe are hard to resist when there's juicy Tasmanian lamb on the menu.

Craigie Knowe will be a hive of activity during Great Eastern Wine Week. There are five separate events listed in the official program. Check them out.

For Bicheno couple Scott and Sonia Williams, next month's festival will provide a welcome opportunity to let down their hair at Maclean Bay Wines. What began as a weekend hobby is now a well-managed commercial operation with a string of award-winning wines to its credit.

The former Diamond Island Vineyard – established in 2001 by fisherman Derek Freeman – is planted entirely to Pinot Noir.

Meticulous hands-on work in the vineyard goes hand in hand with keeping second jobs and bringing up two school-aged children. So it's little wonder the Williamses have taken quite a utilitarian path in establishing their vineyard cellar door.

It's a rugged, rustic, re-purposed little humpy. Previously used by Department of Main Roads work crews, the wooden structure and scores like it would be very familiar to older Tasmanians. Spartan but serviceable, a trusty old humpy would have provided a welcome weather refuge during road-building operations back in the day.

"The timber deck is also repurposed," the couple add.

"It originally graced the decks on the good old Silver Sands Resort in Bicheno. We think it fits perfectly out here as a little deck on our vineyard humpy."

The East Coast's latest addition to the cellar door fraternity also dips its lid to a bye-gone era.

Opened in June 2022, Mayfield Estate is a far cry from Maclean Bay's tiny humpy. Owners Bruce Dunbabin and Jo Oliver spent countless hours planning and developing their cellar door operation at Little Swanport, south of Swansea.

The building itself is a single storey structure with a flat roof, concealed behind a parapet. It's an honest, simple but contemporary form, almost shed-like. Clad in vertical hardwood boards, the building has minimal glazing toward the west and south. Dramatic views of Dolphin Sands, Freycinet National Park and Schouten Island to the north and east make it a visitor destination par excellence.

The cellar door's visual impact on the landscape is minimal when approached from the Tasman Highway. That's more than compensated for by an interior that's relaxed, warm and welcoming.

Bruce's late father Robert was brought up at Bream Creek but moved to Mayfield in 1969, along with his wife Joyce, and sons Bruce, Michael and Tim. Dunbabin senior developed the property into a fine merino wool stud before retiring and handing the business on.

A sheep farmer from the tip of his hat to the toes of his Blundstones, Bruce Dunbabin nevertheless followed examples set by his siblings and now runs a profitable farm along with a cool climate vineyard.

Michael Dunbabin is further up the road at Milton Vineyard, while Tim runs the historic Burnside property at Orielton, producing small volumes of estate-grown Six Friends wines.

Vines sprang up at Mayfield as a much-needed form of business diversification. Six hectares of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir were planted in 2010 to support Hardys Wines' ambitious Tasmanian sparkling wine program.

Subsequent vineyard expansion to 9ha – and the end of contract grapegrowing – prompted Dunbabin and Oliver to enter the market with their own wines from 2020.

"Lambing takes place around the start of September, and that's quickly followed by budburst," Dunbabin says.

"Vines get pruned in June after harvest, and then shearing takes three weeks out of July. Things can get a bit hectic at times, especially when you're running a 2200ha farming operation."

Life's not all beer and skittles. Or Chardonnay and Pinot Noir for that matter. The East Coast has suffered long periods of devastating drought since the early 2000s. Water security remains a constant threat to long-term business viability. For all producers of Tasmanian wine in this part of the world.

A cocktail evening on 13th September should provide plenty of opportunity for Mayfield's owners to share their story. It's one well worth hearing… while taking in that marvellous expanse of sea views.

The Great Eastern Wine Week runs from Friday 6 September to Wednesday 18 September. 

Last page update: 26 May 2026