Growing bright futures
Running a vineyard is a bit like boxing reckoned East Coast wine pioneer, John Austwick. If you don't use your head as well as your hands, you're a goner. The Craigie Knowe founder sadly died three years ago, but his tongue-in-cheek advice is just as relevant today as it was when he first planted vines at Cranbrook in 1979.
"Running a vineyard is only one part of the wine story," says Elmsroe Vineyard's Robyn Pearshouse.
"Trees, waterways, insects, birds, native vegetation… there are countless other living things that make up this landscape. We want our vineyard to exist within a healthy, diverse landscape where agriculture and nature can thrive alongside one another."
Robyn and her husband Robert Pearshouse (pictured above) represent the changing face of Australia's wine industry.
Since buying their dream property from Spring Vale's Lyne family in late 2024, the couple have adopted a regenerative approach to managing the former Melrose Vineyard. It's located barely five kilometres down the road from Austwick's old stomping ground.
The industry newbies say their many and varied farming practices are designed to enhance soil health, encourage biodiversity, and nurture the natural systems they believe will sustain them and their vineyard well into the future.
Now trading as Rooster & Robin, the Pearshouse family figures among almost 20 producers keen to see visitors drop in to hear their stories during the upcoming Great Eastern Wine Week. The annual festival of wine events and tastings takes places from 22-25 October.
Venues span almost 175km of vineyard landscapes, from north to south, coastland to inland. Some take place on a casual, free-of-charge, drop-in-whenever-you-like basis. Others are ticketed events that require bookings with payment.
Click HERE to download a copy of the 2026 Great Eastern Wine Week Program.
Elmsroe first sprang to life in 1998 when Cranbrook couple Annie and Bob Browning planted 5.5ha of Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. Their land once formed part of the historic Melrose property, established in the 1820s by the Amos family.
The Brownings produced wines under the Bishop's Rock Vineyard label until 2007. In 2008, new owners the Lyne family produced the first vintage of their highly successful Spring Vale Melrose Pinot Noir.
Sale of the 26ha property in December 2024 saw them retain the Melrose brand.
In 2025, the Pearshouse family added 3.25ha new plantings of their own, including one hectare of Shiraz.
They also added a row of young elm trees alongside a new entrance they created on the site. Behold, Elmsroe Vineyard.
The couple say 'Rooster' in their business name symbolises farming, cultivation and the human care that helps to nurture the land. 'Robin' represents nature – the birds, insects, waterways and native ecosystems that make their place so special.
"That's the philosophy that guides everything we're building here," Robyn adds.
"This is a vineyard where agriculture and nature work together in harmony."
The property's custodians say that with time, their elms will become part of a beautiful welcoming avenue, providing shade, shelter and habitat for local birds and animals, as well as a peaceful haven for vineyard visitors.
Other areas of the property adjoining river frontages are playing host to new plantings of native vegetation.
Locals and visitors alike are being offered an opportunity to lend a hand during the Great Eastern Wine Week. Their Rooster & Robin 'Sip and Grow' event takes place on Friday 23 October (with set times 12pm-3pm; cost $22 + booking fee).
Participants will meet the people behind one of the East Coast's newest wines brands, enjoy a glass of Pinot Gris or 11th Hour Pinot Noir, in addition to planting a tree on the Tasman Highway site. As a newly inducted member of the Rooster & Robin Club, those taking part will be given the chance to chart the progress of their native regeneration project and its associated wines.
Plant, Sip and Picnic tickets for visitors wishing to stay on (at set times 12pm-3pm; cost $77 + booking fee) can enjoy a light picnic lunch for two people. (Guests attending as a pair require just one picnic ticket.) Online bookings are essential. For further details, click HERE or phone 0414 252 258.
Of course, the Pearshouse family are keen to welcome all visitors to their property on any of the three days of the Great Eastern Wine Week. Their smart new pop-up cellar door will offer free tastings with a genuine on-vineyard experience anytime from 10am to 3pm. No bookings required.
Treehouse Vineyard founders Matt and Kate Carlin (pictured) began their Tasmanian wine odyssey in 2007 with the purchase of a stunning 17ha bush block at Little Swanport. It sits roughly halfway between the East Coast townships of Swansea and Triabunna.
The couple devoted the best part of five years to constructing a family home on the site. That included felling trees, clearing the block and milling their own timber for construction. A towering treehouse in a giant eucalypt also became part of the landscape.
In 2012, the Carlins made plans to develop their own vineyard. In characteristic DIY manner, they collected and prepared their own cuttings and grew them on in a nursery bed made available to them at nearby Mayfield Estate.
Pinot Gris (aka Pinot Grigio) were added to their treehouse block in 2013. Chardonnay followed suit in 2020, with Pinot Noir being established there in 2021.
Five years further on and now licensed as Treehouse Vineyard, the east-facing site with its 2.5ha of vines will be hosting Great Eastern Wine Week visitors for the first time this October.
They'll be spellbound. The vineyard looks out over Great Oyster Bay, with Schouten Island and iconic Freycinet Peninsula taking centre stage among the views that can be seen from the property's upper slopes.
Vineyard neighbours Boomer Creek and Lisdillon Estate are less than five kilometres away. Mayfield Estate is within 10 kilometres.
Matt Carlin acknowledges it's been long journey for the couple who still hold down regular jobs outside their cool-climate viticulture.
"We didn't come here with the intention of putting in a vineyard," he says.
"We were just going to build a home, live off-grid and basically drop out. We lived here in a shed for three years without power or running water while we built the house. I spent 120 hours on a bulldozer clearing the block.
"We got to know Bruce Dunbabin while he was still establishing his vineyard at Mayfield. One day he brought his viticulturist over to check out our block and they both said it was a great site and that we should just go for it."
There'll be stories aplenty when the Carlins meet and greet visitors who drop by and take part in their 'Stories, Sips and Vineyard Walks.'
Twice daily (11:30am and 2:30pm), Matt will lead his guests on a relaxed walk through the vineyard, sharing the back stories of Treehouse Vineyard and its history, its land and the seasons that shape its wines.
"Visitors will be able to take their time tasting through our range of wines, including Pinot Gris, Chardonnay and Rosé," he says.
"We'll also have our first-release Pinot Noir, harvested from those vines we planted in 2021. People will be able to hear how it all began and taste the wine in the glass."
Wines will also be available for purchase by the glass or the bottle.
Entry is free. There's no need for bookings, the couple add. Just come anytime from 11:00am to 4:00pm on any of the three days set aside for the Great Eastern Wine Week.
Click HERE for further details, or phone 0459 091 907 (Matt) or 0429 311 885 (Kate).
"When people drive out of our property, they'll see the driveway to Boomer Creek Vineyard just on the other side of the road," Carlin adds.
"They'll have good wines to taste and buy as well. They have a 'Cheese and Cheers' event that weekend. Mayfield Estate is just a few minutes down the road and they have a program of events scheduled too.
"There's barely ten kilometres covering all three vineyards. People won't really need to go anywhere else if they come for the day."
It seems all roads lead to Little Swanport.
The journey from Hobart takes just under 90 minutes; around two hours from Launceston.
Last page update: 11 October 2026