Hooked on Tassie

When Huon Hooke joined the 1992 judging panel of what was then the Tasmanian Regional Wine Show, change was in the air.  It was the second year of the event and the Sydney-based wine journalist had arrived to lend support to the inaugural chairman of judges, James Halliday.  

Halliday - Coldstream Hills winemaker, author and critic - had been the sole arbiter of good taste at the first show, held in 1991. He spent less than two hours deciding its medal winners. From among the 43 wines exhibited, Halliday deemed the 1989 GlenAyr Cabernet Sauvignon its Best Dry Red Table Wine.

Mere mention of the noble Bordeaux red grape evokes memories of another era of Tasmanian wines, Hooke says.

"GlenAyr has always been a really good site in Tasmania, but of course in those days it was largely planted with what was fashionable on the mainland," he says. 

"Regardless of what was best suited to the site and the State's cool climate. That was often the case with vineyards established here in the 1970s and 1980s."

Back in 1989 - when fruit for that inaugural trophy winner was being harvested by the Casimaty family - Cabernet Sauvignon was indeed king in Tasmania. Official Department of Primary Industry records indicate 170 tonnes of the variety topped the industry's vintage tally sheets that year. Next came a red grape few consumers knew much about, Pinot Noir. That produced 124 tonnes in 1989. Riesling (78 tonnes) and Chardonnay (75 tonnes) were the other varieties of significance in the State.

Hooke recalls his first year of judging uncovered a Pinot Noir of gold medal standard. There hadn't been one at the previous show. Cabernet Sauvignon still had a flagship wine at the 1992 event in the form of the trophy-winning 1990 Panorama. But it was clear the noble Bordeaux variety was already under threat. Relbia's 1991 Sharman Glenbothy Pinot Noir impressed the judging panel so much it was awarded trophies for Best Pinot Noir and Best Wine in Show.

"Three decades later, the most planted variety in Tasmania is Pinot Noir, accounting for around 44 percent of the State's 2000 or so hectares of vineyard area," Hooke notes.

"Chardonnay is next line, with around 27 percent of Tasmanian vineyards having established it along with Pinot Noir, as a dual-purpose variety. They are not only entirely suited to the State's cool climate wine industry, they're also responsible for its world-class sparkling wines. 

"That was something considered inconceivable when I first took on my role at the 1992 Show."

Hooke says he's relished his long association with the event, one that has since grown to become one of the most significant regional wine shows anywhere in the country. But sadly - due to travel concerns arising from the coronavirus pandemic - the outgoing chair of judges says he was unable to take part in his final show, held a fortnight ago.

Instead, a small contingent of suitably experienced local winemakers were enlisted to support new panel chair, Adam Wadewitz. South Australian winemaker Natalie Cleghorn added a further national perspective to the event, joining on for the week as a senior judge.

During almost 30 years of involvement - including eight years as chair of judges - Hooke says he has been witness to very significant growth and change in the State's cool climate wine industry.

In addition to seeing an increasing number of large vineyard developments – including those of Hill-Smith Family Vineyards, Brown Family Wine Group, and Fogarty Wine Group – Hooke has been greatly encouraged by the skill and professionalism of a new generation of winemakers in Tasmania.

"There's no doubting the contributions made by industry pioneers like Dr Andrew Pirie – and by trained professionals like Andrew Hood - both of whom were just getting underway in the early 1990s. But wine quality has been improving in leaps and bounds during the last decade or so."

The local industry also boasts more than 2000 FTE workers and contributes around $150 million to the Tasmanian economy each year through employment, wine sales and wine-related tourism.

Of course, not everything is perfect.

"For most of the time I've been going to Tassie, Riesling has been the stand-out variety," Hooke observes.

"Even when people ask me now what is the best variety for Tasmania, I still say Riesling. It was really the first variety that Tasmania was able to make a big splash with, even before Tassie sparkling wine became big news. And it's still one of Australia's best varieties, capable of producing beautiful wines in a range of different styles.

"It's also an age-worthy variety, one that can improve over many, many years. Sadly, its share of wine production in Tasmania is only about 6 percent nowadays. 

"Hopefully, one day, more people will wake up to the joys of Tasmanian Riesling."

Contributions honoured

The past week saw awards of a different kind being made in Tasmania's cool climate wine industry. On January 26, Home Hill founders Rosemary and Terry Bennett were announced recipients of Order of Australia Medals in the country's Australia Day Honours.

The awards were made in recognition of the couple's 'service to the wine industry, and to the community.'

Speaking on the ABC's Tasmanian Country Hour on Tuesday, Rosemary Bennett said the couple were both excited and honoured by the significance of their latest medal win.

"It's probably going to put a little story out there that if you set yourself up to doing something really well – and you have enthusiasm and foresight to forge ahead – really good things can come to you," she added.

The Bennetts' first moves into viticulture were made in 1992 with the planting of six rows of vines on a former orchard the family owned at Ranelagh.

After first growing apples and then grazing cattle, Terry Bennett says the game-changer had been the success and encouragement of Panorama Vineyard's Steve Ferencz. The former Hungarian immigrant was a wizard vigneron, battling the elements on his challenging 3ha site at Cradoc, barely 15km from the Bennetts' home.

Three decades later, Home Hill Winery plays host to 11 hectares of carefully tended vines, along with an attractive vineyard cellar door and function centre. Award-winning traditional method sparkling and table wines are made on site.

Home Hill is one of the jewels in the crown of Tasmanian Pinot Noir production. Among the armloads of trophies the small family company has won in national and international competition is Australia's celebrated Jimmy Watson Trophy. The Bennetts won the coveted silverware for exhibiting the best two-year-old red wine at the 2015 Royal Melbourne Wine Awards.

Once a sleepy hollow, the couple's Ranelagh hometown has since become the focal point for A Taste of the Huon. It's an annual celebration of regional food, wine and Tasmanian lifestyle that typically brings 20,000 visitors to the tiny township.

The Bennetts have played key roles in the not-for-profit organisation that has owned and operated the two-day event since it was first held in 1992.

Sadly, its volunteer committee will be having a little downtime this March, according to committee president Rosemary Bennett. The planned 2021 event was cancelled on January 22.

"Give the unpredictability of COVID-19 and considering the recent outbreaks in other parts of Australia, the safety of our attendees is our number one priority," she says.

An understandably sad bunch at the moment, the Bennetts and their fellow committee members expect to be back in festival mode in 2022.

First published 30 January 2021: tasmaniantimes.com