Jansz adds to sparkling future
You don't need to travel far in Tasmania to see the State's cool-climate wine industry is really bubbling along at the moment. New vineyards and wineries are popping up all over the place. It's a sign of the times. Despite challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, business confidence continues to increase in Australia.
That's according to February's Roy Morgan Business Confidence data, released in early March.
More than 55 percent of the 1237 interview participants believed the next 12 months would be a 'good time to invest in growing the business.'
Those involved in Tasmanian sparkling wine production heard even better news back in February. Market analysis conducted by Melbourne-based company Global Data revealed Australian sparkling wine sales are expected to drive significant value growth in the domestic market over the next five years.
That must have prompted thoughts of 'I-told-you-so' for Jansz Tasmania's Robert Hill-Smith.
The Barossa Valley-based company chairman has been fully engaged in pushing the boundaries of Australian sparkling wine for more than two decades. Hill-Smith purchased the iconic Jansz Tasmania label and its Pipers Brook home base in 1997.
Early March 2021 saw Jansz Tasmania begin a fresh chapter in its proud 35-year history with the opening of its new Pontos Hills Winery at Penna, 30 kilometres north-east of Hobart. The production facility on Brinktop Road is the latest addition to an ever-expanding Hill-Smith Family Estate, chaired by the wine industry veteran of more than 40 years.
The developments reflect the company's 'close to the source' winemaking philosophy. They allow grapes picked on-site to be processed on-site, minimising potential delays that might otherwise compromise the freshness of fruit aromas and flavours.
Local processing also negates the need for road and sea transport to the company's winemaking facility in the Barossa Valley. Reduced energy use and overall emissions are good for the planet.
Treated wastewater from the winery is recycled back into the vineyard. That's a win-win for a property that receives little more than 520mm of annual rainfall.
The Pontos Hills Winery processed some 700 tonnes of wine grapes during vintage 2021.
It will receive even larger volumes in coming years as new plantings already established in the south of the State gradually come on stream.
"Vintage this year gave us an ideal opportunity to see how everything worked without committing ourselves to doing too much," says Jansz winemaker Jennifer Doyle.
Most of the fruit processed came from the Pontos Hill and Mount Royal sites Hill-Smith established around the original Frogmore Creek Vineyard, purchased in 2012. Wine grapes were also received from more recent developments at Forcett, some 15 kilometres away.
"We processed our second crop of Pinot Noir and third crop of Chardonnay from our 40ha Woodside Vineyard at Forcett," Doyle adds.
"I think this is going to be a fantastic vintage. It was a lovely, long cool growing season. That little bit of warm weather we had from around Easter time allowed us to finish things off really nicely in the vineyard. Our new wines are all looking pretty good at this stage."
Doyle says Jansz Tasmania's state-of-the-art facility completed its busy schedule without issue. Former Josef Chromy chief winemaker and general manager Jeremy Dineen is now providing valuable assistance on the site.
Named Viticulturist of the Year in the 2017 Australian Women in Wine Awards, Doyle now has a hands-on winemaking role on the Pontos Hill site.
"This is an operational winery," she notes.
"There's no tasting room or vineyard cellar door sales here. We don't have any plans for them in the future either, at least not at the moment."
Hill-Smith says the winery had been on the drawing-board for several years before architects, surveyors and engineers from the Launceston firm of 6ty° were engaged for the ambitious project.
Construction workers from Fairbrother's Hobart office completed the build on behalf of the Devonport-based company.
Hill-Smith contracted Melbourne's Della Toffola Pacific to supply and install the winery's bespoke open cage presses and associated winemaking technology. The firm's Italian parent company has more than 50 years' experience in the design and manufacture of food and beverage production equipment.
The central membrane wine presses in use are each equipped with the latest touchscreen-controlled software. Specially developed algorithms enable each press to operate with a degree of artificial intelligence, dramatically reducing the duration of pressing cycles. Patented automatic washing and continuous self-cleaning systems add even further efficiencies to winery operations.
Innovation and sustainability are cornerstones of the new facility, Hill-Smith says.
"As an independent, family-owned winemaker, authenticity and sustainability are at the forefront of everything we do. That's why we have put so much effort and attention to detail into building the perfect home for our Tasmanian wines.
"The Pontos Hills Winery has come a long way since the first concept. For us, it is about wine quality first and being true to our origins. Our initial design was a means to improve the quality of our wines and reduce our impact on the environment.
"With the help of local architect 6ty°, we were able to accomplish this and so much more."
First published: The Examiner, 2 May 2021