Kate Hill Wines

Kate Hill is living proof that growing a wine business takes time. After graduating with a BSc in botany and biochemistry, she tried marketing and tourism before cellar door work led to a post-grad degree in winemaking. Vintage stints at home and abroad (Napa, Maipo and Rhone Valleys) concluded with four years in Griffith, New South Wales.

Lured by the State's pristine environment and cool-climate wine scene, Hill and husband Charles moved to Tasmania in 2006. Their Kate Hill Wines sprang to life in 2008, with fruit purchased from the State's south. The micro-business hit the ground running, winning trophies for its first Riesling and Pinot Noir wines.

Transformation of a 19th-century apple cool store between 2011 to 2013 brought the couple independence and a fully operational winery in the Huon Valley. Today, Kate Hill produces sparkling and still wines from their own vineyards (totalling 4ha), just outside Huonville. Four Winds is planted to Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Shiraz. The Glen is entirely Pinot Noir.

The region's ultra-cool climate and gravelly loam/clay soils support extended ripening seasons that result in wines with bright fruit, fresh natural acidity and fine structure.

Hill's decision to chance her arm with Shiraz in the ultra-cool Huon Valley has already paid dividends. The 2022 Four Winds Estate received resounding support from the tasting panel of Australia's best-known publication. The 2025 Halliday Wine Companion rated the wine 95/100.

Continued purchase of small volumes of fruit from other southern vineyards has helped keep the business afloat in vintages challenged by weather events (2011 and 2022) and bushfires (2020).

An attractive cellar door – in an 1880s cottage on Dowlings Road – is a Huon Valley drawcard that currently enjoys a 4.8 rating among visitors that support Google Reviews. Little wonder. It's a very relaxed and welcoming facility. The portfolio itself reflects the Kate Hill ethos. Patient, handcrafted wines with elegance, purity, and a sense of place.

It's a winning formula. 

Kate Hill Wines featured among the recipients of the Huon Valley Business Awards announced in mid-2025. 

Key details:

• Kate Hill: owner/vigneron

• Charles Hill: owner/manager

Vineyard/cellar door address:

21 Dowlings Rd, Huonville TAS 7109

Telephone:

(03) 6224 2006 

Email:

info@katehillwines.com.au

Website:

www.katehillwines.com.au

Tasmanian viticulture takes place within a diverse mix of soil types and microclimates.

Climate data* for sites in the Huon Valley/D'Entrecasteaux Channel highlight the wide diversity of growing conditions here. Nandroya, Two Bud Spur (both MJT 14.8°C; 622 GDD) and Bruny Island Premium Wines (MJT 15.4°C; 747 GDD) appear to be the coolest sites south of Hobart.

Tinderbox Vineyard (MJT 17.3°C; 1088 GDD) and Trial Bay Estate (MJT 17.1°C; 1044 GDD) are the warmest.

Vineyard sites on the Australian mainland are far warmer than those in Tasmania.

South Australia's Piccadilly Valley* (MJT 20.4°C; 1730 GDD) and Macedon Ranges* (MJT 19.9°C; 1365 GDD) in Victoria are regarded as the coolest GIs in their respective States.

Climate data* for Huonville 1995-2024:

• Total annual average rainfall: 774mm
• Growing season average rainfall (Oct 1-Apr 30): 396mm
• Average autumn rainfall: 168mm
• Mean January temperature: 17.1°C
• Growing degree-days: 976 GDD
• Average no of hot days (35°C or more) per year: 0
• Average no of cold days (minimum 4°C or less) Sept 1-April 30: 26

*Source: My Climate View, utilising past data from the Bureau of Meteorology and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. Funded by the Australian Government.

Last page update: January 2026