Pinot rolling in the isle

For a State that contributes little more than one percent to Australia's total wine grape crush each year, Tasmania hardly seems fit to qualify as a prime tourist destination for many of the country's most ardent wine enthusiasts.

Yet without exception, that's precisely what's been happening on the Tasmanian wine scene for at least the past two decades.

Exactly why that should be is open to debate. Those closest to the action in the State's wine industry will tell you the best answer can be given in two words.

Pinot Noir.

It's just as well. In any given year, the variety accounts for almost half of Tasmania's wine grape harvest.

Launceston wine retailer Mark Gordon says the proof is self-evident. When he and business partner Damien Webber first released details of their Pinot Showcase back in February, more than half the event's 130 tickets were sold within the first 24 hours.

Close to 80 percent of those that parted with their $125 to attend last Saturday's Pinot Shop extravaganza were from outside the State. Western Australia was especially well represented. So, too, Queensland.

"Of course, it's nice to see some local representation as well because that's our ongoing, day-to-day business, but we were really rapt with the day's turnout," Gordon says.

"We weren't too sure if there was gonna be a demand for such an event, given today's cost of living and high interest rates. Although this was the 13th Pinot Showcase, the last one held in the shop was before COVID-19.

"The drinking culture has changed a lot since then. People are drinking a lot less than they did in the past. Fortunately for us, they're not just drinking less, they're drinking better."

It's been almost a year since Gordon and Webber took on ownership of the bricks and mortar premises in Paterson Street and its specialist online retail trade.

The Pinot Shop was established in August 2007 by former art teacher turned food and wine writer Michele Round. Along the way, she spent three years as retail manager at Pipers Brook Vineyard. The position included responsibility for managing company communications as well as three vineyard cellar doors and their adjoining restaurants.

Pinot-philes are totally obsessive, she said when first asked about the rationale behind opening her own retail operation. She believed they'd leave no stone unturned in their search for the wine world's equivalent of the Holy Grail.

"Pinot Noir is such a beguiling and entrancing drink that you've got to keep drinking a lot of it to find out what it's all about," Round observed.

"Even then, the variety keeps on surprising you. That applies as much to a James Halliday or a Huon Hooke as it does to someone who's only just getting into wine.

"The great thing about that Pinot experience is that it's not just Pinot Noir. You have all these wonderful Pinot Gris, Pinot Grigio, Champagne and sparkling wine interpretations as well."

Round's inaugural Pinot Noir Showcase was held in 2008 and drew more than 150 tasters from across the country. The quality and diversity of the wines (and food accompaniments) on offer received strong support from the most discriminating of participants, including that of Tasmanian wine pioneer Graham Wiltshire OAM. (Pictured below.)

The former engineer excelled at almost everything he did with Pinot Noir. This writer regards Wiltshire's 1982 Heemskerk Pinot Noir as one of the greatest examples of the variety ever produced in Australia.

Wiltshire's first traditional method sparkling wine – produced in 1985 with the help of Champagne Louis Roederer – spawned the industry flagship Jansz Tasmania.

Sadly, the Heemskerk Wines founder died in Launceston in March 2014.

Gordon and Webber have spent the past year building on the solid foundations that came with their 2025 business acquisition.

The Pinot Shop features an eclectic range of traditional Tasmanian, mainland, and European favourites, including Tasmanian Chardonnay and Riesling; Tasmanian sparkling; grower Champagne and various assorted Bourgogne.

This year's Pinot Showcase shone the spotlight on more than 70 Tasmanian Pinot Noir table wines currently available for purchase from the Pinot Shop. They were drawn from around three dozen Tasmanian wine producers.

Prices spanned $30 (2025 Spring Vale Melrose) to $130 (2024 Dalrymple Mt Lord).

Each wine was poured by its maker or a member of the winery's sales and marketing team.

All seven of the State's key wine-growing areas were represented.

Most wines were current releases, with vintages 2024 and 2025 being most frequently poured at the tasting bench.

Spring Vale's Cellar Release from 2017 provided Showcase participants with a rare opportunity to taste a fully mature Tasmanian Pinot Noir.

The highly-regarded 2018 vintage was very well-represented by the neatly crafted Dr Edge Pinot Noir Tasmania ($80). At eight years of age, the wine drinks very well indeed as a light-bodied, almost ethereal example of what the State does best with the occasionally quixotic red variety.

Other older vintages poured on the day were: 

• 2019 (Spring Vale Family Selection $80 and 2019 Pipers Brook Estate $N/A); 
• 2020 (Kelvedon Estate Block 5 $60) and 
• 2021 (Dawson James $89, Pipers Brook The Lyre $90, Pressing Matters Estate $90, Winstead Lot 7 $49 and Winstead Lot 16 $49).

Long-time supporters of Pinot Shop favourite Winstead Vineyard were saddened to hear of Neil Snare's retirement plans. His 2021 Lot 16 is the last produced from the block he planted on Bagdad's Winstead Road in 2000. When a buyer for the high-performing vineyard failed to materialise, Neil and wife Julieanne pulled the vines out in order to subdivide the block for residential housing development.

The Snares' Lot 7 Pinot Noirs – produced from the couple's original home block, established in 1989 – will continue to be offered for sale for some time to come. The excellent 2025 will be the last of them. This past year has seen their oldest soldiers removed from the battleground in anticipation of the Snares' full-time retirement on the property.

Gordon spent part of last Sunday tabulating the results of the straw poll conducted at the conclusion of the Showcase. He says the 2024 Utzinger Estate (Black Label) headed the list of the event's most popular Pinot Noirs.

Other top makers – in no particular order – included Anim Wines, Decades, Winstead, Apsley Gorge Vineyard and Tolpuddle Vineyard.

"Newcomer Caledon Estate did pretty well, as did Bream Creek Vineyard and Chatto Wines," Gordon adds.

"No real surprises there. All those wines are pretty smart. The problem with these kinds of tastings is that people's memories tend to glaze over the more delicate and nuanced expressions of Pinot Noir. 

"I think that list might look a bit different if you sat people down with a meal and gave them more opportunity to spend time tasting and thinking a bit more about their responses, especially when they're in the company of some Pinot-friendly food."

Now there's a challenge.

That noted, there were more than just a few sad faces about the room when the Showcase's allotted time of five hours lapsed at 4:00pm on Saturday.

"Damien said he felt a little coy and embarrassed by the response he received from everyone there," Gordon noted.

"The thanks were pretty well constant, and that included thanks from the winemakers themselves. Damien said, 'We should be thanking you for taking part.'

"It was all very humbling."

Roll on Pinot Showcase 14.

Disclosure: Mark and Lee Smith were fee-paying, ticketed tasters at the 2026 Pinot Showcase.

Postscript: Details of the event's Democratic Dozen and Six-Pack can be accessed here.

Last page update: 30 July 2026