Puddleduck Wines
In 1985 – straight out of school – Darren Brown began a TAFE horticulture course and landed a job at Moorilla Estate with industry pioneer, Claudio Alcorso. It was to be the start of a 40-year career around vines and wines, culminating in the creation and operation of one of the Coal River Valley's most loved vineyard cellar doors.
Puddleduck Wines – or more correctly, Puddleduck Vineyard when it was first established – was the brainchild of Brown and his hospitality-trained partner and wife, Jackie.
The couple were inspired to strike out on their own after several years of running the vineyard and cellar door at nearby Craigow Vineyard. The Browns planted their own vines in 1997, on a greenfield site on Richmond Road, barely 5km from their previous employer.
It wasn't until the couple were seven years into their venture and had wine in the bottle that they finally decided on a name for their business.
Puddleduck Vineyard.
Quirky. Some said, 'Quackers!'
The moniker proved a masterstroke in branding and marketing. Launched in 2005, the business soon outgrew its early plantings and cosy cellar door with its plethora of innovative 'everything ducky' merchandise. By the time the much-expanded and perpetually re-invented Puddleduck Vineyard was sold to Derwent Estate in early 2025, visitor numbers were booming and the business was in very fine fettle.
Consistent 'must-see' ratings from Lonely Planet – and top ratings from other wine traveller sites, including TripAdvisor – meant that wines being grown and made on the property were also being sold exclusively on the property. Probably the only industry player doing so.
The change of ownership brought a change of name. Puddleduck Wines.
A carefully scheduled program of renovations looks set to be undertaken over the next two years. Nothing that that will ruffle the feathers of loyal friends and visitors, according to general manager Ange Morgan.
"We look forward to meeting you next time you duck in!" she says.
Key details:
- Andrew Hanigan: owner/viticulturist
- John Schuts: owner/winemaker (Derwent Estate)
- Ange Morgan: general manager
Vineyard/cellar door address:
992 Richmond Rd, Cambridge TAS 7170
Telephone:
+61 (3) 6260 2301
Email:
bookings@puddleduck.com.au
Website:
www.puddleduck.com.au
Tasmanian viticulture takes place within a diverse mix of soil types and microclimates.
Climate data* for sites in the Coal River Valley highlight the wide diversity of growing conditions here. Six Friends (MJT 15.9°C; 786 GDD); Pooley Cooinda Vale (MJT 16.8°C; 929 GDD); SISU (MJT 16.8°C; 929 GDD) figure among the coolest sites.
Richmond Park Estate and Strelley Farm Estate (both MJT 18.0°C; 1189 GDD) are considered to be among the warmest, along with Coal Valley Vineyard and Cross Rivulet Winery (both MJT 17.9°C; 1185 GDD).
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 Richmond Road, 1995-2024:
- Total annual average rainfall: 594mm
- Growing season average rainfall (Oct 1-Apr 30): 341mm
- Average autumn rainfall: 130mm
- Mean January temperature: 17.4°C
- Growing degree-days: 1075 GDD
- Average no of hot days (35°C or more) per year: 1
- Average no of cold days (minimum 4°C or less) Sept 1-April 30: 13
*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