Rooster & Robin
Long before adult life led Robyn Pearshouse down paths into hospitality and private business, the little girl from the suburbs always wanted to be a farmer. Decades later, those dreams and aspirations have come full circle at Cranbrook's 5.5ha Elmsroe Vineyard.
Robyn Pearshouse and her husband Robert ('Rooster') purchased their 26ha property – previously known as Melrose – in December 2024.
(Young Robyn clearly loved word games, too. Elmsroe is an anagram of Melrose.)
The first plantings of Chardonnay (0.5ha), Pinot Gris (1.0ha), Sauvignon Blanc (1.0ha) and Pinot Noir (3ha) sprang to life there in 1998. Local couple Annie and Bob Browning established and operated the vineyard as Bishop's Rock until 2007. It was then sold to the Lyne family at nearby Spring Vale.
In 2008, the Lynes produced their first vintage of their popular Spring Vale Melrose Pinot Noir, a lighter, earlier-drinking red than their more structured estate-grown wine.
Some 180 years earlier, Melrose had been part of a larger, 2000-acre land grant made to Adam Amos in 1828. Amos was one of two Scottish brothers who arrived in Van Diemen's Land – now Tasmania – in 1821.
On exploring land around Great Oyster Bay on the East Coast, they became pioneering settlers along the Wye, Meredith, Swan and Cygnet rivers. Many of the landmark properties there today have deep connections to the Amoses and their descendants.
To bring their Elmsroe name to life, the vineyard's current custodians have planted a row of young elm trees along the new entrance they have created on the site. In time, it will grow into a beautiful, welcoming avenue, providing shade, shelter and habitat for local birds and animals, as well as a peaceful haven for vineyard visitors.
Other areas of the property adjoining river frontages are also playing host to new plantings of native vegetation. These represent the earliest stages of a regenerative program that will extend over many years, restoring natural habitat and bringing increased biodiversity to what was once grazing and cropping farmland.
'Rooster & Robin is a family-owned vineyard founded on the belief that great wine begins with healthy, living ecosystems…. The rooster symbolises farming, cultivation and the human care that helps to nurture the land. The robin represents nature—the birds, insects, waterways and native ecosystems that make this place so special.
That's the philosophy guiding everything we're building here. A vineyard where agriculture and nature work together.'
The soils are typical of the Cranbrook district – well-drained, moderately fertile clay loam, with the subsoils varying from porous friable loam to relatively heavy clay. Add in a sunny, temperate, maritime-influenced climate and the Elmsroe site offers very favourable conditions for cool-climate viticulture.
Frost risks are mitigated by access to a reliable water supply and installation of vineyard sprinklers as well as conventional drip irrigation.
In the spring of 2025, new plantings were added:
- 1.0ha of clone 95 Chardonnay, complementing the two clones originally planted by the Brownings.
- 1.25ha of Pinot Noir, including Abel and Pommard clones. This has effectively doubled the variety's planted area (previously comprising six clones).
- 1.0ha of Shiraz, a new introduction to the 27-year-old vineyard.
The total area under vine at Elmsroe Vineyard is now 8.75ha.
The first wines released under the Rooster & Robin label feature a stylishly-packaged 2026 Pinot Gris and 2025 Pinot Noir. (A traditional method sparkling Rosé produced in 2026 will see the light of day in a few years hence. Also on the way is a small-batch Chardonnay.)
The 2026 Pinot Gris was conceived as a medium-bodied style with layers of textured fruit and oak given added complexity by time on lees.
The 2025 Eleventh Hour Pinot Noir telegraphs the new owners' late call in deciding to produce a wine from the property, barely weeks after their contractual purchase arrangements were settled.
It was an inspired move. Vintage 2025 in these parts produced exceptional fruit quality, following a dry and warmer than average growing season.
Rooster & Robin branding is the handiwork of renowned New Zealand brand strategist, graphic designer and creative director, Helen Milner. Her extensive clientele includes leading producers Pyramid Valley (North Canterbury) and Lawson's Dry Hills (Marlborough).
A new on-site cellar door at Elmsroe Vineyard is scheduled to open just in time for the 2026 Great Eastern Wine Week, from 22-25 October.
Key details:
- Robert Pearshouse: co-owner
- Robyn Pearshouse: co-owner
- Contract winemaking: wines are made off-site
Vineyard/cellar door address:
15094 Tasman Highway, Cranbrook TAS 7190
Vineyard cellar door opening scheduled for October 2026
Refer to website for details
Telephone:
- Robert Pearshouse: +61 400 325 261
- Robyn Pearshouse: +61 414 252 258
Email:
hello@roosterandrobin.com.au
Website:
www.roosterandrobin.com.au
Vineyard climate data
Tasmanian viticulture takes place within a diverse mix of soil types and microclimates.
Climate data* for sites on the East Coast highlight the wide range of growing conditions here. Consider: Saltwater River Wines (MJT 16.0°C; 859 GDD) and Sterling Heights (MJT 18.3°C; 1267 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 Tasman Highway, Cranbrook , 1995-2024:
- Total annual average rainfall: 615mm
- Growing season average rainfall (Oct 1-Apr 30): 376mm
- Average autumn rainfall: 145mm
- Mean January temperature: 17.5°C
- Growing degree-days: 1100 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: 18
*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.
Vineyard elevation: 139m above sea level
Last page update: 4 September 2026