William Dally was roaming the countryside in search of lost cattle when he made a chance discovery of a handful of gold nuggets, glistening in the sun among the roots of a wind-blown tree. Dally's find in June 1877 was to uncover the Tasmania Reef, the richest gold deposit found anywhere in Australia in the 1870s and 1880s.
Three cheers for Shiraz. That was the catch-cry of practically every grower, maker and marketer in Australia's traditional wine-producing regions some 20 years ago.
Small batch wines, big sky views, and more fresh produce and local seafood than you can poke a stick at. That's been the Great Eastern Wine Week recipe for success over recent years, and if all goes to plan, this October's four-day cavalcade of events on Tasmania's East Coast should be bigger, brighter and better than ever.
Ten wines reviewed – five of them rated 95 or better – with four of them given 'top rated by variety' listing, and the fifth named Sparkling Wine of the Year (rating 98). Is it any wonder Ed Carr is suitably chuffed with House of Arras being named Winery of the Year in the 2027 Halliday Wine Companion?
"August slipped away like a bottle of wine." Well, not quite yet Ms Taylor Swift, but it's certainly been moving at breakneck speed for anyone trying to remain abreast of all the good news on the Tasmanian food and wine scene.
Three women, three new business directions, three years on. Good luck usually follows when three of a kind come together.
As a young bloke growing up in the cool dry farming country of Tasmania's upper Derwent Valley, Charles Downie learned early on in life that you have to be level-headed when it comes to running a profitable family business. Every hour given to the land has to bring its just rewards.
When Launceston doctor and wine producer Mike Beamish officially opened his new 200-seat restaurant, state-of-the-art winery and vineyard cellar door in November 1999, the Tamar Valley facility was described as 'the vanguard of wine tourism in the State.'
Long-time growers and makers in the Tasmanian wine industry – those producing commercial wines in the 1990s – frequently acknowledge the tremendous encouragement and support they received from James Halliday and Huon Hooke back in the day.
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.
