There was a time when living and working off grid was regarded as the domain of hippies, dropouts and ne'er-do-wells; as much about self-sufficiency as being economically and environmentally sustainable. These days, two percent of all Australians live off grid, according to the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).
When vineyard founder John Austwick first planted vines at Craigie Knowe, passers-by shrugged their shoulders in disbelief. "You're mad, John," people told him. "Wine grapes will never grow here on the East Coast."
With the day's planting completed, Tara Edmondson stepped back to assess her team's handiwork. "This is a beautiful spot for a vineyard," the estate manager mused. "Close to the mountain; close to the river, with hedges and large trees around the perimeter. It'll need to some wind protection."
Making a fresh start with a new business initiative poses all manner of risks. But when Ricky Evans and Chanel Parratt chose April 2020 for the launch of their Havilah wine bar, they didn't figure that a State-wide lockdown and fears of a global pandemic would soon pose the biggest challenges of all.
Marco Lubiana is a man of few words. Relaxed and easy-going when it comes to conversation, the talented Tasmanian winemaker is never more forthright and articulate than when he's talking about food and wine, friends and family. It's a different matter entirely when it comes to labelling and packaging his beautifully crafted Huon Valley wines.
The critical harvest months of March and April loom large in the minds of wine producers in Australia's south-east, cool climate wine regions. With that comes the prospect that grapes may not be the only things that are crushed during vintage 2019.
With row upon row of vines in Tasmania now looking resplendent with the tiny bunches they will carry through to harvest, it's not hard to see why anyone would want to plant a vineyard. Why anyone would want to plant a vineyard in the middle of suburban Launceston isn't quite so easily explained.
With literally thousands of products vying for attention on restaurant wine lists and retail shelves, choosing a good bottle of red, white or sparkling can be a real challenge nowadays.
"Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody ever does anything about it," wrote American author Mark Twain. More than a century later, much the same can be said of climate change.
A wine show solely for Tasmanian wines? That will never work. Critics scoffed of Phil Laing's daring bid to bring Australia's leading wine authority to Hobart to judge the inaugural Tasmanian Wine Show.
