Take a leisurely drive 30-minutes out of Hobart and you could be forgiven for thinking little has changed along the Huon Trail since you last travelled its blacktop. Natural splendour and the joys of rural living given prominence by SBS Gourmet Farmer Matthew Evans remain all pervasive.
When winemaker Nick Glaetzer left home in search of a cool climate vineyard from which to produce wine with distinctly European characters, few of his South Australian peers could have anticipated his career-defining move to southern Tasmania in 2005 and the creation of a successful wine business there three years later.
You don't need to travel far these days to see Tasmania's cool climate wine industry is on a roll. New vineyards are popping up everywhere. And is it any wonder, industry analysts might add.
Cool climate vineyards have a habit of transforming lives. One day, they're just sticks and posts amid a field of freshly ploughed earth. The next, they're chock-a-block full of sprawling vines, presenting all manner of challenges to the hapless grower.
It's been another glorious spring day in Tasmania's northeast and the rich red soils of Sinapius Vineyard at Pipers Brook have become warm and slightly crusted under foot.
Once known as the 'Granary of Australia,' Tasmania's Coal River Valley has a rich farming history dating back to colonial times. Barely 20 minutes' drive from Hobart, the region enjoys a mild, almost continental climate by local standards.
For a bloke who relinquished his official marketing roles with Yalumba Wines 20 years ago, it seems company chairman and industry visionary Robert Hill-Smith isn't about to forget the four Ps of marketing any time soon.
