The Tamar Valley in northern Tasmania is one of the island's most historic and fertile agricultural regions. European exploration began here in 1804, when English naval officer William Collins charted the kanamaluka/River Tamar and recommended the area for settlement. The valley became a centre of colonial agriculture, river trade and industry, its fertile soils supporting orchards, grazing, cropping and eventually cool-climate viticulture from the latter half of the 20th century.
Today, it's home to Tasmania's most dynamic agricultural and tourism sectors.
Geologically, the valley itself is remarkably diverse. The upper reaches near Launceston are underlain by ancient dolerite and basalt, while the mid and lower sections of the valley feature Tertiary clays, gravels and alluvial deposits laid down by this substantial river system. In some locations, marine sediments and limestone occur, contributing to soil variability – from deep, well-drained loams to lighter sandy profiles on vineyard slopes.
This mix of soil types – along with the valley's favourable maritime climate – provide excellent growing conditions for stylish Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and aromatic whites including Pinot Gris and Riesling.
The Tamar Valley Wine Route takes visitors along a 170 kilometre journey of discovery, encompassing more than 30 vineyards and wineries.
"One of the top 10 wine routes in the world." Essential Travel Magazine (UK)
Everything old is new again at Peco Wines. Hannah Cox and Ben Pearson are the winemaking couple behind this small, natural 'zero-zero' wine project in the Tamar Valley. It sprang to life from what they describe as a shared love of 'wine without compromise.'
Looking for fingerprints on a wine label sounds like the work of a forensic scientist. Putting them there on purpose? Well, that's the work of former forensic scientist turned winemaker, Sam Rush.
If Fawlty Towers provided the archetypal model for how not to operate small, private accommodation, then Sen Vineyard at White Hills outside Launceston offers a polar opposite. "I asked for a room with a view!" will not be heard anywhere near this calm, statuesque site of 21st century living.
Before Small Wonder, there were two small wonders. Vineyard founders Markus Maislinger, Kristine Grant and Tony and Natasha Nieuwhof met for the first time at antenatal classes in the late 1990s. While learning about the impending arrivals of their first-born small wonders, they became close friends who soon learned they shared a love of wine.
It's always a good idea to make sure you get things right the first time. When Ros and Martin Rees bought their 21ha property on Relbia Road in July 2010, their purchase of a stylish family home included a 6ha vineyard, located right in the heart of an established and rapidly expanding wine region.
When Joe and Lou Holyman purchased Rotherhythe Vineyard from property valuer John Vincent in 2004, they knew they'd bought a diamond in the rough. Ten years earlier, vineyard founders Shelagh and Steve Hyde had grown and made a Rotherhythe Pinot Noir that swept all before it when exhibited at the 1996, 1997 and 1999 Tasmanian Wine Shows.
Supply River Mill Vineyard at Deviot was established in 2004 by food microbiologist and researcher Dr John Sumner. The 0.55ha plantings on Hayley Court are the source of perhaps the Tamar Valley's smallest volumes of single vineyard Pinot Noir wine.
Swinging Gate Vineyard – at Sidmouth in the West Tamar – was established in 1985 by winemaker Don Buchanan. One of the first professionally trained winemakers in the State, the former Australian Winemaker of the Year moved to Tasmania to set up Buchanan Wines and a wine consultancy business.
John Charles Brown loved Tasmania. He and his young wife Patricia even began their honeymoon in Hobart in 1939. Brown loved Riesling. In Milawa (Victoria), he also grew Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and all the other cool climate varieties we associate with Tasmania today.
Ricky Evans is one of the leading figures among the new wave of career winemakers who have entered the Tasmanian wine industry since the Noughties. A viticulture and oenology graduate (Adelaide), Evans is a local bloke who worked on the mainland and overseas before returning home to take up a 2011 vintage position at Bay of Fires winery.
