Why Tasmania is Australia’s overlooked wine destination
It was only four years ago I was served a glass of House of Arras, an exceptional sparkling wine, full of crystalline precision and refined fizz. I was surprised to hear it was from Tasmania. Before then, I knew very little about wines from this region. London is the most exciting marketplace for wine in the world, we import from all over the globe, yet even here Tasmanian wine is a rarity on a wine list.
Vines were originally planted in Tasmania by European settlers as far back as 1820 but due to the island’s distant location and some economic pitfalls it never really took off. Until, that is, the 1950s and 60s when revolutionary viticultural techniques gave new life to the industry. Now, with consumer tastes changing in favour of more cool-climate styles – steely, linear, crisper, more minerally, lower alcohol wines – Tasmania is due its time in the spotlight.
Tom Wallace, winemaker for award- winning Devil’s Corner believes there are many parallels between England and Tasmania, though they are half our size. We are both small islands, known for being wet and cold. Many parts of Tasmania are colder than Champagne, so vines need to be planted near bodies of water or on North-facing slopes to retain warmth. “People from Australia’s mainland would say, ‘Why would anyone want to go there?’ But we’re not actually that cold,” says Wallace. “We line up with the middle of New Zealand’s South Island”.
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This cooler, slower growing season means England and Tasmania mainly produce sparkling wines, which rely on such weather to retain the necessary acidity and freshness. And we are both rather low yielding, focusing on quality, not quantity, which can drive up prices. “We are responsible for only about one per cent of Australia’s wine,” says Wallace “but about 10 per cent of Australia’s premium wine”.
So, it’s worth hunting out when you can, but what should you look for? Most known for their fizz, House of Arras is Australia’s most awarded sparkling wine brand with close to 100 trophies to date. Their Grand Vintage 2015 (Amathus Drinks, £78) is a Chardonnay dominant, traditional method bubbly, aged to a rich complexity over seven years. Like many New World (non-European) countries, Australia has no squeamish qualms about using the tank method for more affordable bubbles. The Devil’s Corner Sparkling Cuvee (£17.95, VINVM) is lively, aromatic and perfect for seafood.
Chardonnay was put on the map by Tolpuddle Vineyard when their 2018 vintage was honoured as the Champion White Wine at the 2020 International Wine Challenge, the first time a Tasmanian wine has won this accolade. The Tolpuddle Chardonnay 2023 is currently released and deemed worthy of its impressive price tag (Hedonism, £75) but there are some tasty, less expensive options from this premium corner of the world, such as the Devil’s Corner Chardonnay (Tesco, £15) which delivers easy drinking, refined freshness.
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Red wines can be trickier to grow where it is chilly, but this is where Pinot Noir comes into its own – and Tasmania is creating some incredibly fine, silky, elegant versions. Bream Creek Vineyard has multiple awards including Best Pinot Noir at the 2018 Hong Kong International Wine & Spirit Competition. Harder to pin down in the UK, I found the Eddystone Point Pinot Noir 2018 (Majestic, £19.99) to be fantastic with roast duck, thanks to its restrained spiced strawberry and cherry notes.
In fact, all the Tasmanian wines I have tried are excellent for food pairing – perhaps why that tiny island is suddenly becoming a destination for Australian wine lovers and foodies. I just hope the someliers and restaurateurs of London snap up more of it soon