The Pooley family’s Cooinda Vale Vineyard was first planted in 1985 by Denis and Margaret Pooley as something of a retirement hobby. Those original 17 rows of vines consist of riesling and pinot noir planted on own roots. That venture continued very much as a hobby, with the wines professionally made but mostly drunk by family and friends. More meaningful plantings took place in ’98, 2000, ’13, ’18 and ’20, bringing the total area under vine to around 13 hectares – with around 6 hectares at Butcher’s Hill – though a hectare of vines is still too young to be productive. The site is planted to chardonnay, pinot noir, riesling, shiraz and pinot grigio, with nebbiolo slated for planting in 2022.
Over that time, under the stewardship of John Pooley, Denis and Margaret’s son, the business grew, and to considerable acclaim. When Anna Pooley (YGOW Awards finalist, 2009 & 2-014) returned to the family property, she brought with her an impressive winemaking resumé, and so did her winemaker husband Justin Bubb. That was in 2013, and with Matthew Pooley, Anna’s Brother, in charge of viticulture, it was an all-family affair, though the viticultural baton has now been handed to Hannah McKay who tends the two Pooley sites (Butcher’s Hill is the other) as well as a site they contract for fruit.
“Cooinda Vale is a diverse site, being in an enclave sloping down to the Coal River flats,” says McKay. “The soils tend to be lighter in density with the predominant profile being sandy loams. I believe this is best suited to riesling and chardonnay. There are pockets of black cracking clays and heavier sandy loams to the north, which tend to hold the heat and water longer, providing a nice environment for earthy pinot noir and delicate syrah.”
Today, all the Cooinda Vale fruit ends up in estate wines, but for many years fruit was sold to premium makers. Those clients included Penfolds, who used Cooinda Vale chardonnay for around a decade as a significant inclusion in their ‘Yattarna’ bottlings. The demand for the Pooley wines now accounts for all their fruit, and so much so that 6.5 hectares of vines are scheduled to be planted in 2022.
“Cooinda Vale is a diverse site, being in an enclave sloping down to the Coal River flats,” says McKay. “The soils tend to be lighter in density with the predominant profile being sandy loams. I believe this is best suited to riesling and chardonnay. There are pockets of black cracking clays and heavier sandy loams to the north, which tend to hold the heat and water longer, providing a nice environment for earthy pinot noir and delicate syrah.”
Since her appointment in early 2020, McKay has been steadily steering the vineyard practices towards organic management, with the aim of being certified in the next three to five years. She is also employing some biodynamic principles, such as observing the lunar calendar for new plantings. A cover crop program was also introduced, where none had been previously grown, and weeding is done mechanically, reducing herbicide use by 90 per cent.
“The rebirth of Cooinda Vale over the last few years has provided greater biological food and shelter that has encouraged and rejuvenated our soil food web,” says McKay. “We have seen great natural balance in our vines since removing synthetic dependencies, which has in turn allowed fruit to get across the line more pristinely. I believe this is largely responding from the functional and extensive biodiversity projects we have started and the movement away from herbicide.”
Biodiversity has been increased on the 40-hectare property, with native insectary plantings established to encourage beneficial insects, while the cover cropping program is part of the restorative process after many years of traditional farming. “Our vineyard philosophy is very much based around returning the land to better than we found it, which includes the introduction of functional biodiversity, biological inputs and increased focus on vine balance and structure rather than reliance on chemistry,” says McKay. “We have adopted biological farming principles to encourage soil restoration to allow for more root growth, increased water-holding capacity and biota. The end goal is conservation farming but we’re in remedial mode after decades of conventional farming. The site is responding well, as the recent accolades can attest to.”
And while Australia’s warmer regions are feeling the real heat of climate change, McKay still has her eye on a hotter future. “Southern Tasmania is probably one of the most future-proof regions in Australia,” she says, “but our region is still concerned about the future. We have specifically looked at planting cultivars with a temperature change expected. This includes more shiraz along with nebbiolo. We have also built a new 35-megalitre dam onsite to provide water security to both mitigate frost, provide additional emergency supply and water our next stage of vineyard development.”
And that’s not the only future planning on her desk, with ambitions that include community education. “I would like to see increased education around what we are doing in Australian vineyards,” says McKay. “I am finessing my masterplan to ensure our biosecurity protocols are kept in check. This will hopefully see more communal environmental interaction and eco-tourism to Cooinda Vale. I also want to navigate further to upcycling of salmon waste in Tasmania as a viable fertiliser for Tassie growers.”
Pooley Wines is a member of Sustainable Winegrowing Australia, and McKay is always looking at new ways of managing the site as naturally as possible. She has a brewing shed in her sights for making natural vineyard treatments to build resilience in soil and vines and combat disease and pest issues, but is beginning with some trials before it comes online. “I have always wanted to get into compost teas, fish hydrolysate and other cauldron concoctions for the soil food web,” she says. “This will incorporate biodynamic foundations as well. The first batch of compost tea will be trialled as a cover crop inoculant next year.”
Working closely with the winemaking team is also essential for her work to be successful, says McKay. “There must be compromise, communication but above all trust to achieve a sound, long-lasting result. I am very fortunate to have winemakers that are super supportive of this new trajectory and who practice an exceptionally wild, minimal intervention way of making wine.”
That close relationship runs deep, with McKay intent on producing fruit that is not just healthy, but best reflects variety and site in bottle. “We are very focused on providing the truest expression of site in every drop,” she says. “We believe that farming organically with a strong focus on biology and ecology provides the most authentic profile in the bottle. Under organic management, the wines are more integrated, complex and require less intervention in the winery. The wines have a more genuine representation of the site’s challenges, triumphs and the nuances of the season by working with the land rather than trying to control it. It’s a beautiful thing.
“I have a very strong sense of custodianship with Cooinda Vale and am so proud of the team achievements. This shift in gears has ignited a culture of curiosity, collaboration and innovation where anything is possible. This is the best result to a change in farming technique: the belief in change. The vineyard is nothing without its advocates, and we pledge to continue to integrate our story of vine to wine to deliver the best possible product.”
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