Pooley – Cooinda Vale, Coal River Valley Steve Ferguson

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  • Pooley – Cooinda Vale, Coal River Valley

    When it was first planted in 1985, Pooley Wines’ Cooinda Vale Vineyard in the Coal River Valley added less than a hectare to the state’s meagre 47 hectares of grapevines. Fast forward, and today Pooley contribute around 20 hectares across their two sites to the 2,000 plus planted on the Apple Isle, and a whole lot more to the reputation of the island state’s wine industry. The site, managed by Steve Ferguson, producers Pooley’s most revered single-site wines made from riesling, chardonnay and pinot noir.

  • Marion’s Vineyard, Tamar Valley

    Marion’s Vineyard sits on the west bank of the Tamar, some 35 km north of Launceston. It’s a picturesque spot, with the vines arrayed on a healthy slope leading to a broad expanse river, a row of Tuscan cypress standing to attention in front of the stone winery in the middle of the vineyard. Marion and Mark Semmens bought the site in 1979 after a life-changing holiday, leaving their San Francisco home behind and planting vines a year later. Today, their daughter, Cynthea, runs the operation, with a decade of hard work leading to biodynamic certification being granted in 2022. The site predictably favours chardonnay and pinot noir, but it also has the capacity to mature later-ripening grapes, such as syrah and cabernets sauvignon and franc.

  • Ghost Rock, Cradle Coast

    Ghost Rock Vineyard is the pioneering vineyard of Tasmania’s North West wine region, to the west of the Tamar. Sticking with the state’s strongest suits, pinot noir and chardonnay take the lead, with aromatic whites in pursuit. With over 25 hectares under vine, the Arnold family farm in a sustainable way, with an end goal of organic certification. All wines are made on site, from pan-estate and single block selections of the hero varieties to a skinsy white, pét-nat and chillable red in their Supernatural range.

  • Devil’s Corner, East Coast

    The Devil’s Corner Vineyard on Tasmania’s East Coast is the island’s largest, with over 190 hectares under vine. Named after a nearby nautical danger zone in the Hazards, the vineyard overlooks the Moulting Lagoon, with a classic varietal mix dominated by pinot noir, chardonnay and aromatic whites. Brett McClen oversees the viticultural operations, with a focus on soil health and water conservation, treating each block individually to maximise quality.

  • Keith Tulloch Wine – Field of Mars Vineyard, Hunter Valley

    Field of Mars is the Keith Tulloch Wine home vineyard. Planted mostly to 40- to 50-year-old vines on alluvial soils in Pokolbin, it rubs shoulders with some of the Hunter’s most revered semillon sites. Sustainability is a key driver of the estate, from the farming to re-establishing native scrub to using only recycled packaging for their wine. The site is run by Alisdair Tulloch, operations manager and sustainability manager for Keith Tulloch Wines, who guides the growing of fruit for premium single block varietal wines from chardonnay, shiraz, viognier and semillon in the Field of Mars range.

  • Topper’s Mountain Vineyard, New England

    Mark Kirkby’s Topper’s Mountain Vineyard was planted over two years to an eclectic mix of grape varieties in the elevated cool of New South Wales’ New England region. Over two and a half decades, the 10-hectare vineyard has seen varieties come and go – tested, grafted over, replaced – in a continuous search for the best vine-to-site match on a remote and singular piece of land. The viticultural approach is low impact: sheep graze amongst the vines through the cooler months, under-vine slashing replaces herbicide where possible, no pesticides have been used since the year of planting, and synthetic fertilisers were abandoned more than five years ago, replaced with composted cow manure from a local non-antibiotic feedlot. The estate wines consist of varietal bottlings and field blends, some whites with skin contact and some reds with extended macerations, all with minimal sulphur as the only addition.

  • Tamburlaine – Borenore, Orange

    Tamburlaine is a touchstone for organic wine in this country, having been certified for over three decades. Starting with a Hunter Valley base, owner Mark Davidson expanded into the cool Orange region in the late ’90s when he established the Borenore Vineyard. Organic certification is bolstered with biodynamic practices, with Mark Pengilly and Clayton Kiely managing the farming. The vineyard quickly established itself as the flagship of the Tamburlaine portfolio, producing gold medal wines from all the varieties on the property, along with a significant collection of trophies. The vineyard produces wines across the range, from more everyday offerings to the Reserve and ultra-premium Marlowe bottling.

  • See Saw Wines – Annangrove Park Vineyard, Orange

    See Saw Wines, in the New South Wales high-altitude region of Orange, has committed to sustainability across their three vineyard sites, as well right through the production and packaging of their wines. The operation is now all certified organic, with viticulturist Brendan Jarrett focusing on building a balanced system that is built on healthy soil and minimal water use. Their Annangrove Park Vineyard accounts for around 40 per cent of their output, with the vineyard arrayed over a 200-metre range in elevation, topping out at 900 metres, with great variation in aspects and soil types. Chardonnay and pinot noir are natural stars, but the vineyard also has the region’s only prosecco, along with marsanne, sauvignon blanc and syrah, which go to making wines under the See Saw banner, from classic varietal wines to forays into pét-nats and skin contact ‘whites’.

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See Saw Wines – Annangrove Park Vineyard, Orange

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