Ghost Rock Wines was established by Cate and Colin Arnold in 2001 on a run-down property that had a smattering of vines. It was neatly located under 15 minutes’ drive east of Devonport, where the couple live. Now known as the Cradle Coast or North West wine region, there were no meaningful plantings back then, with the couple pioneering the still scantly planted region. They also established the first winery in the area.
In 2015, the couple’s son Justin and his wife Alicia joined the family business, taking on full ownership in 2017. The pair run the operation together, responsible for the winemaking and running of the award-winning cellar door and eatery respectively, while Izaak Perkins runs the viticultural side of the enterprise.
“Our extensive trials with shoot thinning and leaf removal has had an undeniable impact on ripening and flavour development in our cooler years. Pinot noir is becoming our heartbeat. It just loves to cool, maritime life here. We’re seeing more red and dark berry characters push through in the wines to surround the spice and earth tones.”
The vineyard is separated into seven blocks, planted between 2004 and 2018. With 26 hectares under vine, pinot noir takes the lead, with 45 per cent of the plantings across 12 clones. Chardonnay predictably takes second billing, with 20 per cent across eight clones, but it shares that position with pinot gris at the same acreage. The residual is made up of sauvignon blanc, riesling and pinot meunier, in order of concentration.
Kelly’s Block, which was planted in 2016, is farmed according to organic principles (not certified). Across the other six blocks, no pesticides are employed, and herbicides have made way for more manual methods, including under-vine cultivation and controlled grazing of sheep, which also has the advantage of introducing organic matter to improve the soil. Vine prunings are mulched and spread under vine, and machine operations are being phased out to favour hand tending, reducing soil compaction caused by tractor passes. Biodegradable ties are now used when pruning, and treated pine posts have given way to steel ones.
The approach is a long-term one, with organic goals – and an end-goal of certification – and a determined focus on sustainability. “If we aren’t sustainable farmers, then who are we?” says Perkins. “We can’t on the one hand to rely on the land around us to provide year in, year out, but then not give back to it in return. That system just doesn’t add up. Economically, any short-term obstacles will be greatly outweighed by the long-term benefits generated – less input costs, sustained practices, market-place preferences.”
“The change to a more sustainable, organically minded approach has been slow, and at times, difficult. There were a lot of unknowns – a lot of fears also. Implementing an organic program to specific guidelines is daunting. I had to change the way I visually saw the vineyard. Being okay with weeds, letting sheep run the vineyards, using new under-vine cultivators, new spray materials – it was a lot to take on board.”
The positive changes are ones that Perkins has seen in spades, with the increased efforts clearly showing greater benefits to come. “I’ve seen the way our onsite composting program has rejuvenated weak spots across our vineyard blocks,” he says, “the way our clover cover crops have locked in organic material for our vines to harness, while removing the need for chemical weed control. The way we hand-prune so uniquely to here, the way we hand-manage vine vigour so uniquely to here. Vineyard management is all about the increments. Each day it’s about the incremental shifts towards our end destination.”
Perkins notes that his background is very much in conventional grape-growing. “It was how I was brought up to think,” he says. “It was right versus wrong. The change to a more sustainable, organically minded approach has been slow, and at times, difficult. There were a lot of unknowns – a lot of fears also. Implementing an organic program to specific guidelines is daunting. I had to change the way I visually saw the vineyard. Being okay with weeds, letting sheep run the vineyards, using new under-vine cultivators, new spray materials – it was a lot to take on board.”
That challenge hasn’t abated either as the team push deeper into sustainability and organics. “I’m still confronted by it at times – particularly when the weather down here does what it can do, but I just pull back from the granular and keep in-mind the big picture purpose of it all. It’s great perspective,” says Perkins. “It’s such an exciting space, and I just need to remain patient and persistent – and pray for a little less spring rain!”
Although the Ghost Rock site is not isolated in many respects, it is in a viticultural sense, with no nearby grape-growing neighbours. As a consequence, Perkins says that that their approach has evolved in a very specific way in response to their environment. “There are no neighbours, no-one to follow or copy, no regional ‘manual’ or ‘playbook’ to follow,” he says. “We’ve had to crack the viticultural code completely independent here. It’s why our pruning program is so tailored, our vine spacings are tailored, our clone mix is tailored, our whole program is tailored and continually tested and teased. Improvement is part and parcel of our business and our team.”
That team is central to the advancement of methods and success of Ghost Rock, says Perkins. “We have such an inspiring team who are striving to achieve more and more with their positive attitude and work ethic,” he says. “Although now a 26-hectare vineyard, and growing, we make a conscious effort to treat every vine, every block as its own living thing. We can’t go wrong with that mentality.”
“There are no neighbours, no-one to follow or copy, no regional ‘manual’ or ‘playbook’ to follow,” he says. “We’ve had to crack the viticultural code completely independent here. It’s why our pruning program is so tailored, our vine spacings are tailored, our clone mix is tailored, our whole program is tailored and continually tested and teased. Improvement is part and parcel of our business and our team.”
Perkins notes that the local community is also now much more connected and engaged, caring about where their food and drink come from, and how they are farmed. That engagement is also present with other farmers in the region working together to improve the local environment. “We treat our vineyards as part of a greater eco-system of growers,” he says. “Collective work on water quality, native bushland preservation and crop diversification all form part of the union. The management of our land is everything, really. Our land is our commodity. Our land is our competitive advantage. Our business cannot operate without it. Simple.”
Ghost Rock grows, vinifies and bottles everything they produce, which not so long ago was a rarity in Tasmania, and it’s something that Perkins credits with being able to forensically examine their viticultural work. “This approach is fully designed to allow our viticulture work to shine through,” he says. “Our extensive trials with shoot thinning and leaf removal has had an undeniable impact on ripening and flavour development in our cooler years. Pinot noir is becoming our heartbeat. It just loves to cool, maritime life here. We’re seeing more red and dark berry characters push through in the wines to surround the spice and earth tones.”
That approach has paid equal dividends with other varieties, too, better expressing a significant site. “Our yield management work across our high-end chardonnay blocks has also been a success story,” says Perkins. “We’re now consistently picking ripe, clean and intensely flavoured fruit compared to the uncontrolled years where disease and under-ripeness could easily compromise our work. This improved fruit profile is allowing the winery team to utilise more ambitious yeast and oak regimes to craft premium wines. Not many people can say they’ve pioneered their own wine region. That alone is pretty special. And the fact that we’ve cracked the viticulture code here, that we’ve proven it can be done and done to an international standard. It takes a special site to do that.”
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