Tasmania’s most lauded red wines may be its pinot noirs, but the first red wine grapes to be planted there in the modern era were Bordeaux varieties. This wine shows that there’s also plenty of joy to be found in Tasmania’s richer reds.
Tasmania’s most lauded red wines may be its pinot noirs, but the first red wine grapes to be planted there in the modern era were Bordeaux varieties. This wine shows that there’s also plenty of joy to be found in Tasmania’s richer reds.
Many of us dream of working for ourselves, but not everyone has the courage to pursue the dream – and fewer still do so with a goodly dose of introspection and humility. This is the path that Thomas New has taken on his journey to founding Future Perfect – his label dedicated to lo-fi, cool climate winemaking, circling around chardonnay and pinot noir. With no formal training as a winemaker – but plenty of experience from his former label La Petite Mort and subsequent vintages across Australia and around the world – New crafts wines that bottle the cool-climate freshness of his Tasmanian terroir.
There’s an old saying: “Good wine is made in the vineyard.” Winemaker Sierra Blair adds a self-deprecating coda: “ … and fucked up in the winery.” Having grown up in a family of California grape growers before studying viticulture and oenology at UC Davis, Blair has an intimate understanding of the relationship between what happens in the vineyard and what happens in the cellar. After graduating, she worked vintages in various regions of California, France, New Zealand and Australia, before falling in love with Tasmania. She has worked as a winemaker at Ghost Rock on the Cradle Coast since 2019, crafting their extensive range of estate wines – pinots noir, meunier, and gris, chardonnay, and sauvignon blanc, as well as single-site expressions of many of the above, rosé, and traditional method sparkling wines – alongside Ghost Rock’s more experimental Supernatural range, plus a small side project of her own in Zymo Wines. With her eye on both sides of the growing/making coin, Blair’s wines balance winemaker know-how with a deep respect for the work that goes into the fruit she uses.
Tasmanian wine industry legend Andrew Pirie flexes his muscles with this impressive pinot noir. Bright and supple, with a surprising amount of ripe fruit on the palate, this wine shows the potential of Burgundian savoir-faire applied to Tasmanian terroir.
In the Tamar Valley, Matthias and Lauren Utzinger planted their vineyard in 2018 – now certified organic – at an impressive density of 6,500 vines per hectare. Wines for the Utzinger label come from their own land, as well as three additional vineyards where Matthias is hands-on in the vines – he has the vigneron ethos that wine are “grown, not made”. The Utzinger wine range showcases Tasmanian classics such as Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Riesling, and a ‘Fumé’ Sauvignon Blanc. Looking ahead, the Utzingers plan to introduce alternative varieties to their range, importing vine cuttings from Matthias’s homeland of Switzerland, promising an exciting future for this Tasmanian project.
Luke Andree kicked off Sonnen Wine in 2020, releasing a riesling and pinot noir. That came when he was spending most of his time out in the open, tending the vines for Mewstone in Tasmania’s south. Although a side project at the time, the Sonnen label has grown to occupy much of Andree’s time, with a range that meanders through different approaches, with new takes on classic varieties and eccentric blending to achieve modern styles of wine that lean towards bright drinkability with an emphasis on unpretentiousness and good times.
Justin Folloso’s career direction snapped into vivid clarity at a Young Gun tasting in 2018. An epiphany with a Tasmanian pinot noir saw him pack his bags and head back to his home state, taking on winery work and travelling overseas to work in Burgundy and California. Today, while working for an iconic Tasmanian winery in his ‘day’ job, Folloso is crafting his own wines at his modest home facility. The launch of the brand comes in 2023, releasing two Coal River Valley pinot noirs from the 2021 vintage and a textural oak-aged sauvignon blanc from 2022.
Pipers Brook Vineyard is nearing its fiftieth anniversary, having long ago confirmed its icon status in Tasmania. Playing to the island’s strengths, pinot noir and chardonnay for still and sparkling wines are a key thread, with aromatic whites arguably playing just as important a role. Today, Sudeep Parial manages the winery under the direction of Luke Whittle, shaping the classically styled wines across four ranges.
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