Crafting the Good Stuff
This is how we grow and make those lovely drops of wine - it gets into a little bit of detail, which isn't of interest to everyone - but, hey, you clicked the link so you must enjoy it 😊
Tasmania is the southern most wine region in Australia, and the coolest. We have the most varied soils of any region - if a type exists in the world, we have it. And we have the largest concentration of Jurassic Dolerite geology in the world, giving us an outstanding landscape (think Cradle Mountain, Wineglass Bay, kunyanyi/Mt Wellington) and resultant fine wine. Tasmania is a pretty cool place; we even hosted the International Cool Climate Symposium in 2012.
Being so far south, on an island exposed to the Roaring Forties, presents unique challenges for our growers and makers. Rain, lack of rain, hail, snow, wind (lots of wind), but also plentiful sunshine - it makes it hard and risky to craft these wines, but our people are very talented. Part of their skill comes through application of the VinØ Best Management Program, a way to measure, monitor and improve practices. This program has been developed by our hard-working and voluntary Technical Committee, which helps to inform the Board about all things, well, “technical”.
We have a whole lot more “technical” information for our members, including managing vineyards, pests and disease info, conference papers, research notes, blah, blah. Trust us, it is good stuff, but then we're really, really into wine 😉
Oh, and we should mention Biosecurity (did I hear you yawn?). Biosecurity is a shared responsibility between wine businesses, consumers (you) and Government. We all need to work together to ensure that viticulture life continues in Tasmania. Tasmania enjoys a natural advantage over “mainland” Australia (or the big island) - by working together we can help to ensure the Bass Strait barrier is strong and protecting.
Of the pests and diseases endemic to Australia, our greatest biosecurity threat is Grape Phylloxera. This tiny insect pest destroys vines by feeding on their roots.
Please don’t walk in vineyards without asking first!
Finally, TasVine is a map of every vineyard location in Tasmania (not cellar doors!) which can help fire managers predict where smoke will travel and help to minimise the risk to vineyards presented by smoke exposure.
INVESTMENT INFORMATION
There is an understandable interest in Tasmania's wine sector, with a lot of people thinking about dabbling in a little vineyard here. Sure, it sounds romantic - but it is a very capital and labour intensive pursuit, which comes with a lot of risk. As with any other new business pursuit, it is important to undertake thorough research and planning before investing time, money and effort in a new venture. To this end, Wine Tasmania has developed a range of information to assist anyone considering entering the Tasmanian wine sector, as we are keen to ensure the realities of managing a cool climate vineyard and developing a sustainable wine business are well understood by anyone new to the sector. For further information, including an investor checklist, details of vineyards for sale and potential partnerships please register your interest here.
Please click the links below to discover important industry information, statistics and other relevant documentation.