If you said “Tasmanian” you would probably expect someone to follow with “devil”, but would you ever expect to hear “wine”? If you have any interest at all in exceptional wines, you should. This small island state off the southeast coast of Australia is home to more than 300 wineries that are producing vintages to rival the best of Europe’s best. Like the Pinot Noir of Burgundy, the Riesling of Germany, the Sauvignon Blanc of the Loir Valley, or the sparkling wines of Champagne, Tasmania produces exceptional quality wines in all varieties.
Unlike much of the rest of Australia, the climate in Tasmania is cooler – more like the vineyards in Europe – allowing for growth cool weather varietal grapes like Pinot Noir, which constitutes nearly half of all wine production in Tasmania. Next in production is Riesling, with nearly every Tasmanian winery producing at least one variety. When it comes to sparkling wines, nobody does it like Champagne – but Tasmania runs a close second. With a tip of their hats to Champagne’s long history of wine making and the development of skill and knowledge that comes only with time, vintners in Tasmania’s young wineries know that they are cultivating top quality fruit and producing world-class sparkling wines.
Perhaps a major contributor to the consistency of the high quality of Tasmanian wines stems from the appellation regulation that stipulates Tasmania may not use any fruit in their wines that was not grown locally. Tasmanians are very proud of the wines they produce, and local demands for them – either through retail distribution, restaurant wine programs, or cellar door sales direct from the wineries – are quite high. In fact, not much of the Tasmania’s wine gets distributed abroad because it sells out so quickly at home, making costly shipment outside the state not necessary.
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