House of Arras

The House of Arras, headed up by winemaker Ed Carr. Arras has only been established since 1988, but its sparkling wines are legendary in Tasmania and worldwide. Most House of Arras wines spend 3 to 10 years on lees. Arras wines develop further with cork age, although most of the ageing is achieved over the wine-making. Arras holds its wines for a minimum of six months prior to release, in order for them to reach a point of harmony with the dosage.  Ed Carr has earned more than 100 trophies in Australian wine shows including 21 consecutive ‘Best Sparkling White Wine of the Show’ awards. He was the only winemaker outside of Champagne to be awarded Lifetime Achievement Award at the Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships in London in late 2018.

Jansz

Established in 1986, Jansz Tasmania specialises in crafting luxury sparkling wines from Tasmania. In a joint venture with Heemskerk, Louis Roederer recognised the similarities of the Tasmanian climate to that of Champagne and together they planted Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vines. It was this foresight which led to the production of the first Tasmanian vintage sparkling wine in 1989 using traditional Méthode Champenoise; a tradition that continues today. Now Australian owned by the Hill-Smith family since 1998, the vineyard was renamed Jansz Tasmania, paying homage to Abel Janszoon Tasman who first sighted the island in 1642.

Apogee

When we talk about Apogee we are talking about Dr. Andrew Pirie, Australia's first PhD in Viticulture, founder of Pipers Brook, and the most influential figure in the Tasmanian wine industry for 4 decades. Dr Pirie launched Tasmania onto the world wine scene when his inaugural 1994 Ninth Island Chardonnay took the white wine trophy at the International Wine Challenge in London. His name still appears on the label of the wine dubbed as 'the greatest sparkling wine made outside of Champagne!' In 2001 he was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for services to the Tasmanian wine and tourism industries and the list goes on and on. In 2011 he was awarded Best White Wine in Sweden for the Pirie Estate Riesling 2007, produced in the Tamar Valley. At Apogee, Dr. Pirie has 3 rules.

Tasmania offers an impressive range of elegant cool-climate wines starring Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon in the main and also, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, and Gewürztraminer. The most important grapes are light-bodied Pinot Noir, elegant grapefruity Chardonnay, and fine aromatic Rieslings. So good are the grapes that Moët's Domaine Chandon ships grapes from the island to its Yarra Valley winery. Growing grapes in a cool climate, such as Tasmania or Champagne, is not without its challenges. It is far from easy, especially when it comes to Pinot Noir, a difficult grape varietal to cultivate. If it gets extremely cold, there is a concern that the grapes will ripen at all – a stressful time for the winemaker. Then there is the risk of frost, which could wipe out the entire crop, as well as the possibility of fungal disease. As with all cool-climate regions, yields are low in bothTasmania and Champagne, but the quality is exceptional, which is why grapes grown there fetch higher prices than similar regions in other countries.

History

Tasmania's first recorded vineyard was planted way back in 1823 and Australia's first sparkling wine was made in Tasmania in 1826. One of the very first experiments with grapevines in Tasmania resulted in a wine that was proudly shown at a Paris exhibition in 1848. The first commercial production of Sparkling Burgundy Style wine was produced by a French winemaker at the Victorian Champagne Company in 1881. The island’s wine production all but disappeared until the 1950s. At that time, some enterprising migrants from Europe recognised the similarities in Tasmania of the soils and climate with the great grape growing regions of their homelands, and began to challenge and disprove the theory that Tasmania was too far south for grapes to ripen. In 1951, Jean Miguet a French winemaker from Provence arrived in northern Tasmania to find a land with soils and climate similar to his homeland. Jean planted a vineyard at Lalla, east of Launceston, named it La Provence and began making wine. Tasmania’s modern wine industry began in the early-1960s when Moorilla Estate was planted and now home to the Mona Art Museum.

Terroir

Despite being thousands of miles away from each other, the climate and soil in Tasmania is similar to Champagne. One of the defining characteristics of the soil in both Tasmania and Champagne is the quartz and clay structure, which provides the minerality and natural acid structure, and good drainage, as both can experience high rainfall. The climate is similar to Champagne and parts of the Rhine Valley with 40% of the annual rainfall comes during the growing season, high humidity, and spring frosts. They both experience cold winters and mild summers. The average temperature during the growing season in Champagne is 18°C, and in Tasmania it is 21°C. This creates a long ripening period for the grapes to develop acidity and clean refreshing flavours, essential for sparkling wine that will age well.  Strong winds blowing off the Indian Ocean, Bass Strait, and Tasman Sea help keep a consistent maritime climate. Mild spring and summer temperatures, with warm autumn days and cool nights allow the grapes to ripen slowly on the vine, which helps them develop intense flavours with a refreshing structure and natural balance.  However, there is a much higher diurnal temperature variation in the South compared to the North. 

Tasmania Wine Adventures

You will probably want to stay at least 5 days on this exquisite island to experience one of the world's best luxury lodges and have fun in Hobart, but if you have 2 or 3 days its enough time to discover Australia's best Sparkling Wine producers.

Multi Region Journeys