Tassie is fast becoming Australia’s new wine frontier, producing grapes more like those of Europe than the mainland. It’s a cool climate region that is well-suited to making wines with fresh, natural acidity.
Pinot Noir is the state’s dominant red and accounts for almost half of Tasmania’s vineyards. It’s also used to make world-class sparkling wine.
Pinot Gris
Pinot Gris is a white grape that produces refreshing and zesty wines. It’s a mutation of the pinot noir grape and is sometimes called grigio or grauburgunder in Germany.
Generally speaking, a pinot gris wine will have less acidity than a chardonnay or sauvignon blanc. Some styles are drier and more complex than others, often with more oak influence.
Tasmania’s Pinot Gris is a variety that can be made in a wide range of styles, from a delicate style that is lighter on alcohol to more robust, heavier styles. It also has the versatility to be used as a blending component in many different styles of wine.
The best pinot gris wines from Tasmania are dry, supple and have the weight, spice, aromatics and acidity to make them truly flavoursome, food-friendly and complex. They can be enjoyed on their own, but they also pair well with fresh vegetables and raw fish.
If you’re looking for a softer, fruity pinot gris wine then look out for wines that have been aged in neutral barrels. This imparts a creamier texture and may slightly reduce some of the acidity in the wine.
Depending on where the grapes are grown, you will often find aromas and flavors of lime, lemon, pears, apple and white nectarine. Some styles can also take on floral notes like honeysuckle, saline minerality or even faint honeyed notes.
Tasmania’s best pinot grigios are typically made from young vines, which produce fruity and aromatic wines that have a soft palate and a smooth finish. They are a great choice for drinking now or aging. They are also versatile enough to be served with a variety of foods, including cheeses, pasta dishes and salads.
Chardonnay
The best Tasmanian wines are usually made from Chardonnay, a white grape that has long been hailed as a resilient and adaptable winemaker’s friend. It’s not hard to see why: the grape is easy to grow, and its ripening cycles are perfect for producing high-quality wines.
However, this popular white wine can be over-oaked and can become too rich or too buttery, so it’s important to keep your options open when it comes to pairing it with foods. Unoaked versions can be enjoyed on their own, or they’ll pair well with delicate, white meats like chicken or fish. If you’re looking for an oaky version, try it with roasted or smoked meats.
It is also an excellent wine to serve with cheeses. Its fruity flavour is intense and will compliment many different types of cheese, including hard mountain cheeses such as Emmental and Comte.
Unlike Pinot Noir, it doesn’t require oaking to develop its flavours. Instead, it ages on yeast lees to develop deeper texture.
Tasmanian vineyards are renowned for producing cool-climate wines that taste distinctly different to other wines from Australia’s warmer regions. This is because the island’s pristine waters, mild summer temperatures and nutrient-rich soil encourage grapes to ripen slowly on vines, and a low temperature means that the fruit retains its acidity.
This cool climate has a long history of encouraging viticulture, though a break in activity occurred in the mid-19th century when commercial farming declined. Today, there are around 200 wineries in Tasmania.
It is no surprise then that Tasmanian winemakers are winning major awards on the international stage. The latest is the Coal River Valley’s 2021 Tolpuddle Vineyard Chardonnay, which was named White Wine of the Year by British-based Decanter magazine. This is great news for the winery, and it tops off an excellent 12 months for them.
Sauvignon Blanc
Tasmania has a reputation for being one of the leading producers of cool climate wines, with pinot noir and chardonnay the mainstays. The state also makes a number of sparkling wines and is now recognised for its richer reds, such as cabernet sauvignon and merlot.
Sauvignon Blanc is a very distinctive grape, and the flavors that it can impart can vary from region to region. In France, for example, it will have a flinty, earthy flavor, while New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc tends to be brighter and fruitier.
While Sauvignon Blanc is a great wine to drink on its own, it also pairs well with many other foods. For example, sushi pairs well with this type of white because of its light and refreshing tropical fruits. You can also pair it with a number of other dishes that have subtle herb flavors, such as salads and chicken dishes.
If you are looking for a delicious, easy-drinking sauvignon blanc that will pair well with many different meals, look no further than Bread & Butter’s Sauvignon Blanc. This crisp, refreshing white is a perfect choice for relaxing and social gatherings, and it’s very affordable as well.
It has soft, expressive aromas of citrus and melon that are perfectly balanced with lively acidity to produce a delicious, light-bodied wine. You can drink it with a variety of dishes, including pasta and grilled meats.
Sauvignon Blanc is also used in making some delicious blends, such as Eileen Hardy’s. These blended wines are often infused with apricot and honeysuckle flavors, which make them a wonderful wine to serve to guests. They can also be aged and will last for a long time.
Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir is a grape that is widely grown in the world and considered one of the most elegant wine styles. It is known for achieving exceptional quality in some of the world’s finest cool climate wine regions, including Tasmania.
There are many different varieties of Pinot Noir, from savoury and structured to fruit-driven and youthful styles. The range of styles varies according to the producer and vineyard location, but there is always a Pinot Noir to suit every taste.
Some of the best Pinots from Australia are made in Tasmania, which is one of the most exciting and dynamic wine growing regions in the country. These wines are not just delicious, but also have the potential to age incredibly well.
They can be dry, with a little residual sugar remaining after fermentation. This is a good thing because it can help to enhance flavours, but they are usually not fully dry.
The best Pinots are made by producers who take care of their vines, so that they remain healthy and productive. This ensures that the grapes ripen evenly and are free from rot, which can cause the fruit to shrivel or become unrecognizable.
Pinots in Tasmania are also a great match for seafood dishes, and they pair particularly well with artisan cheeses. In addition, the island state’s maritime climate makes it one of the most suitable places for Pinot Noir to grow.
In addition, a number of winemakers have embraced the opportunity to create new wines from this wonderful grape. The result is a new breed of high-quality, expressive Pinots from a region that has only been growing it for 40 years. With this new generation of winemakers, Tasmania is quickly establishing itself as one of the best Pinot Noir producing regions in the country.
Riesling
Riesling is a grape that’s grown mainly in Tasmania, and it’s one of the state’s most important varieties. It produces both dry and off-dry wines that are considered among the best in the world.
A moderate maritime climate allows the grapes to ripen slowly, which ensures the natural acidity that gives these wines their freshness and balance. This is why riesling from Tasmania is considered to be the best of the white wines from this country.
There are many different styles of riesling from this region, including dry, off-dry and sweet ones. Some wineries even use the French approach of barrel fermentation to make a more complex and aromatic style of riesling.
These wines are a great addition to your cellar. They will keep for years and you will love how they age in time.
This wine has a vibrant, expressive and layered bouquet with notes of ripe forest berries, sour plum, ripe black cherries and spiced whole bunch. Its palate is full and expressive with bright acidity and fine tannins.
It’s got a lot of depth and complexity to the flavour, with layers of berry fruit and whole bunch spice backed up by a hint of vanilla from the oak. There’s also some stony minerals in the background, which add to the overall balance of this wine.
This is another fantastic success story for the Tasmanian wine industry. A Riesling from a tiny vineyard has beaten wines from all over the world to win the International Riesling Challenge. It is a testament to the quality of the grapes in this region, and a proof that the potential in Tasmania is being realised.