When vignerons Stuart Bryce and Andrew Hood walked into Tasmania's Department of Primary Industries 20 years ago to propose planting vines, they were made a laughing stock. 'Plant maize,' said the government, 'there's no future in grapes.' One of the planet's most southerly islands, Tasmania has long been known for its isolation, wilderness and ability to produce four seasons in one day. But Bryce and Hood were convinced grapes could flourish and vowed to follow their dreams, the fruits of which have recently sent excitement rippling through the international wine scene. Tasmania's wine industry is booming and is at the forefront of one of the island's latest tourist ventures: self-drive wine tours.
Gazing over his small but abundant vineyard outside Lilydale in northeast Tasmania, Bryce laughs at the government's shortsightedness of old. The Sydneysider was a pilot for the Royal Australian Air Force, but gave up his career after driving through Lilydale's lush rolling hills and abundant forests while on holiday in the early 1980s. The basalt-rich soils coupled with warm summers and cool winters are similar to that of Champagne in France, and ideal for ripening grapes slowly and developing the intense, delicate and refined flavours essential in sparkling and dry white wines.
Grapes weren't new to the small acreage established by fifth-generation winemaker and French migrant Jean Migeau in the 1950s, which Bryce bought soon after his holiday. Migeau was ostracised by the conservative locals for brewing alcohol, but he sewed the seeds for the future of wine. Some of the old vines still stand, including a row of pinot noir that Bryce prizes above all others and used to make his celebrated pinot noir reserve, winner of the Australian Pinot Noir Challenge two years in a row.
Tasmania's wine industry couldn't have blossomed at a better time. After years spent struggling for recognition, the island's gourmet food and wines are setting new standards in quality. Tasmania is Australia's leading producer of cheese, oysters, salmon, abalone, olives and mustard, as well as saffron, wasabi, ginseng, straw-berries, cherries and apples. All produce draws on the island's greatest assets: clean air and water. So pop a cork at the wineries listed here and sample the fruit of the vines that flourish in pristine conditions.
THE ROUTE
In the north