Have sparkling plans for summer? For some of the best quality – and best value – sparkling wines in the world, buy Tasmanian. Just don’t leave it too long.
No one loves an underdog more than Australia. Over the past decade, our smallest state has done us proud in fine-wine circles, particularly when it comes to sparkling wines. Punching well above its weight, Tasmania is now producing some of the finest bubbles outside the high walls of Champagne’s famous houses, and the wine world is noticing.
It’s why there’s never been a better time to invest in Tasmanian sparkling wine, before the bubble bursts and word spreads.
Earlier this year, at the International Wine Challenge (IWC) 2024, Tasmanian Ed Carr was announced as Sparkling Winemaker of the Year. Overnight, the maker behind House of Arras sparkling wine became the first Australian to win in the 40-year history of the prestigious awards, and only the second winemaker ever from outside of Champagne. But for those in the know, this nod was just the latest sign of Tassie’s growing grape dominance.
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Even by Australian terms, Tasmania’s winemaking industry is young. It wasn’t until the 1950s that commercial winemaking really took off down south, but the island state has well and truly made up for lost time. It might still be one of the smallest wine producers by output, but it’s one of the most valuable in the whole country.
Tassie’s cold climate makes it a dream growing territory for two important grapes: pinot noir and chardonnay. Together, this duo are the most common varietals used in sparkling wines worldwide, including Champagne.
In the Tamar Valley region outside of Launceston, winemakers such as Josef Chromy of eponymous Josef Chromy Wines, Ed Carr at House of Arras, Natalie Fryar from Bellebonne and Andrew Pirie of Apogee were some of the first to recognise the promise of this unpredictable geographical zone, with its Bass Strait ocean breezes, fierce summer sun and crisp, cool winters.
“Andrew, Ed and I have been screaming from that mountaintop for 25 years. We believe so hard in this.” Fryar told a room of tasters recently, at the annual Effervescence Festival on the lawns of Josef Chromy. “I’ve been making sparkling wines since 1996. And every day, it’s still magic.”
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With a few decades of winemaking in the region under their belt, these sparkling legends are now taking on Champagne houses with hundreds of years of pedigree, and making them nervous (“Give me 300 years,” Fryar quipped). French makers such as G.H.Mumm have even begun producing Tasmanian vintages, keen to tap into the liquid gold.
This all bubbles down to a golden opportunity for Australian wine lovers. Instead of heading straight for the Champagne section, buying Tasmanian sparkling wine this summer is likely to give you parity in quality, without the brand-name mark up.
Older vintage Tasmanian sparklings are now reaching an age where they’ll give you all the creamy, toasty notes prized in a vintage Champagnes. While younger, vibrant Tasmanian non-vintage wines deliver all the easy-drinking joys of big names such as Moët & Chandon Impérial Brut and Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label, with less carbon miles. Best of all, it’s not miles away if you want to go straight to the source.
The best Tamar Valley wineries
You don’t have to drive far from pocket rocket Launceston to hit a grapevine. Just 10 minutes outside city limits, Josef Chromy Wines is one of the best starting points. Josef Chromy was just 19 when he fled Soviet-occupied Czechoslovakia and discovered a passion for cool-climate wines. Seventy-five years later, his family’s refined estate is still one of the most beautiful places to sip a tasting flight of elegant sparkling wines, overlooking the willow-fringed lake and vine-lined hills.
Towards the northern reaches of the Tamar, the striking cellar door at Clover Hill rises angularly from a green hillside; it’s only 10 minutes on to the famed Pipers Brook Vineyard first planted by Andrew Pirie, years before he ‘retired’ (poorly) and went on to found acclaimed Apogee (open by appointment only).
It’s well worth booking in, also, at family owned Delamere Vineyards nearby; and dropping by its neighbour Jansz, a sparkling wine powerhouse. That is only the tip of the iceberg in a region home to more than 30 vineyards. Leave boot space. And if you ever want advice, don’t be afraid to ask the experts – no-one in this tight-knit industry hesitates to sing the praises of their neighbours.
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