On the trail of Tasmania’s best bubbly

From the lush bucolic hills of the Tamar Valley to the striking edge of Hobart’s harbour, the places you’ll sample Tassie’s top sparkling producers are as delicious as the drinks themselves. Use this selection of best-in-state sparkling wine makers to inspire your next road stop – all the better if you decide to stay a while…

Back in 1988, when winemaker Ed Carr was looking for a location to produce Australian sparkling wine that would rival what Champagne had to offer, he decided the cool climate, ancient soils and clean air of Tasmania would be just about perfect. More than 50 trophies and 500 medals later, House of Arras is arguably Australia’s foremost sparkling wine producer. The Bay of Fires cellar door (located in Pipers River, north of Launceston) is the place to sample these beautiful aged wines: try a Premium Arras Tasting Experience ($55) or a more informal tasting, perhaps with a Tasmanian platter lunch.

The opening late last year of an architecturally dazzling cellar door is a very good excuse to call in at Clover Hill. Rammed earth walls, exposed beams, a lavish lounge area and concertina doors opening out onto a large deck overlooking vines and Bass Strait make this a suitably remarkable spot to taste some extraordinary wines. Another contender for the crown of Australia’s best sparkling producer, Clover Hill invites you to step up to the tasting bench ($5, redeemable with a purchase) or join an Elite Experience ($75), which includes a guided in-depth tasting of some of Clover Hill’s most prestigious wines, plus tapas and platters.

Just around the corner from Clover Hill, a plot of just two hectares (the average size of a holding in Champagne) is producing small batches (no more than 20,000 bottles a year in total) of outstanding sparkling wine, entirely from grapes grown on site. Legendary Tasmanian wine figure Andrew Pirie, founder of Pipers Brook and Ninth Island, is the man behind Apogee, which means ‘highest point’ (highly appropriate for the way Tasmanian sparkling wine is heading), and is proof that small really can be beautiful. Cellar door visits are by appointment only. 

There are several good reasons to visit Moorilla. Firstly, this historic Hobart winery has been reimagined in recent years and is now attached to MONA, the infamously outrageous Museum of Old and New Art that has several very funky spaces in which to eat and drink in style. Secondly, the Moorilla cellar door features views of vines, mountains and river, and has a giant John Olsen artwork on the ceiling. Thirdly, Moorilla offers lots of different experiences, including super-luxe sleepovers and a Posh-As Day Out ($379 for VIP ferry transfer, a private tour, lunch and more). Oh, and fourthly, because Moorilla’s boutique sparkling wines – such as the Cloth Label Late Disgorged 2006 – are works of art in themselves.

If you want to understand why Tasmania has become such a world leader in sparkling wine, and what exactly is involved in making some of the world’s best bubbly, sign up for The Art of Sparkling Experience ($235) at Josef Chromy. A tasting and two-course lunch at the winery’s much-lauded restaurant is followed by a behind-the-scenes tour that will help explain what makes these bubbles so beautiful. It’s one of several experiences at Josef Chromy that take in fly-fishing, golf, seven-course degustations and bicycle tours of this remarkable winery that has become one of Tasmania’s must-visit gourmet destinations.  

Information included in this blog is correct at the time of publishing. Please contact individual operators for further information.