James Gill George Bass is best known for circumnavigating Tasmania with Matthew Flinders, but he also had an eye for grape-growing country. Sailing up the Derwent in 1802 he remarked in his diary that “the banks of the Derwent seemed admirably adapted for grain, vines and pasturage.” He was right, because by 1827 Matthew Broughton was advertising “grape wine made in imitation of champaigne”, and other still wines from his farm at New Town. Broughton was a convict who received a conditional pardon not long after arriving in Van Diemans Land. By 1823 he had purchased Prospect Farm and planted fruit trees as well as vines. This and other still wine Broughton made were soon winning admiration throughout the colony. Broughton died in his early thirties in 1828 and left the farm to his wife and her relatives, none of whom had much interest in farming or viticulture. The farm was then leased and later purchased by Captain Swanston who increased grape plantings and put the vineyard on a more commercial footing. He produced sherry, liqueurs, champagne and “claret”. Swanston’s wine won international and mainland recognition, but unfortunately he was ruined in the 1840s bank crash and died in 1850. He is also remembered for selling some grape cuttings to John Reynell in the 1830s, these providing the foundations of the South Australian wine industry. On his death the vineyard disappeared and the farm was gradually broken up. Other small vineyards were planted in the early days throughout the colony at Risdon Creek, Moonah and the Coal River Valley in the south, Falmouth on the east coast, and Breadalbane and Windermere in the north. Dr Mathias Gaunt planted the Windermere vineyard and his name has been commemorated in Moorilla’s St Mathias label. All these early vineyards eventually foundered and disappeared. Many reasons have been advanced for the industry’s demise: glass bottles were very rare, expensive and brittle; viticultural expertise was in short supply, as was labour when numerous fit men took off to the Victorian goldfield mid-century, many never to return; and fungal disease may have arrived with the importation of various plants into the colony. The most popular wines in those days were sherry and port styles, wines which were fortified with distilled grape spirit. The authorities in Van Diemans Land prohibited stills throughout the 19th century, so anybody wanting to produce fortified wine had to import the spirit either from New South Wales or overseas, both very expensive undertakings. In the 1880s Diego Bernacchi, an Italian who had been working in the silk trade in Europe, migrated to Australia to start a sericulture industry. He came to Tasmania because he believed it had the best climate to plant mulberry tees for silkworms, and immediately fell in love with Maria Island. By late 1884 he had a lease on the island and plans to develop a range of industries, including sericulture, wine-making, a cement works, farming and fishing. He purchased 50,000 vine cuttings from the De Castella family vineyard, St Huberts, in the Yarra Valley, and within three years was producing excellent wine. But the whole project soon fell into financial difficulty, partly because of the depression of the early 1890s, but also because Bernacchi’s grandiose ideas were far too ambitious. He left the island and the vines and fruit trees were soon swallowed up by native vegetation and marauding wallabies. From then the industry died until in the late 1950s when two Europeans, one a Frenchman and the other an Italian, started a renaissance. Claudio Alcorso was the Italian who built his company Silk and Textiles into a large business, while Jean Miguet was an engineer with the Hydro Electric Commission. Alcorso planted grapes at his waterfront estate at Berriedale on the northern outskirts of Hobart, and named his vineyard “Moorilla”, a Tasmanian aboriginal word for “A rock by the water”. Miguet planted grapes at Lalla north-east of Launceston and his vineyard, “La Provence”, was born. Now called Providence it still produces excellent cool climate wine from a range of varieties, as does Moorilla. Their pioneering work inspired others, and some fifty years later the state is now home to over 240 vineyards, and the industry is here to stay. <p>George Bass is best known for circumnavigating Tasmania with Matthew Flinders, but he also had an eye for grape-growing country. Sailing up the Derwent in 1802 he remarked in his diary that “the banks of the Derwent seemed admirably adapted for grain, vines and pasturage.” He was right, because by 1827 Matthew Broughton was advertising “grape wine made in imitation of champaigne”, and other still wines from his farm at New Town. Broughton was a convict who received a conditional pardon not long after arriving in Van Diemans Land. By 1823 he had purchased Prospect Farm and planted fruit trees as well as vines. This and other still wine Broughton made were soon winning admiration throughout the colony. Broughton died in his early thirties in 1828 and left the farm to his wife and her relatives, none of whom had much interest in farming or viticulture.</p> <p>The farm was then leased and later purchased by Captain Swanston who increased grape plantings and put the vineyard on a more commercial footing. He produced sherry, liqueurs, champagne and “claret”. Swanston’s wine won international and mainland recognition, but unfortunately he was ruined in the 1840s bank crash and died in 1850. He is also remembered for selling some grape cuttings to John Reynell in the 1830s, these providing the foundations of the South Australian wine industry. On his death the vineyard disappeared and the farm was gradually broken up.</p> <p>Other small vineyards were planted in the early days throughout the colony at Risdon Creek, Moonah and the Coal River Valley in the south, Falmouth on the east coast, and Breadalbane and Windermere in the north. Dr Mathias Gaunt planted the Windermere vineyard and his name has been commemorated in Moorilla’s St Mathias label. All these early vineyards eventually foundered and disappeared. Many reasons have been advanced for the industry’s demise: glass bottles were very rare, expensive and brittle; viticultural expertise was in short supply, as was labour when numerous fit men took off to the Victorian goldfield mid-century, many never to return; and fungal disease may have arrived with the importation of various plants into the colony. The most popular wines in those days were sherry and port styles, wines which were fortified with distilled grape spirit. The authorities in Van Diemans Land prohibited stills throughout the 19th century, so anybody wanting to produce fortified wine had to import the spirit either from New South Wales or overseas, both very expensive undertakings.</p> <p>In the 1880s Diego Bernacchi, an Italian who had been working in the silk trade in Europe, migrated to Australia to start a sericulture industry. He came to Tasmania because he believed it had the best climate to plant mulberry tees for silkworms, and immediately fell in love with Maria Island. By late 1884 he had a lease on the island and plans to develop a range of industries, including sericulture, wine-making, a cement works, farming and fishing. He purchased 50,000 vine cuttings from the De Castella family vineyard, St Huberts, in the Yarra Valley, and within three years was producing excellent wine. But the whole project soon fell into financial difficulty, partly because of the depression of the early 1890s, but also because Bernacchi’s grandiose ideas were far too ambitious. He left the island and the vines and fruit trees were soon swallowed up by native vegetation and marauding wallabies.</p> <p>From then the industry died until in the late 1950s when two Europeans, one a Frenchman and the other an Italian, started a renaissance. Claudio Alcorso was the Italian who built his company Silk and Textiles into a large business, while Jean Miguet was an engineer with the Hydro Electric Commission. Alcorso planted grapes at his waterfront estate at Berriedale on the northern outskirts of Hobart, and named his vineyard “Moorilla”, a Tasmanian aboriginal word for “A rock by the water”. Miguet planted grapes at Lalla north-east of Launceston and his vineyard, “La Provence”, was born. Now called Providence it still produces excellent cool climate wine from a range of varieties, as does Moorilla. Their pioneering work inspired others, and some fifty years later the state is now home to over 240 vineyards, and the industry is here to stay.</p> 2008-07-23T17:04:16+10:00 about-tasmanian-wine 358952 2008-07-23T17:04:16+10:00 84802 2008-08-28T10:00:43+10:00