Winery marks 50-year love affair with Tassie's cool character

When he arrived there in 2016 it was on a short, three-month winemaking contract - and he never left.

"I was ducking in to do a vintage on my way back home to New Zealand," he said. "My passion was always for cool-climate wines - I'd previously done vintages in New Zealand, Germany, Canada and central Victoria.

"Tasmania was just a quick stop, but I fell in love with the place and the wines. It all just made sense."

By 2018 all wines produced by Pipers Brook were under his direction - and still are today - and he was officially named chief winemaker in 2019.

This year, Pipers Brook, in the Tamar Valley about 45 minutes north of Launceston, celebrates its 50th birthday, and it would be hard to overstate the significant role it has played in Tasmania's emergence as one of the world's premier cool-climate wine regions.

In a state dominated by boutique family operations, Pipers Brook is a monolith, producing north of 80,000 cases annually, with almost 200 hectares of vines.

"That's not large by national standards, but for Tasmania it's huge," Whittle said.

Aside from the Pipers Brook brand, he is responsible for the highly-credentialled Kreglinger sparkling wines, and the easy-drinking Ninth Island range.

"Our Pipers Brook Estate range and the Kreglinger vintage sparklings are our flagships," he said.

While Tasmania is considered a relative newcomer on the Australian wine scene, few people realise its long history.

The first vines there were planted as far back as 1823 - by an ex-convict no less, when Bartholomew Broughton put in vines and fruit trees at Prospect, creating Tasmania's first commercial vineyard.

But despite this brave, if unlikely start, the Tasmanian wine industry didn't take off, and was effectively dead and buried for generations.

Then, in the 1950s, some enterprising migrants from Europe defied the sceptics who said Tasmania was too cold for grapes, and again planted vines.

Today, Tasmania's wine pedigree is beyond question.

"Our sparkling wines and pinot noir get serious international recognition these days," Whittle said. "But one of the things about Tasmania is the number of varieties we do well.

"Chardonnay and riesling for sure, but also the aromatic whites like gewurztraminer, pinot gris and sauvignon blanc do incredibly well here."

For Whittle though, the pinot and sparkling are what really drive him.

The challenge of the notoriously finicky pinot noir, dazzling at its best, but so temperamental, is obvious.

Sparkling on the other hand, is love-hate - an entirely different challenge.

"It's an incredible game of patience," he said. "You have these fantastic wines you get so closely involved with - from grapes on the vine right through the process - and then there's this painstaking five-year wait on tirage, sometimes longer.

"I'm an impatient person in every walk of life, so this really challenges me - but the rewards are worth it at the end."

Kreglinger Brut Rose, 2018

$75

This is another outstanding bubbly from Kreglinger. It's from a single site, hand harvested with only the finest juice taken to barrel ferment in aged French oak and matured for nine months. From there, only the best barrels were selected to make the final blend. Strawberries, citrus and rose water, deliciously creamy, with loads of natural acidity. It hits the spot.

Vasse Felix Chardonnay, 2022

$45

This is one of three chardonnays produced by Vasse Felix, one of the heavy hitters of the Margaret River wine scene. Straw coloured with green tinges, it has a floral nose, jasmine, violets and vanilla bean. The flavours are interwoven and layered - flinty lemon, grapefruit and white peach, with a pinch of ginger.

Chateau des Cres Ricards

Oenothera, 2022

$31

Made by Jean-Claude Mas, this southern French blend has collected a couple of trophies, including the Languedoc Red Trophy in the 2024 International Wine Challenge. It's a powerful, yet soft, blend of syrah, grenache and cinsault. Macerated cherry and black fruits to open, with plums coming in mid-palate. Crushed herbs and a pinch of spice too.