Tasmania (wine)
| Wine region | |
 |
|
| Country | Australia |
|---|---|
| Climate region | Maritime |
| Precipitation (annual average) | 27 inches (680 mm) |
| Soil conditions | Clay |
| Size of planted vineyards | 1,289 acres (5.22 km2) |
| No. of vineyards | 112+ |
| Grapes produced | Pinot noir, Chardonnay, Riesling |
| No. of wineries | nearly 200 |
| Wine produced | Still, dessert wine, sparkling wine |
Tasmanian wine is wine produced in the Australian state of Tasmania. Located at a more southerly latitude than the rest of Australia's wine regions, Tasmania has a cooler climate and the potential to make distinctly different wines than in the rest of the country. The area grows primarily Pinot noir, Chardonnay and Sauvignon blanc, with some smaller plantings of Riesling, Pinot gris and Cabernet Sauvignon. Global warming has had positive effects on the Tasmanian wine industry, allowing most of the grapes in the past few vintages (as of 2005) to ripen fully and produce more vibrant wine.
Tasmania was one of the earliest regions in Australia to be planted with vines and was even the source of cuttings for the first vineyards in Victoria and South Australia. It was also home to some of the earliest wines to gain attention outside of the county with a fortified dessert wine by Bartholomew Broughton being praised by one English writer as Australia's equivalent to Port.
Being an island, Tasmania has a temperate climate that is marked by the strong winds of the Indian Ocean, Bass Strait and Tasman Sea. These winds necessitate the use of large screens around the perimeter of vineyards in order to protect the grapevines. The cool climate of the regions gives way to a late harvest typically around April. The effects of global warming have caused the area's grapes to progressively ripen slightly earlier which has allowed most of the recent vintages to be successful. It has opened up the prospects of increasing red wine production with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Shiraz.
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Wikipedia