Hobart wineries and wine tours

Our Glaetzer-Dixon urban tasting room in central Hobart is a great starting or end point for a wine tour, whether self-guided or hosted.

From Hobart it’s easy to make a relaxed day trip to some of Tasmania’s best wineries and vineyards in the Huon Valley, Coal River Valley and Derwent Valley. 

Below are our picks of the top wineries in Southern Tasmania – with a focus on owner/producers (the small-scale winemakers like us who handle each step of production). 

Wine tour operators including Stelavino and Ageing Barrel are happy to tailor an outing to suit you, so let them know if you’d like to visit some of the smaller guys mentioned below.

WINEMAKERS TO WATCH

Before we get to our cellar door suggestions, here are some producers to keep an eye on – most don’t have their own tasting room (yet), but you can support them by buying directly from their websites.

• Tassie-born viticulturist/winemaker Luke Andree founded Sonnen Wines in 2020, making exceptional, super expressive chardonnay and pinot noir from sites in the Coal River and Derwent valleys.

• Greer Carland’s label Quiet Mutiny has deservedly picked up many wine show accolades of late and although she doesn’t have a permanent cellar door (she shares a production facility with Sonnen, mentioned above) you can often catch Greer at Hobart’s Salamanca or Farm Gate markets on weekends.

• Alice Davidson (Aunt Alice Wines) cut her teeth in various wine regions interstate and studied winemaking at the University of Adelaide before settling with her young family in the Huon Valley where she makes delicious chardonnay and pinot.

• Thomas New makes what we reckon could be one of the best chardonnays in Australia under his small-batch label Future Perfect.

• Marco Lubiana (Marco Lubiana Wines) is the super talented son of biodynamics guru Steve Lubiana.

• Another second-gen Tassie vigneron, George Drew, is the son of winemaker Robert Drew (Drew Wines) and doing good things with his own micro-label Third Child Wines.

coal river valley

Family-run Pooley Wines in Richmond is one of the valley’s most popular cellar doors and worth a visit, while Stargazer in nearby Tea Tree offers a next-level tasting experience.

Book in for a leisurely hour with Stargazer’s owner/winemaker Samantha Connew in her stylish new tasting room overlooking her Palisander vineyard.

Also at Tea Tree, Jens Volkmann has an impressive distillery set-up at his Charles Reuben Estate winery, where he produces excellent spirits including schnapps and poire williams-style brandy.

On Friday and Saturday afternoons, Gill Christian and Todd Goebel open up their Brinktop Wines tasting room at Penna, which is 10 minutes along Brinktop Rd from Richmond.

HUON VALLEY

It may be longer, but the coastal drive from Hobart to Cygnet via the Channel region is one of the most picturesque in Australia.

The first winery/vineyard on your itinerary should be Mewstone Wines, in the tiny town of Flowerpot. Book online.

Stick with the Channel Highway as it winds its way south along the D’Entrecasteaux Channel and then up along the Huon River to Cygnet, allowing about 35 minutes to get from Mewstone to our next winery recommendation, Sailor Seeks Horse, which is open by appointment.

While Glaetzer-Dixon was the first Tasmanian winery to win the coveted Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy, Gilli and Paul Lipscombe from Sailor Seeks Horse followed suit a few years later, taking out Australia’s biggest wine prize for a pinot noir they made for nearby Home Hill.

This time head back to Hobart the quick way, via Huonville, and stop in at Kate Hill Wines. Kate makes her stellar riesling and pinot noir in a 19th century apple cool store and packing shed, which she and her husband Charles have converted into a winery.

Side note: If heading to Bruny Island, stop by the Bruny Island Cheese company to stock up on wines by Jeremy Dineen under the Haddow + Dineen label he’s created with cheesemaker Nick Haddow.

DERWENT VALLEY and hobart

You might decide to head west from Hobart to the Derwent Valley for Stefano Lubiana’s wonderful biodynamic wines (tastings by appointment) or lunch at Derwent Estate.

We suggest you also get in touch with Michael O’Brien, who grows his grapes at Granton and makes his Domaine Dawnelle wines in nearby Goodwood.

Further into the Derwent Valley is family-run Meadowbank Wines (bookings required). Follow them on socials to find out about special events including long lunches and tennis days. Meadowbank wines are made by star winemaker Peter Dredge, who has his own label Dr. Edge.

Back in Hobart, call into Glaetzer-Dixon Family Winemakers for a tasting session with winemaker Nick Glaetzer. Allow 45 minutes. Book online.

Send us an email if you’d like recommendations for owner/producers to visit on the East Coast or in Northern Tasmania.