Just before I went to Tibet (Nov 2013) I went to Australia. I wanted to visit Tasmania because it is the only state in Australia I have not visited. I wanted to taste the cold-climate wines of Tasmania and see the renown scenery there. I stopped in Melborne and Sydney along the way.
The pictures are at http://www.pbase.com/wwll/taswine
I visited these wineries
East Coast
Milton
Spring Vale
Freycinet
Tamar Valley
Goaty Hill
Holm Oak
Arras
Bay of Fires
Piper Brook
Jansz
Brook Eden
Tamar Ridge
Velo
I came away a great admirer of Tasmania's pinot noir. All are light in color, transparent, with a moderate bouquet but very well balanced and a terrific long finish. Sparkling wine is made by all the wineries. I could not get my head into Tasmania's chardonnay. They are not austere as French nor buttery like California's. Reisling is not as common as in other areas of Australia.
At Spring Vale I was received by the owner/winemaker on a one-on-one basis. At Goaty Hill I was received by the viticulturalist and co-owner. At Brook Eden I was received by the owner on a one-on-one basis. At every winery except Velo the tastings were free. At Velo they charged A$3 because I did not buy anything.
Everywhere except at Jansz I had a nice conversation with the staff at the tasting. At Jansz I was received by a young man in his 20's who tried to pass me misinformation. He said riddling was by hand. When I asked him how many persons do the disgorging he did not know.
At Milton, founded in 1992, I liked the pinot noir (A$32) and the gewurztraminer (A$24).
Spring Vale was the only winery I visited that had distribution in the USA, K&L of Redwood City, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Their 2010 pinot noir (A$40) , 20% aged in new French oak, had a powerful Burgundian nose and very long finish.
Freycinet was the only winery that made a good cabernet sauvignon (2007, A$35). Their star was the 2012 pinot noir (A$58), a little chewy in the mouth and a wonderful long finish.
Finding Goaty Hill was not easy. Like all the other wineries I visited, one has to go on unpaved roads (unsealed in Aussie speak) for a little while. Their sparkling Maia 2010 is 50% chardonnay and 50% pinot noir and very delicate (A$38).
I thought my overall best tasting was at Bay of Fires. The 2011 Eddestone pinot noir (A$30) had a rich Burgundian nose, transparent light color but a full in the mouth finish.
At Brook Eden I had a long conversation with the namesake of the winery. He told me the secret of their pinot noir is the long growing season, and that if the grapes did not meet quality standards they would just put them in to sparkling wines.