PICK OF THE BUNCH
TASSIE GRAPES FETCH $10K A TONNE
PINOT noir grapes from a Tasmanian vineyard are being sold for $10,000 a tonne this vintage to local wine maker Jonathan Hughes.
Liz McGown’s Tinderbox Vineyard will sell the grapes at almost triple the average price for Tasmanian pinot noir grapes for table wine, which generally sell for $3363 a tonne.
Mr Hughes said it was the highest price he had ever paid for grapes, which would be used to make premium quality small batch wine under the Hughes & Hughes label.
TASMANIA’S wine grape harvest is just around the corner, and one grower has secured an extraordinary price for their premium fruit this season.
Pinot noir grapes from the Liz McGown’s Tinderbox Vineyard are being sold for $10,000 a tonne this vintage, to talented young Tasmanian wine maker Jonathan Hughes.
It is almost triple the average price for Tasmanian pinot noir grapes for table wine, which generally sell for $3363 a tonne.
Mr Hughes said it was the highest price he had paid for grapes, which would be used to make premium quality small batch wine under the Hughes & Hughes label that he runs with his brother Matthew.
Mr Hughes, who has bought grapes from Tinderbox Vineyard previously, said the higher price this year was due to expected lower yields and very high quality grapes.
“For us, it’s really the most premium parcel of fruit we purchase, so we’re working with the grower this year because we are expecting lower yields, but also very high quality,” he said.
“When Max and Liz came to me and floated the new pricing structure, I wasn’t altogether surprised. It’s a brilliant site with brilliant fruit and not very much of it. We can factor the cost into our market supply of the wine, knowing that the product will be excellent and very limited.”
The Tinderbox Vineyard is managed by Max Marriott from Anim Wine, and was planted in 1993.
The combination of sandstone and basalt soils on a north-easterly aspect with low annual rainfall make the site ideal for the production of low yielding, premium pinot noir. Ms McGown wanted the pricing to reflect the small crops and superior quality.
“Crops can be as low as a quarter of what other Tasmanian pinot noir growers will produce. It means yields are always comparably low, but quality is exceptional.”
Wine Tasmania chief executive officer Sheralee Davies said while the price was exceptional, Tasmanian wine grapes were highly sought after due to their excellent quality.
She said it would not be surprising to see more high prices for premium quality fruit in the future. On average Tasmanian grapes sell for $2977 a tonne, compared to the national average wine grape price of $609 a tonne. Tasmanian bottled wine sold in Australia averages $22.44 a bottle while the national average price is $8.13.