MUMM’S THE WORD FOR SOUTHERN BUBBLY
TASMANIA is experiencing a bubble boom, with sales of sparkling wine soaring and French Champagne producer Maison Mumm set to announce production of a Tasmanian tipple.
The investment in “Mumm Tasmania”, sourced from the increasingly renowned sparkling region of Pipers River, in the state’s northeast, is the latest global recognition of Tasmania as a leader in fancy fizz.
GH Mumm chef de cave, or chief champagne maker, Laurent Fresnet, who scouted Tasmania in July, said there was scope for further investment.
“We are looking for the opportunity to reveal the special terroir of different areas and I think we have a really nice opportunity to reveal the freshness, the intensity and the complexity of the pinot noir,” he said.
“Tasmanian wine has a lot of elegance and finesse and energy.”
The famous champagne maker selected wines from vineyards in the Pipers River area, believing the climate, which creates a longer, delayed ripening, is “ideal” for sparking.
With expansion impossible in Champagne, he believed Tasmania, where significant new plantings could still occur, was well placed.
“There is a problem of supply because in Champagne, we can’t plant any more and we need to find suppliers,” Mr Fresnet said. “In Tasmania, we can plant a lot more quickly in areas with good soil, terroir and climate, and protect ourselves in the future for supply.”
Award-winning Tasmanian sparkling producer Kreglinger, whose Pipers River vineyards were among those that supplied Mumm, believes there is considerable room for growth.
“We have the most fantastic climate for growing sparkling fruit,” said Luke Whittle, Kreglinger chief winemaker.