Winery of the Year

POOLEY WINES | COAL RIVER VALLEY | TASMANIA

WHEN ANNA Pooley was still at school, her dad, John Pooley, gave her some advice: “Don’t think about how successful you could be, or how much money you could make. At the end of the day, you’re not going to stay in a career if you’re not happy, so choose something that makes you happy.”

Luckily for Anna, the Pooley family business – a vineyard and winery on the banks of the Coal River in Tasmania – did both. Pooley Wines was never intended as anything more than a retirement project for Anna’s grandparents, Margaret and Denis Pooley. Encouraged by John, they planted pinot noir and riesling on their Cooinda Vale property in 1985. In 2003, sensing the family business’s potential, John and his wife Libby expanded the estate by buying a heritage-listed Georgian home on the outskirts of Richmond, and planting a second vineyard at Butcher’s Hill.

Under the management of John and Libby, and son Matthew who managed the vineyards (until 2018 when he took over wholesale sales in Tasmania), a portion of grapes grown were initially sold to other wineries, such as Penfolds, and wines produced under the Pooley label were made elsewhere. But in 2012, Anna, who had left home after school to study winemaking and gain experience on the mainland and abroad, returned with her winemaker husband Justin Bubb. The couple set up a winery and bottling line, and since 2013, Pooley Wines have been made entirely by family hands.

While winning Winery of the Year isn’t something the Pooley family necessarily strove to achieve, “it’s a pretty awesome recognition of where we’re at,” says Anna. “It confirms how hard we’ve been working to make changes in the vineyard, home in on our different sites, and make the best wine we possibly can.”

In 2019, Anna and Justin began the transition to complete organic viticulture – a process they’re aiming to have completed by 2026. Leading the charge here is Hannah McKay, who joined the team as vineyard manager in early 2020 (Hannah was a finalist for the 2023 Viticulturalist of the Year award).

Anna says Pooley’s success is the result of a collaborative effort. From her husband and co-winemaker Justin, who “works harder in the business than anyone else,” to Hannah in the vineyard (“You can only go so far with making great wine if you haven’t nailed it from a viticulture perspective,” says Anna) to her dad, John, for “having the vision to set the whole thing up for the family” and continue to run the business at almost 80 years old.

“It’s been a massive 30-odd years, and it’s required a lot of dedication, vision, persistence and just energy. I consider myself very lucky to have my dad as my mentor.” Anna Webster

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