ISLAND LIFE

Jennifer Doyle says she always looks forward to a walk in the Jansz Parish vineyard – almost as much as her dogs do. “They are vineyard dogs,” says Doyle, about Molly, a smithfield-border collie cross and George, a border collie pup. “They love vineyard walks. It’s their favourite part of my work.”

As vigneron, Doyle’s work at the Coal River Valley vineyard, which won the Royal Agricultural Society of Tasmania’s 2018 Tasmanian Vineyard of the Year award, involves site and staff management, fruit nutrition and disease control.

“A lot of my time is spent in the office doing managerial work. A walk in the vineyard provides a break from that and is a lovely thing to do,” she says.

“It’s the place I love to be. It’s part of my work but it’s also my passion. It’s a place you need to immerse yourself in to really understand how it all works and how it fits in with the environment.

“You need to understand the intricacies of it, right down to what insects are active there, and keep an eye on what diseases might occur.”

Doyle, who was named 2017 Viticulturist of the Year in the Australian Women in Wine awards, joined Jansz nine years ago, after working as a viticulturist in her home state, NSW, and Western Australia.

She travels to work at Penna with her dogs from Eaglehawk Neck.

“This is a stunning part of the world. I’m still learning about and understanding the site,” Doyle says.

“It takes a long time to do that, but it’s important. We want to grow the best crop of grapes we can for each vintage. The quality is paramount.”