The cooler Spring and Summer might not have impressed the average Tasmanian, but for wine makers, the conditions are set to bear much fruit.
The chief winemaker of House of Arras at Pipers River, Ed Carr, said the cooler conditions will benefit wine quality as it has reduced disease pressure and allowed vines to maintain healthy canopies.
“Cool years allow the fruit to ripen slowly, allows the flavours to build up nicely and retain this … nice Tasmanian acidity,” he told Pulse.
Picking for their 2026 vintage harvest will begin next week, later than previous years, after the cooler weather pushed back grape ripening across the island.
The harvest timing takes House of Arras back to conditions not seen for 15-20 years, reminiscent of vintages from the mid-1990s when the winery began operations in Tasmania.
“It just reminds me of those very early vintages where we weren’t starting till well into March, early April,” Carr said.
“It is really quite late in terms of recent history.”
The winery sources fruit from regions across Tasmania recognised for their sparkling wine production, with different sites picked according to their ripening schedules.
Wine lovers will need to wait to taste the results, with House of Arras wines aged for four to 10-plus years before release.
The first 2026 vintage bottles won’t reach market until around 2030.
“We’re in the hands of the weather gods as to what we get served up over the next month,” Carr said.
“But we’re in a very good spot, potentially it’s going to be an excellent year.”
Carr said Tasmania constantly holds its own against the other Australian winemaking states.
“I think for sparkling wine and still wine too, but Tasmania has really carved a niche, more than a niche,” he said.
“It’s carved a reputation for itself as the place to, you know, make sparkling wines within Australia.”
