One of the most successful wines to have been launched in the past 10 years is made from grapes that travel 30 hours from vineyard to winery, including an overnight ferry journey.
The Tolpuddle vineyard is in the Australian island state of Tasmania. Since 2011, it has been owned by cousins Martin Shaw and Michael Hill Smith, who ship the freshly picked grapes via Launceston and Melbourne to their winery in the hills above Adelaide in South Australia, about 1,300km away.
Tolpuddle makes almost equal quantities of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. In only its second vintage (2013), the Pinot Noir picked up three trophies in the 2015 International Wine Challenge (IWC), including Best Australian Red. In total, Tolpuddle wines have won 17 trophies in Australia and the UK. The 2020 Chardonnay alone won five awards at last year’s Royal Melbourne Wine Show.