Tasmania: Pinot Noir from the island with latitude

After studying winemaking at the University of South Australia’s Roseworthy campus, and deciding he was never going to make it as a bass guitarist, Jeremy Dineen completed numerous vintages across Australia before returning to Tasmania. Once home, Jeremy continued his exploration of Tasmanian viticulture during five vintages at Hood Wines in southern Tasmania with as many as 38 vineyards under his care. He also supported development of the broader Tasmanian wine sector with voluntary state-wide Board and technical committee roles. Jeremy was handpicked by Josef Chromy to lead his namesake business from its establishment in 2005. Jeremy has gained a reputation for his pristine wine style. He aims for wines that are eminently drinkable, producing an outrageously popular Pinot Gris, aromatic and fruit-driven Pinot Noir and cultivating a sparkling ‘house style’ that is delicate and crisp.

Pete was born in New South Wales and raised in Tasmania. A Tasmanian sheep farmer by birth, the mystery that turns grapes into wine hooked him early. With a keen interest in science he pursued a degree in this field, but after a season in a Pipers River vineyard he was inspired to study winemaking and viticulture at Roseworthy College in South Australia.

He intended to return to Tasmania after completing his studies, but peers pointed him abroad. He spent almost two decades in Burgundy, Bordeaux, California and New Zealand. It was meeting his wife in France, followed by two children, which pointed him back south to Pipers River where he settled at Dalrymple Vineyards. Pinot Noir has always been Pete’s passion – the most difficult grape to grow, the most difficult wine to make well. The most satisfying of victories. In his 10 years at Dalrymple Vineyards, Pete has not only expanded vineyard plantings by fifty per cent, he has also rejuvenated Dalrymple’s winemaking operations and established the property’s own insectarium. Pete is passionate about producing modern, stylish table wines, including single site Pinot Noirs from the Coal River Valley, East Coast (Swansea) and Derwent Valley (Ouse).

Rebecca Duffy completed a Bachelor of Agricultural Science majoring in Oenology at the University of Adelaide in 1998. Following the completion of her degree, Bec worked vintages in McLaren Vale, Napa Valley and Coonawarra, before securing a fulltime winemaking position at Capel Vale in Western Australia where she spent five years. Bec returned to Tasmania in 2006 and has been the co-owner and winemaker at Holm Oak Vineyards for the past 10 years. Over this time she and her husband Tim have established Holm Oak as one of Tasmania’s leading family owned wine brands. In 2015 Bec was the inaugural winner of the Owner/Operator award in the Australian Women in Wine Awards, and was named as one of WBMs 50 stars of 2015; and in 2016 Bec was named the Tasmanian winner of the RIRDC Rural Women’s Awards.