Visitors get a taste for Tasmania’s top drops

PEOPLE cannot get enough of Tasmania’s wine, with visitor numbers to vineyard cellar doors soaring.

Puddleduck Vineyard

PEOPLE cannot get enough of Tasmania’s wine, with visitor numbers to vineyard cellar doors soaring.

Wine Tasmania chief executive Sheralee Davies said visitor numbers had jumped 25 per cent during the past 12 months, providing a big confidence boost to the industry.

Ms Davies said between March 2014 and March this year, 207,000 visitors made their way to the 95 cellar doors around the state.

“That represents 18 per cent of all visitors to the state,’’ she said.

“People are making the deliberate decision to visit Tasmania’s wine trails just for the great wines and enjoy our food.”

In a demonstration of the confidence in Tasmania’s wine tourism sector, family owned Puddleduck Vineyard, nestled in the heart of the Coal River Valley near Richmond, has launched its $550,000 cellar door makeover.

Puddleduck makes its wines only available through its cellar door or its online shop.

“The beauty of this model is it creates the evident connection between producer with quality wine and consumer,” Ms Davies said.

Puddleduck founders Jackie and Darren Brown hosted their first customer, from Sydney, who even after 10 years is still buying direct from the vineyard.

“We never dreamt 10 years ago when we opened our new cellar door that we would become so popular,’’ Mrs Brown said.

“Our renovations have been necessary to cater for the increasing number of visitors to our door each year.

“We take our commitment to the Tasmanian wine tourism sector seriously.”

The improvements, which include new tasting rooms, playground and deck perched over the dam, will enable Puddleduck, which employs six staff, to meet increasing demand. The Browns started Puddleduck in 1997 after they bought a 6 ha property.

“It’s exciting times for the wine and tourism industry. In winter we are so busy, with numbers just shading summer visitor figures,’’ Mrs Brown said.

“Other winter events in Tasmania such as Dark Mofo and the football games have all helped bring people to the state.”