From our vineyard to your glass
Highclare Estate began with a forgotten sheep farm, a big move to Tasmania and a slightly unexpected decision to plant a vineyard. Today, more than 32,000 vines grow across our Tamar Valley vineyard, producing estate-grown Tasmanian wine made to be shared.
From the first vines in the ground to the bottles on your table, we’ve built Highclare around a simple idea: good wine is happiness in a bottle and should connect you to a place, a moment and the people you’re sharing it with.
It started in Newtown, Sydney.
We were living in a terrace with two very fluffy cats and two very small children. One of those children really didn’t enjoy eating out at restaurants, which was a slight problem given that was what Newtown was all about.
We were also watching far too much Escape to the Country.
Matt, a town planner who had spent his career studying maps and managing large government infrastructure projects, started dreaming on realestate.com.au. Then he found a property in Tasmania.
It was landlocked. It hadn’t been farmed for more than 35 years. The grass was shoulder-high. But apparently it had a killer view and, more importantly, the perfect aspect for a vineyard.
Sarah, an advertising executive with a Bachelor of Interior Architecture and a lifelong country heart, could see something else: a life we could create for our family with a little hard work, a lot of ingenuity and perhaps a few less restaurant dinners.
So, in 2016, we came to see it.
Even with grass so tall it almost obscured the view, we knew it was the one.
There was just one small problem. We had to actually buy it.
Our five-year-old daughter was sitting nearby when the email was ready to go. She pressed send.
And that was that. The email that would change our lives, and tie us to a future of farming in Tasmania, was on its way.
We started with hand tools. That didn’t last long.
Before too much time had passed, the big machines arrived, the land began to take shape and we started planting vines. Today, more than 32,000 vines grow across our 130 hectare Tamar Valley property, producing estate-grown Tasmanian Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay and traditional-method sparkling wines.
It’s a long way from that terrace in Newtown.
And we’re still learning, still planting, still making things work. And still pretty happy she pressed send.
