Pooley Wines Pty. Ltd., Richmond, TAS

Pooley Wines was established in 1985 when the late Denis and Margaret Pooley planted ten rows of Riesling and seven rows of Pinot Noir on their 16-hectare farm at Cooinda Vale in the Coal River Valley in southern Tasmania. Today, after more than 20 years of producing premium quality cool-climate wines, and having been awarded numerous trophies and medals at prestigious wine shows, the Pooley family has established a second vineyard in the Coal River Valley at Richmond. Margaret Pooley remained the chief executive of Cooinda Vale Vineyard until well into her nineties. She was a hardy Scot and could be found tending vines during the coldest Tasmanian winters. In 2003, John Pooley, son of Denis and Margaret, and his wife Libby bought Belmont, a heritage-listed Georgian home on the outskirts of Richmond. They have been lovingly renovating this second Pooley Wines Coal River Valley property, and have planted vines on nearby Butchers Hill. In 2007 the first vintage of Pinot was produced. The cellar door is housed in old sandstone stables on the Belmont property. The family’s love of wine was ignited many years ago, in 1954, when Denis Pooley became a founding member of the Hobart Beefsteak and Burgundy Club, two years after he and Margaret arrived in Tasmania from England. “There were only six members. It was very exclusive, ” recalled Margaret.