Winery · Pipers River

Delamere: The Sparkling Specialist with Still Secrets

Delamere is renowned for outstanding sparkling wines, but their still Pinot Noirs are the insider secret. The Pipers River location (cool climate, volcanic soils) creates wines with the tension and minerality that fizz experts prize - but poured into still bottles, the character becomes even more complex.

Why go

The still wines are the insider's reason. Behind the sparkling range sit Estate, Block 8 and Flyleaf Pinot Noirs — the 2023 Estate was hand-picked from vineyard blocks 23 and 42 years old, because the founding Richardsons planted here in 1981–82, decades before most Tasmanian Pinot went in. Wine Tasmania notes tastings are flexible: rare block wines and museum releases can be added to the line-up. The move is simply to ask.

Visiting Delamere: The Sparkling Specialist with Still Secrets

When to go

The cellar door runs year-round on its Thursday-to-Monday rhythm, with only Christmas Day and Boxing Day as published closures. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are appointment-only, so a midweek visit needs the phone call first. Production is small — Huon Hooke's case counts run to 230 cases for the 2017 Blanc de Blancs — which is the practical argument for booking ahead whatever the day.

Practical details

Cellar door hours: Thursday to Monday, 10:30am–4:30pm; Tuesday and Wednesday by appointment; closed Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Bookings are strongly advised and essential for groups of four or more — walk-ins only as availability allows. The producer does not publish a tasting fee on its open pages; the tariff sits in the booking system, so confirm when reserving on +61 456 910 274. Child and dog friendly, with outdoor seating.

Getting there

The address is 4238 Bridport Road, Pipers Brook, Tasmania 7254, on the Tamar Valley Wine Trail in the island's northeast. Sparkling neighbour Jansz keeps its wine room in the same Pipers River country it calls the birthplace of méthode tasmanoise, and Pipers Brook Vineyard, the estate that opened the region in 1974, lies close by — three stops on one short stretch of road.

About Delamere: The Sparkling Specialist with Still Secrets

What to do there

4 things to do

The ground beneath Pipers River is why Delamere's Pinot Noir works.

You're standing on 1.8 million-year-old lava flows that created Tasmania's coolest microclimates. The volcanic basalt soils around Delamere cellar door (Pipers River, -41.1°S 147.0°E) are the same parent material that makes their wine possible. Walk the vineyard perimeter (30 mins) and notice the reddish soil peeking through — ask a staff member to point out where the oldest vines sit, as those plots get the most thermal stress, which tightens Pinot's acidity.
Backup: If vineyard walk isn't available, examine soil samples in the cellar door gift shop or ask for photos of the blocks.

Log Memory
Start with what made Delamere famous before the still secrets.

Their flagship sparkling wine — traditional method, minimum 3 years on lees — transformed Pipers River from unknown to 'Tasmania's Sparkling Destination'. Arrive at opening (check delamerevineyards.com.au for hours) at the Delamere cellar door tasting room. Ask for their entry-level and premium sparkling to compare: taste the entry first (younger, fresher), then the premium (more complexity from age). Notice the fine bubble stream and that mineral edge from volcanic soil.
Backup: If their sparkling is sold out, any Traditional Method wine from the region (Jansz, House of Arras) works — same terroir story.

Log Memory
The insider secret — what happens when sparkling grapes become still wine.

Their still Pinot Noir exists because winemakers realized their sparkling base fruit had too much tension and acidity for bubbles. The still format reveals the minerality: red cherry + slate + saline. At the same tasting table at Delamere, ask the pourer explicitly: 'Do you make a still Pinot Noir?' When it arrives, smell before tasting — the nose is tighter than typical cool-climate Pinot, almost like white wine. Taste it alongside the sparkling.
Backup: If their still Pinot is unavailable, any Pinot Noir from Pipers River (Domaine Chandon Tasmania, Craigie Knowe) will show the same tension — the water and soil force the same character.

Log Memory
Understand the winemaking decision that created two wines from one terroir.

Tasmania's Pipers River sits at the coldest viable latitude for Pinot Noir in Australia, with a harvest window of just 2-3 weeks. Some years, acid is SO high that still wines feel raw — bubbles solve this by masking acidity with carbonation, pressure, and mousse. At Delamere cellar door (or reading their bottle notes), ask the staff: 'Why does Delamere focus on sparkling?' They'll explain that 1990s-2000s Tasmanian Pinot was often too acidic for still wine — sparkling format proved the region's viability.
Backup: Search 'Pipers River Pinot Noir history' — articles on Australian Wine List or Wine Spectator Australia explain the regional pivot to sparkling in the 2010s.

Log Memory

About the visit

Delamere Vineyards is a family grower-producer at 4238 Bridport Road, Pipers Brook, in the Pipers River wine country of northeast Tasmania — 100% family owned, with wines grown, made and bottled on the estate. The house calls itself unique in Tasmania for its focus on traditional method sparkling wine, yet the cellar door's quieter draw is the still Pinot Noir made from some of the island's older vines.

What to expect

Tasting flights pour 35ml samples of four wines, built for comparison. The winery works around the tasting room — Discover Tasmania describes sparkling wines set up for hand riddling and Pinot Noir and Chardonnay maturing in oak within view — and behind-the-scenes tours covering bottling, tirage and disgorging run by request. A 'Pick Your Own Picnic' pantry stocks Tasmanian produce from Pyengana Dairy, Casalinga Gourmet Meats and Coal River Farm; the gardens keep free-range ducks, chickens and guinea fowl.

History

Dallas and Dr Richard Richardson established Delamere in 1982, on vines planted from 1981 — one of the pioneering estates of the Pipers Brook region. Shane Holloway took over the vineyard in 2007 when it came on the market; Fran Austin, the 2005 Gourmet Traveller Young Winemaker of the Year, joined the business in 2011 after nine years at Bay of Fires. Within a decade, per The Real Review, they had turned a table-wine vineyard into a sparkling-focused producer.

What insiders know

Two details ahead of the field: the first harvests of Meunier are now underway, completing the Champagne trio on one close-planted hill — the producer plans it into future non-vintage cuvées. And scarcity here is checkable, not implied: the 2013 Late Disgorged Blanc de Blancs, rated 97/100 by Huon Hooke in October 2024, amounted to 40 dozen bottles drawn from the 350 cases originally bottled. The guinea fowl on the label are the vineyard's own bug patrol.

Insider tips

Known for sparkling, but the still Pinot is the insider secret
The cool Pipers River climate creates high-acid fruit perfect for both styles
Small production - call ahead to confirm tasting availability

Common questions

Do you need to book a tasting at Delamere?

Bookings are strongly advised for all visits and essential for groups of four or more; walk-ins may be accommodated subject to availability. Tuesday and Wednesday visits are by appointment only.

Does Delamere make still Pinot Noir?

Yes — Estate, Block 8 and Flyleaf Pinot Noirs sit alongside the sparkling range, and rare block wines and museum releases can be added to a tasting on request. The 2023 Estate Pinot Noir was picked from blocks 23 and 42 years old, saw about 30% whole bunches and nine months in Burgundian-coopered oak, 30% new.

What do the sparklings cost?

The producer publishes no tasting fee on its open pages, but verified retail anchors from October 2024: Cuvée NV at AUD $43 (94/100 from Huon Hooke, who called it the best buy of the range) up to AUD $150 for the 2013 Late Disgorged Blanc de Blancs.

What makes Pipers River suited to sparkling wine?

The producer credits Tasmania's latitude and cool climate, and states the district's exceptionally low diurnal range — Bass Strait tempering the northerly winds — as its particular advantage. Delamere's traditional method wines take their bubbles from secondary fermentation in bottle, maturing on tirage lees sometimes for 10 years or more.

Sources

delamerevineyards.com.au winecompanion.com.au wildstatewines.com.au winetasmania.com.au discovertasmania.com.au wineintasmania.com winesoftasmania.com.au therealreview.com jansz.com.au · checked August 2026

Every page cited (13)