Australian sparkling over £10

DWWA Reguional Trophy

(Image credit: DWWA Reguional Trophy)

Find out who won the regional trophy for over £10. And the winner is...

Jansz Tasmania Premium Non Vintage Rosé

Jansz is the story of two females, one a woman and the other a dog. The dog is Bob, winemaker Natalie Fryar‘s kelpie, whose role it is to keep the geese from munching their way through Jansz’s Pipers River vineyard in Tasmania. The other female is Natalie Fryar herself.

Growing up surrounded by vineyards in Reynella, south of Adelaide, Natalie knew she wanted to be a winemaker by the time she was 12.

After qualifying at Roseworthy College, she spent time at Seaview, Wirra Wirra and Lindemans before working at Seppelts Great Western. And this is where she discovered that the life of fizz was for her.

She joined Jansz Tasmania as winemaker in January 2001, since when she’s become totally focused on getting the best from the vineyard In order to produce a distinct ‘méthode tasmanoise’, a combination of attention to detail in the vineyard and the traditional ‘méthode

champenoise’ in the cellar.

With ideal conditions for sparkling wine, thanks to the ultra-cool climate of the picturesque Tamar Valley, the Jansz vineyard lies on the northern Tasmanian Wine route in the heart of the Pipers river region. The upshot is that Jansz’s Premium Vintage Cuvée has been named the official Australia Day Wine of the Year and won many accolades.

The year after Natalie started with Jansz proved to be a very good year for Pinot Noir in Tasmania. Natalie was so impressed with the quality of the grapes coming off the Jansz Vineyard that the decision was made to put this fruit away due to its intense fragrance.

While Jansz Tasmania is primarily a Chardonnay-dominant sparkling wine producer, Natalie was encouraged by the Hill Smith Family to experiment with the Pinot Noir fruit and the Jansz Tasmania Premium Rosé was born.

Today, Jansz Tasmania produces both a Premium Vintage Rosé made entirely from Pinot Noir fruit and the Non Vintage Rosé which is roughly two-thirds Pinot Noir and a third Chardonnay.

Written by Anthony Rose

Anthony Rose is the wine correspondent of the Independent and i newspapers and contributes to various other publications, among them Decanter Magazine. He was a solicitor in a previous incarnation but decided it was time to get a steady job. He is co-chair of the Decanter World Wine Awards Australia panel and has won a number of awards for wine writing. In 2014 he published The Tapas Bar Guide (Grub Street, £10.99), co-authored with Isabel Cuevas, a guide to tapas bars in the UK. Anthony spends far too much of his time nosing his way around the world in wine competitions, having judged in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Chile, California, Japan, China and France. He is fascinated by Japanese sake and is co-Chairman of the Sake International Challenge in Tokyo and teaches a consumer course at Sake No Hana in London. Anthony is also a published photographer and a founding member of The Wine Gang at ,. Anthony lives in South London and in what spare time he has, he likes to cook, eat and drink the best wines and sakes he can afford on a wine writer’s budget.