House of Arras – Tasmania
Tasmania is one of Australia’s most exciting wine regions right now. At 42 degrees south, it is decidedly cool in climate with constant breezes blowing in from the Antarctic Ocean. The west of the island suffers from fairly heavy rainfall, but the further east you travel, the sunnier and drier the climate becomes. The air here is pure and clean – there is no industry anywhere near to give pollution – meaning that there are high levels of ultra violet radiation from the sun. House of Arras source their grapes from six vineyards in the southeast and north of the island, where the long, cool, sunny summer days and ancient soils provide the perfect “terroirs” for producing high quality Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes. Hobart, Tasmania’s capital city situated in the southeast of the island, is actually drier than Adelaide, so some irrigation is required in the vineyards.
Since its beginnings in 1995, under the constant management and supervision of Ed Carr, House of Arras has rapidly become Australia’s most awarded sparkling wine brand. According to James Halliday, respeced Australian wine journalist, “Arras is made by a quietly spoken genius, Ed Carr, whose name should be known around the world. He is, by some considerable distance, Australia’s greatest sparkling winemaker.”
All Arras’s sparkling wines are made in the “méthode champenoise”, with lengthy ageing on the lees in bottle during second fermentation. Arras single vintage wines are aged for seven or more years on their lees, making them every bit as interesting and complex as many prestige Champagnes!
