Yabby Lake swoops for Tasmanian vineyard site

Leading Mornington Peninsula wine producer Yabby Lake is expanding its footprint to Tasmania.

General manager and winemaker Tom Carson (pictured) disclosed today that Yabby Lake has acquired a 12-hectare property at Campania in the Coal River Valley wine region outside Hobart.

The property is planted to 80% pinot noir and 20% chardonnay with five hectares already functional and another four hectares ready for planting. 

The 2023 vintage will see fruit picked from the vineyard and then transported to Victoria, Carson said. 

The Yabby Lake portfolio also includes Heathcote Estate in the Heathcote region north of Melbourne.

Carson said the purchase is a strategic investment in the potential of pinot noir in cool-climate Tasmania. 

Yabby Lake joins Brown Brothers, Hill-Smith Family Vineyards and Shaw + Smith as mainland companies with vineyards in Tasmania, while Alistair Tulloch from the Hunter Valley and Mac Forbes from the Yarra Valley are among mainlanders to have planted vineyards.

"For Yabby Lake it expands our pinot noir footprint and extends our commitments as pinot noir specialists here in Australia," Carson said. 

"We envisage a new brand will be created to bring to life our Tasmanian journey and tell the story of this special site."

Robert and Mem Kirby established Yabby Lake Vineyard at Tuerong on the Mornington Peninsula in 1998, having planted their first vineyard at Red Hill in 1992. 

They planted Heathcote Estate in 1999 and former Yering Station winemaker Carson has overseen both brands since 2008. 

Yabby Lake won the Jimmy Watson Trophy at the Royal Melbourne Wine Show, one of Australia's most sought-after show awards, with its Block 1 Pinot Noir 2012 Pinot Noir in 2013, and is regarded as one of Australia's boutique pinot producers.