Tasmania’s Steve and Monique Lubiana established Stefano Lubiana Wines at Granton, outside Hobart, in 1990. Two decades on, the fifth-generation family winemaker tells about their first steps on the site.
"Italian families love to plant wine grapes - any vine, anywhere," says Tasmania's Steve Lubiana.
"When Monique and I first came here, I wondered what my Italian forebears would have made of its north-facing slopes bathed in light from the nearby river.
"Planting Chardonnay and Pinot Noir would never have entered their heads. Even so, I'm sure they would've approved of the 18ha biodynamic vineyard we've established here. The site is ideally suited to producing distinctive, European-inspired wines; wines that reflect the purity, verve and juiciness of the fresh, natural produce we grow in these cool, southern latitudes.
"It's those same qualities that bring one million visitors to Tasmania each year. There’s something about them that resonates in people. They have an authenticity and sense of place we find ourselves searching for these days. I guess it's our way of making connections to our past and to the earth."