Tahbilk

Tahbilk
Location	Shire of Strathbogie, Victoria, Australia
Wine region	Nagambie Lakes, Goulburn Valley
Formerly	Chateau Tahbilk
Other labels	Tahbilk, Dalfarras
Founded	1860
First vines planted	1860
Key people	Alister Purbrick
Known for	Marsanne
Varietals	Marsanne, Viognier, Sauvignon Blanc, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, Riesling, Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Verdelho, Mourvedre, Roussanne
Other attractions	Wetlands Cafe, Wetlands & Wildlife Reserve, Dalfarras Wines
Website	http://www.tahbilk.com.au/

Tahbilk is the oldest family owned winery in Victoria, Australia, established in 1860.^[1]

Tahbilk is part of Australian wine alliance Australia’s First Families of Wine a multi-million-dollar venture to help resurrect the fortunes of the $6 billion industry highlighting the quality and diversity of Australian wine.^[2][3] First Families chairman is the Tahbilk chief executive Alister Purbrick. The 12 member alliance includes Brown Brothers, Campbells, Taylors, DeBortoli, McWilliam’s, Tahbilk, Tyrell’s, Yalumba, D'Arenberg, Howard Park, Jim Barry and Henschke. The main criteria is that the family-owned companies need to have a “landmark wine” in their portfolios listed under Langton’s Classification and/or 75% agreement by group that a wine is considered “iconic”, must have the ability to do at least a 20-year vertical tasting, have a history going back a minimum of two generations, ownership of vineyards more than 50 years old and/or ownership of distinguished sites which exemplify the best of terroir, commitment to export and environmental best practice, appropriate cellar door experience, and be paid-up members of the Winemakers Federation of Australia.^[2][4][5][6]

Overview

Tahbilk is situated 120 km north of Melbourne in Shire of Strathbogie in the Nagambie Lakes region of central Victoria, near Nagambie. The name Tahbilk originated from the wineries location, Tabilk. The aboriginal people first referred to the site as "tabilk-tabilk" meaning "place of many waterholes", the 'h' being added in by Tahbilk Winery to assist the wines sale-ability in Europe.^[7] Until 2000, the winery was known as Chateau Tahbilk. Original cellars from the 1860s and 1870s are still in use. These and the buildings are classified by the National Trust of Australia.^[8] The winery also runs the Tahbilk Cafe and the Tabilk Wetlands and Wildlife Reserve.

The winery specialises in the Rhone varietals of Marsanne, Viognier and Roussanne and also produces Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, Riesling, Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Verdelho, Grenache and Mourvedre. Some original pre-phylloxera Shiraz vines survive from 1860.

Tahbilk Marsanne

Tahbilk claims to have the largest, single holding of Marsanne in the world.^[9] The first vines were cuttings in the 1860s from the St Huberts Winery in the Yarra Valley; another old winery but without a continuous history since that date. The present plantings of Marsanne date from 1927.

Tahbilk also claims to be oldest (1860) family owned winery in Victoria. Other wineries claim to predate Tahbilk's origins such as Chambers Rosewood Winery and Gehrig Estate Wines in Rutherglen being founded in 1858, while Morris Wines, also from Rutherglen, claims to have been founded in 1859.^[10] However none of these wineries do not have the same duration of 'family ownership'.

The many awards of Tahbilk wines include the Diploma of Honour, the highest award obtainable at the Greater London Exhibition of 1899.^[11] Tahbilk was the National Winner in the Parks, Gardens and the Environment Category of the Best of Wine Tourism Awards 2007.^[12]

Tahbilk Wetlands Cafe

In 2005 construction was completed on a dedicated Wetlands Café built to service visitors to Tahbilk.

In a dramatic architectural statement the ironbark, stone and corrugated roofed building rises from the Pepper Paddock, as its location is known, with your Wetlands experience beginning from a jetty below its sweeping outer deck. The Café is also home to the Dalfarras range of wines and Dalfarras Gallery. Established in 1991, Dalfarras is the vinous child born of a collaboration between winemaker Alister Purbrick (C.E.O. of Tahbilk) and his artist wife Rosa Purbrick.

Alister crafts each Dalfarras release utilising the best fruit from Nagambie Lakes & other premium vineyard sites around Australia, whilst selected works from Rosa's extensive, and ever growing, portfolio are reproduced on the labels - and on display on the Cafe's Gallery walls. Rosa also lent her maiden name Dal Farra to its naming.

Wetlands and wildlife reserve

With the construction of the Goulburn weir in1889, the various stages of Sugar Loaf Dam in 1915, and Lake Eildon completed in 1956, the historical flow regime of the Goulburn river was changed, from one of high flows in winter to one of a permanently flowing summer irrigation stream. Previously the river and its associated billabongs had periodically dried back into a series of water holes. Indeed the local indigenous people knew this area as “tabilk tabilk”, or the place of many water holes, thus giving the property, Tahbilk, its name. The present Tahbilk wetlands area was created with the raising of the water level at the time that the Goulburn Weir was built.

The Tahbilk wetlands are an open ended or self flushing wetlands being joined to the Goulburn at both ends. With its slow moving and warmer water, the Tahbilk wetlands have become a safe haven for a vast array of indigenous flora and fauna. At least two threatened or endangered species are making the Tahbilk wetlands their home. The native cat fish (Tandanus tandanus) which is declining throughout the Murray Darling Basin is now breeding in the wetlands and the Water Shield Lily (Brasenia schreberi), which incidentally is unique to Victoria, is also thriving in the Tahbilk wetlands.

The preservation of the environment has always been a priority of the Tahbilk Estate. The Purbick family, who have been custodians of the property for five generations, were amongst the first to institute an integrated pest management and a whole farm plan. Long before it became fashionable to plant trees, Tahbilk Estate was planting local igneous trees and shrubs to form inter connecting wild life corridors to allow the free passage of animals, birds and insects across the Estate.

Tahbilk Estate, in partnership with various Government agencies including the Dept of Sustainability and Environment (DSE), The Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority (GBCMA), The Murray Darling Basin Authority (MDBA), and The Goulburn Broken Indigenous Seedbank (GBIS), are running a number of environmental rehabilitation programmes. These include an ongoing pest plant and animal eradication programme, an indigenous flora and fauna identifying programme, and the monitoring of the water quality by measuring the turbidity, (water clarity), salt content (EC), dissolved oxygen content (DO), and water temperature. In addition to these, and other projects, Tahbilk Estate and Seedbank have established a trial site for the production of local indigenous seeds for revegetation projects throughout the Longwood Plains area. Projects in the pipe line include the redesign of the Tahbilk wetlands outfall to allow for the more effective passage of fish between The Wetlands billabongs and the Goulburn River.

It is interesting to note that the existence of the wetlands and the associated waterways, has created a particular meso-climate that has enabled Tahbilk Estate to produce a range of superb, and unique varietal wines.

Tahbilk Estate is justifiably proud of the Tahbilk Wetlands and Wild Life Reserve which has been designed as a living, breathing educational tool to be enjoyed and easily accessed by everyone.

Dalfarras Wines

Dalfarras is the "vinous child" of husband and wife team, Alister and Rosa Purbrick. Alister, General Manager and multi-award winning winemaker at Tahbilk, crafts each release from selected parcels of fruit from Australia's premium viticultural regions; and Rosa - as one of Australia's promising artists, visually encapsulates each release on the stunning labels.

In 2005 Dalfarras found its "home" with the opening of the Tahbilk Wetlands Cafe. The contemporary design and feel of the Cafe were ideally suited to the Dalfarras image and so a Dalfarras Tasting Bar and Gallery were incorporated into the layout.

See also

• Australian wine
• Australia’s First Families of Wine

External links

• Tahbilk official site
• Australia's first families of Wine

References

1. ^ Victoria Winery Tours
2. ^ ^{a b} Simon Evans, The Australian Financial Review, Tuesday 18 August 2009, Page 61
3. ^ Chris Snow, Decanter Magazine, 17 August 2009, Top Australian wineries team up to push super-premium wines
4. ^ "The Heart & Soul of Australian wine to launch in Sydney on Monday 31 August". Winetitles, Australia's wine industry portal. http://www.winebiz.com.au/dwn/details.asp?ID=2691. Retrieved 2009-08-18. 
5. ^ "First Families forge pact to promote wine". Jamie Freed, Business Day. http://business.watoday.com.au/business/first-families-forge-pact-to-promote-wine-20090817-ends.html. Retrieved 2009-08-18. 
6. ^ "Australia’s first families team up". Ken Gargett, Meininger's wine business international. http://wine-business-international.com/News_Australia-s_first_families_team_up.html. Retrieved 2009-08-21. 
7. ^ History of Tahbilk
8. ^ National Trust of Australia
9. ^ Marsanne at Tahbilk
10. ^ News & Information for the Australian Wine Industry
11. ^ Tahbilk awards
12. ^ Best of Wine Tourism

Coordinates: 36°49′35″S 145°5′10″E / 36.82639°S 145.08611°E / -36.82639; 145.08611