Ask any wine lover where to find the best pinot, and they’ll all send you to the same place – Tassie.
Pinots are as Tassie as a puffer jacket and blunnies. So it’s no surprise that it is where the renowned winemaker Nick Glaetzer chose to establish roots and continue his winemaking legacy.
Nearly 20 years ago, partners in wine Nick and Sally were a young couple at a crossroads. To travel abroad or stay in South Australia.
Nick had just finished his winemaking degree in Margaret River and was moving back to Adelaide, where Sally was working as a journalist at the ABC.
But a bottle of Wellington Pinot Noir by Tasmanian winemaker Andrew Hood changed the trajectory of their lives forever.
“The wine blew him away – it was at a blind tasting with other cellar crew at Leeuwin Estate where he was working in WA, and everyone just assumed it was a Burgundy (pinot noir from France) – and a pretty exceptional one at that,” Sally tells us.
That bottle, and Sally being offered a job in the ABC newsroom in Hobart, saw them on a one-way trip to the Apple Isle.
“He gave up all thoughts of moving overseas, and we instead moved to Tassie so he could chase his dream of making delicious pinot noir.”
And just like that, the story of Glaetzer-Dixon Family Winemakers was born!
Award-winning Shiraz
Winemaking is hereditary for the Glaetzers, who have been producing wine in the Barossa Valley since the late 1800s, building a reputation for exceptional Shiraz and cementing their place among South Australia’s most respected winemaking families.
After bringing his family’s legacy across the Bass Strait, Nick worked at Frogmore Creek and then started his own label – Glaetzer-Dixon – in 2008.
With accolades like Australian Gourmet Traveller Young Winemaker of the Year, and Australia’s most prestigious wine trophy – the Jimmy Watson- for his Mon Pere Shiraz 2010 – the first time in its 50-year history the trophy was awarded to a Tasmanian winemaker!
In 2015, Nick and Sally bought an old ice factory, the Eski factory on the Brooker in Glebe. They converted the upstairs offices and warehouse space into a family apartment and downstairs into a winery and tasting room, inspired by the urban wineries of Santa Barbara in California.
Wine tasting with a personal touch
Glaetzer-Dixon is basically a one-man operation, and it’s Nick who is growing the grapes and making the wine (and hosting customers in their tasting room!).
So it’s not just a typical wine tasting where you’re served by someone who works in the cellar door – it’s a full-on ‘meet-the-winemaker’ experience.
It’s also a family business, where even their kids help out on weekends and holidays.
“Most weekends we’re all out in the vineyard – or possibly waxing/labeling bottles in the winery.”
“The intention is to create a unique and welcoming experience for people to come and learn about how the wine is made, plus a little bit about Nick and Tasmania as a wine region etc.”
Nick firmly believes there are no silly questions with wine, so he wants people to feel they can ask him anything – which they do! He loves explaining the difference between grape varieties and wine styles – there are no silly questions when it comes to wine!
Tassie grapes
Their grapes are grown around Tasmania at vineyards in the Coal River, Upper Derwent and Tamar valleys.
Nick works closely with the grape growers in these regions who supply him each year; they also have their own vineyard in Tea Tree in the Coal River Valley, which they planted in 2018.
“We have the biggest shiraz vineyard in Tassie, although it’s still tiny by Australian standards.”
They handpick the grapes and drive them to their winery in Hobart, where they wild-ferment them (no additives, just naturally occurring yeast) and lovingly tend them until they’re ready to be pressed and put into French oak barrels.
Wine with a cult following
For customers in the tasting room and their wine club members, Nick’s Mon Père Shiraz is the most popular wine. It’s such a crowd pleaser because it is deep and full-bodied but also elegant with lots of lovely spices.
The wine critics most highly rate Nick’s pinot noir – especially his La Judith and Rêveur.
“The wine that has a cult following, which you’ll find in restaurants and bottleshops across the country, is his Überblanc Riesling. Even people who think they hate Riesling love this wine! It is crisp and mineral, with delicious citrus and stone fruit flavour.
Give the gift of wine!
Give the gift of award-winning wine or a wine tasting with our Hello Hobart Gift Card!
“The gift card is genius in general because it allows you to buy someone a thoughtful gift that also supports local businesses across the city,” Sally says,
“For us, it’s a great way to encourage newcomers to book in for a wine tasting, or even to just pop by and pick up a bottle or two.”