The winery was founded upon the vision that Tasmania would one day be the pre-eminent region in Australia to produce cool-climate wines. To this end, at Bay of Fires they search for the individual 'personalities' in every variety and vineyard, to craft wines which are unique, alluring and distinctively Tasmanian but never compromise on consistency or quality.
Fruit for this range is sourced from the premium regions across Tasmania, taking advantage of diverse viticultural conditions and enabling the selection of the most premium parcels from each region. Regions such as Coal River Valley and the Upper Derwent are relatively cool and dry, producing wines that are perfumed, elegant and complex. Whilst grapes from the East Coast area, which is relatively warm, with a maritime influence minimising temperature variation, produce muscular, robust, flavoursome wines, particularly from Pinot Noir.
With so much energy expended in the vineyards to growing excellent fruit, it then falls on the winemaking team to capture that quality in the finished wine. Across the entire team, ideas and knowledge are shared to bring out the best in every parcel of fruit. At one end of the spectrum, acidity is balanced against sweetness to create delicate Rieslings; whilst with Pinot Noir, complexity, structure and elegance is nurtured in the wine.
Penny Jones is the senior Winemaker at Bay of Fires; she was born and bred in Hobart, Tasmania; a passion for food and wine has always been in Penny's blood. After moving to South Australia to study winemaking at Adelaide University in 2001, Penny completed her first vintage at Petaluma staying on in the Adelaide Hills to work her way through the ranks of Petaluma, to become a keen advocate of cool-climate winemaking. After 13 years in South Australia, Penny returned to her home state of Tasmania to be Winemaker at Eddystone Point before being appointed as Winemaker at Bay of Fires.