About Us
Welcome to Stoney Rise Wine Company
Stoney Rise Wine Company is located in the heart of the Tamar Valley in Northern Tasmania, Australia. It is a family-run winery owned by Joe and Lou Holyman.
In 2004 we returned to Tasmania with our sights set on growing and producing the best Pinot Noir and Chardonnay we could. We purchased a vineyard that was planted in 1986 in the Tamar Valley, north of Launceston and set about doing just that. 2008 saw the construction of our winery on site. We have expanded our vineyard in recent years with more Pinot Noir and a little bit of Gruner Veltliner and Trousseau.
We love all things vinous, we take our wines and what we do rather seriously albeit with relaxed personalities we try and have the most amount of fun possible.
About Us
As a wine lover, there are certain occasions or experiences you have that make you realise what is so special about all things vinous.
My wife Lou and I had such an experience when we visited a special vineyard in the Tamar Valley in Northern Tasmania in late 2003. We visited the cellar door and realised what a special site this was for growing grapes in Tasmania. We liked it so much we purchased the property in 2004 and set about renovating the vineyard.
My family have been involved in growing grapes and making wine in Tasmania since 1984. I grew up seeing our wines develop more complexity, as the vines got older. So one big attraction of our new vineyard was knowing that as the vines were planted in 1986, we had vine age on our side.
My experience in the industry has seen me do everything from waiting on tables to buying wine for The Wine Society's 50,000 Australian members. Lou's experience began working hands-on in vineyards, before seeking the comforts of the office and cellar door for a couple of South Australian wineries. Although secretly her real love is the numbers! She runs the business.
The experience we have had, and time living in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Robe and travelling made us realise that it was the growing and making of wine that really inspired our passion for wine. It also made us realise that while we are very serious about our wines, wine is a product that should be enjoyed with friends, and that to us, makes wine a fun product.
We take our wines and our special bit of dirt on the Tamar River very seriously, but we balance that by having as much fun as possible doing it.
The Vineyard
At its highest point the vineyard is only 30 meters above sea level, with the lowest being less than 10 meters, and it is less than 1 kilometre from the Tamar River.
We have 0.75 of a hectare of Chardonnay, 5.7 hectares of Pinot Noir, 0.7 hectares of Trousseau and 0.2 of a hectare of Grüner Veltliner for a total of 7.35 hectares. The rows run north/south and have a row spacing of 2.2 meters and the vines are 1.2m apart giving a density of 4500 vines per hectare.
The spur pruned vines are treated individually in relation to the crop they carry. We never have more than two bunches of grapes per shoot and any vines that are weaker will only have 1 bunch per shoot which results in us averaging 1.5 bunches per shoot or 4.5 tonnes per hectare.
We are very conscious of our environment; we use minimal sprays and have not used herbicides for close to ten years. We have begun to use some biodynamic preparations on the soil in an effort to build soil health which we believe will result in increased vine health.
