With 50 years of experience, Dr Andrew Pirie has been instrumental in
bringing Tasmanian winemaking to our collective consciousness.
It’s hard to think of Tasmanian wine without Dr Andrew Pirie – especially, nowadays, as Tasmania remains at the forefront of our collective palates.
Of course, it wasn’t the case 50 years ago when a young PhD student wrote his thesis on viticulture and plant physiology at the University of Sydney. Pirie was interested in the wines of France and was searching for an Antipodean parallel to the country’s great viticultural sites. His research led him to Tasmania, which had first been planted to grapevines in the 1820’s by second wave European settlers, which consisted of only a handful of small vineyards.
In 1974, Pirie, (with his brother) purchased 60 hectares at Pipers River on a north-facing slope looking towards Ninth Island and Bass Straight. The first Pipers Brook Vineyard wines were made in 1979. They helped turn Tasmanian winemaking from a cottage industry into its current vinous paradise.
Above all, Pirie is a kind, warm and generous man.
A man of style – think James Bond (à la Sean Connery) with a black rollneck sweater.
Pirie has been a constant catalyst for change in Tasmania – his knowledge gained by hard work, trails of trial and error, corporate machinations, and a requisite measure of good luck. He has been a man in the right place at the right time.
Pirie is a visionary, a leader, an explorer, an innovator and a genuinely nice man. He’s an educator, having run wine appreciation courses at Sydney’s The Oak Barrel (from 1972 until 1991) and lectured at Charles Sturt University.
That he is an innovator too, there is no question. Thinking about the recent move to offer wine from a keg rather than bottle in bars and restaurants, to save on waste and resources, calls to mind how Pirie was already doing it with his Ninth Island wines 30 years ago. He has spent countless hours promoting his Pipers Brook Vineyard wines, while at the same time educating his audiences about varieties, viticulture, winemaking and the sheer unbridled pleasure of wine. Of course, Tasmanian cool-climate viticulture was always part of the conversation.
While some pioneers often pass their ‘relevance’ date in due course, Pirie certainly has not and more than likely never will. Speak with any of the current crop of Tassie vignerons (like Joe Holyman and Shane Holloway) and you’ll hear nothing but praise for Pirie’s mentoring and encouragement.
After many years being involved in a string of winery start-ups and corporate amalgamations, Pirie finally planted his own tiny plot of vines in 2007 with his wine brand Apogee, which is synonymous with words like ‘climax, pinnacle or culmination’. Such are his many years of hard-won experience.
Above all, Pirie is a kind, warm and generous man. A man of style – think James Bond (à la Sean Connery) with a black, rollneck sweater, deep blue corduroy trousers, a quiff of curly hair and an ever-present and welcoming smile. He has involved himself at every level of the Australian Wine Industry, even serving as a director of Tourism Tasmania.
In 2001, Pirie was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) and was a finalist for our Winemaker of the Year Award in both 2002 and 2003.
Never to rest on his hard won laurels, Pirie is undertaking climate research as an Honorary Associate at the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture and is writing a book on wine terroir. Another aspect of his busy portfolio is consulting to new ventures and start-up vineyards. Dr Pirie continues to mentor the next generation drawing on his 50 years of academic skill, knowledge and extensive experience.
Dr Andrew Pirie remains an inspirational leader and a worthy recipient of the WINE magazine 2022 Len Evans Award.
Photography courtesy of Apogee
