Meadowbank Wines

Meadowbank sits deep in Tasmania’s Derwent Valley, reached by a winding dirt road along the river about an hour west of Hobart. Gerald Ellis planted his first vines here in 1976 on what was then a working sheep farm — a bold call at a time when conventional thinking said the state’s south was too cold and wild for grape-growing. He was proved right, and Meadowbank is now recognised as one of the founding vineyards of cool-climate Tasmanian wine.

Today the torch has passed to Gerald’s daughter Mardi Ellis, who runs the property as custodian for the next generation, with her parents Gerald and Sue still closely involved. Winemaker Peter Dredge crafts the Meadowbank-label wines from the estate’s best parcels, drawing on the vineyard’s long-day, cool-night rhythm.

Meadowbank is a working farm, family home and vineyard rather than a conventional cellar door — all visits are by appointment. Individual tastings, vineyard walks and lunch bookings can be arranged, and the property hosts a monthly Long Lunch that has become its signature experience.