Andrew Hanigan - Looks like a surfer, acts like a wine maker

It occurred to us, as we argued over whether a sangiovese is even half as good as a pinot, that it's been a while since we featured a conversation with a wine industry luminary. Then we remembered we had a fantastic chat with Andrew Hanigan late last year and now would be a great time to finally post it.

We never intended that our conversation would be used as a podcast but listening to how articulate and passionate Andrew is we realised that we simply couldn't do him justice with only an article. So please forgive the lack of intro and 'thanks for joining us' bits but the rest of it is worth a listen.

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If you ever meet Andrew the first thing you'll notice is that he has street cred. He could be a surfer, skater or some sort of grafitti writing hooligan. "I'll take that as a compliment" he laughed. Don't let the 'I'm a rebel' appearance fool you. Andrew is, according to the judges at this year's Tasmanian Wine Show, the pinot producer of 2011. 

Not a bad effort from someone who decided to take a year off from his Agricultural Science degree ... twelve years ago. "I kept meaning to go back". Andrew believes it's not absolutely necessary to have tertiary qualifications to be a success in the wine industry. The key is a practical personality and a willingness to experiment.

This willingness to try new approaches is something of a family motto. "We've done all sorts of 'mad' things here on the farm". It's the reason the Hanigans started growing grapes. The family was approached to sell one of their properties, located at Granton in Hobart's northern suburbs. The keen prospective purchaser wanted to grow grapes.

The farm had been in the family since 1913 so they didn't fancy selling. Instead they decided that if someone else wanted to grow grapes then it must be a good idea so they gave it ago. "We planted riesling vines first because they were easy to grow and gave a crop quickly" Andrew told us.

So 1996 saw the start of Derwent Estate vineyard. Those first riesling plantings were quickly followed by pinot in 1998. Since then the range has been expanded and success wasn't long in coming. That mystery prospective buyer was right about the farm, it was an excellent vineyard site. Granton has warmer days than the rest of Hobart which gives the Derwent Estate whites their big, massive floral nose. Coupled with this is the cooler nights which "allows the grapes to recover and not ripen too quickly".

Having the right site is one thing but you need the right people as well. Andrew began his career at Lubiana's vineyard."I learned a lot off Steve". Then he went to Wine Making Tasmania to help Julian set up his winery. "He has been the biggest influence on me and is the reason I've been able to take this brand so far". That partnership has continued with Julian making all of Andrew's wine so far.

His time at Winemaking Tasmania ended when Andrew moved 'home' to work full time at the rapidly growing Derwent Estate. He also wanted to, as he put it, get serious with this brand.

The last 5 years has been serious indeed. Not only is Derwent Estate a very successful Tasmanian label, it is also contributing to the popularity of a mainland premium product. Some years ago Penfolds were looking for fruit at a time when the Hanigans had spare grapes. This in turn led to repeat orders and for the last five years their grapes have ended up in Penfolds' Yatana premium chardonnay. In 2008 60% of Yatana was Derwent Estate fruit. 

There are many reasons why this Tasmanian wine label has become such a consistently good one but Andrew's attitude to his fruit is no doubt one of them.

Andrew is very particular about when grapes should be picked. Once the grapes have the appropriate acid or sugar levels, 'according to the numbers', picking occurs once the grapes taste 'fruit sweet'. "I hate green flavours" he told us. What you end up with is wine that is powerful, intensely fruit flavoured yet clean and dry on the finish.

Green flavours aren't the only 'pet hate' Andrew has, he also doesn't like to tell people what they should see, smell or taste in a wine. He believes the wine industry is too concerned with the technical aspects and that this over complicates wine, making it harder for people to enjoy. As a result he doesn't enjoy writing back labels and has been known to 'rework' a previous one. He only does it because people seem to expect it. "People don't always smell or taste what is on the back label anyway". "What this industry needs is more of if you see it, smell it or taste it .... you're right"

So Derwent Estate is officially fantastic and Andrew not only has a winepunterish view of wine but he officially knows how to produce pinot. There really isn't any reason why you shouldn't go out and get some is there?

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