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Their Story:

Pooley Wines was first established in 1985 when Denis and Margaret Pooley planted vines on the banks of the Coal River in southern Tasmania. With seven rows of Pinot Noir and ten rows of Riesling planted on their 16-hectare farm at Cooinda Vale as a retirement plan, Denis and Margaret found a renewed vigour for life. A vineyard that started as nothing more than a distraction for Denis and Margaret soon flourished into a renowned premium cool-climate site.

With the help of their son and grandchildren, three generations of the Pooley family have continued to bring meticulous care to their Cooinda Vale vineyard. In 1989, Cooinda Vale’s unique microclimate and terroir yielded its first vintage with the quality and consistency of fruit, speaking to Margaret and Denis’s love and dedication shown to their property. Denis continued working in the vineyard until his passing in 1994.

In 2003, John Pooley and his wife Libby bought Belmont, a heritage-listed Georgian home on the outskirts of Richmond. Pooley Wines expanded their estate and established a second vineyard, Butcher’s Hill, with its first vintage produced in 2007.

Until the passing of Margaret Pooley in 2010, three generations of the Pooley family were working in the vineyards with John’s son, Matthew Pooley, taking on the responsibility as Viticulturist. With Margaret’s granddaughter, Anna Pooley returning to the family business in 2013, Pooley was made entirely by family hands from this point onward.

Now, more than 35 years after Pooley Wines was first established, the family’s philosophy of making wines that reflect their unique environment while pushing the quality of the grapes and the wines even further has continued.

The Coal River Valley produces some of Australia’s finest wines, and Pooley Wines has been recognised as one of Australia’s most renowned cool-climate producers, with The Halliday Wine Companion awarding Pooley Wines 2023 Winery of the Year .

Their Vineyard:

The Coal River Valley is a historic river plain that has deposits of various alluvial soils in the bends and rivulets of the Coal River. Permian mudstone and sandstone outcrops feature through much of the Valley with Triassic sandstones, shales and coal measures tending to the East.

There are also numerous injections of Jurassic dolerite in pockets of the region. Tertiary basalt sediments and ferricrete deposits are commonly found through the Valley and contribute to our Butchers Hill vineyard’s dark and orange coloured soils. The distinction between our sites is attributed to the historical flow and drainage points of the Coal River.

Our vineyards are located inland from surrounding bodies of water. Our region is considerably drier than our northern and further southern growing counterparts and contributes to more extreme temperatures and conditions throughout the year. While being more continental, the Coal River Valley still enjoys interaction from the surrounding Southern Ocean, allowing us to have a long ripening period moderated by a maritime climate. This creates a beautiful diurnal effect of warm sunny days and cool dewy nights and distinct annual seasons. The lower rainfall of the region presents a great opportunity in reducing disease pressures in our vineyards.