NA ="Pipers Brook, Bridport, Lalla,  Lebrena, Lilydale, Rochlea, Launceston,  Pipers River,";
FE1[0]=" A pleasant drive 45 minutes drive north from Launceston will take you to Pipers Brook / Pipers River Region - one of Tasmania's premier wine growing areas. Although close to the Tamar River Region, the soils, climate and landscape";
FE2[0]=" produce very different 'terroir' and the unique Pipers River / Brook wines, the region is famous for. This is the home of the acclaimed cool-climate Tassie wines. To sample these exquisite wines take the A8 road from Launceston t";
FE3[0]="owards Rocherlea, Lillydale and Lebrina. Most of the wineries are near the coast. You can stay at George Town or at one of the host bed-and-breakfast locations in the area, some of them on the vineyards themselves. Most of the ten";
FE4[0]=" vineyards in the area are small, family-owned boutique wineries where the growers themselves will greet you for wine tasting and information about just how their unique wins are made. Many have restaurants and sell local craft an";
FE5[0]="d produce. The largest winery is Pipers Brook Vineyard (acquired by the Belgium company Kreglinger in 2002), has many vineyards in the area. The Pipers Brook sub region is suited to the production of fine white table wine, especia";
FE6[0]="lly Riesling and Chardonnay, and sparkling wines. Cabernet Sauvignon is difficult to ripen in some difficult years, yet fruit from the later-ripening Riesling grape can produce some of the most delicately balanced wines one could ";
FE7[0]="wish to taste. Often Rieslings can be high in alcohol and acid while retaining great flavours of citrus, limes and lemons. The region is suited to producing high-quality Sauvignon Blanc as well, and notably sparkling wines. Pinot ";
FE8[0]="Noir styles very much reflect growing season. Cabernet Sauvignon generally finds it too cold and windy. The neighbouring Tamar Valley is almost the opposite, producing full flavored and deeply coloured Cabernet, ripe complex Chard";
FE9[0]="onnay and robust Pinot Noir.";
LA1[0]=" The Pipers River catchment is used for agriculture and forestry. The catchment covers approximately 298 km2 and drains northward into Bass Strait through Weymouth. The landscape of rolling hills sprinkled with luxuriant stands of ";
LA2[0]="eucalypts eucalyptus forests in the coastal hinterland provides a picturesque setting for this region. Agriculture was only recently developed in this area. Small farms have been established on the rolling hills, with the vineyard";
LA3[0]="s generally sited in areas with suitable soil and landscape. Growing grapes and making wines have often been added to beef grazing, lavender and other pursuits. Generally the vineyards have been located on the deep vivid red/red b";
LA4[0]="rown/orange soils in the region, which are friable and promote vigorous vine growth without needing irrigation. The landscapes are very different to the open banks and greyer gravelly basalt soils on a base of heavy clay and irons";
LA5[0]="tone found in the neighbouring Tamar Valley. Slope and aspect are of critical importance in both regions, and determine what varieties can be successfully grown. The major land use in the Region is grazing, of both sheep and cattl";
LA6[0]="e on improved pasture, native pasture, partially cleared areas, steeper country and stony land. Lavender and other crops are also grown. The soils of the Region are very diverse, complex and variable, resulting from the highly var";
LA7[0]="iable geology and while most of the soils are non-arable, with poor structure, low organic matter levels, stoniness and relative infertility. However there are patches of deep red soil suitable for grapes. The most sought after so";
LA8[0]="ils are the Red Ferrosols based on Tertiary basalt (deeply weathered) found on the Basalt plateau and rolling slopes. These soils are deep red in colour acidic, friable clay grading to clay, free drainage, and moderate to high nut";
LA9[0]="rient status. Tertiary sediments occur closer to the coast with sandy loam topsoils over clay subsoils.";
CL1[0]=" The latitude of 41 degrees south gives Pipers River Region a relatively cool climate comparable to Champagne (France) and the Rhine Valley (Germany). However the climate is relatively even and mild throughout the year, without the";
CL2[0]=" temperature extremes in winter and summer found in other parts of Australia. Temperatures are cool in winter but frosts are infrequent. While the heat summation is perilously low, sunshine hours are generous (8-10 hours Dec to Ma";
CL3[0]="rch) and high sugar levels are achieved in years in which late season rains (peaking in June-August) do not intervene. Pipers River has relatively high humidity, which promotes and accelerates physiological ripening. The climate d";
CL4[0]="ata shown is for Launceston, at sea level, whereas Pipers Brook vineyards are at 200-400 m elevation and the climate of the coastal vineyards is cooler than the Tamar Valley estuary vineyards. Grapes of a given variety ripen appro";
CL5[0]="ximately 10 to 14 days earlier on the Tamar sites than at Pipers Brook or Pipers River. Late ripening varieties such as Cabernet sauvignon are more suited to the warmer Tamar climate than the cooler Pipers Brook and Pipers River r";
CL6[0]="egions. The cool conditions on the coast favor the production of wines styles, such as sparkling wines, which rely on high naturally acidity in the grapes. Pinot noir and Chardonnay are harvested from early to mid-April, Cabernet ";
CL7[0]="sauvignon in late May and Riesling slightly earlier. The natural rainfall of all vineyards is in the range of 625 to 750 mm per year. At Pipers Brook, rainfall is at the higher end of this range, and in combination with deep well ";
CL8[0]="drained soils enables quite productive viticulture without the necessity of supplementary irrigation, as long as moisture conservation practices are adopted.";
CL9[0]="";
HI1[0]=" Providence Vineyards, Tasmania's oldest established vineyard, was the dream of fifth generation winemaker from Provence, Jean Miguet. The initial plantings in 1956, of illegally cuttings from France, included Pinot Noir, Chasselas";
HI2[0]="s, Chardonnay and Grenache. Some 56 vines were planted on the eastern side of the house in three rows running north south. But, Miguet faced a host of problems. Local sectarian groups and others objected to the production of alcoh";
HI3[0]="ol and sent a tirade of letters to the newspaper. The Miguets became known as 'the wogs on the hill'. Cruel natural events and accidents added to their woes. Windbreak trees and vines were sprayed with herbicide and their goat was";
HI4[0]=" also poisoned. Despite all this the vineyard grew and Jean built a small winery, installing a basket press and wax-lined concrete tanks. He made wine and tended the small vineyard carefully, each winter removing the old bark by h";
HI5[0]="and off each vine to deter insect pests. Miguet died in 1976 without ever getting approval to produce, and sell, his wines. From 1980 La Provence was managed by Graham Wiltshire of Heemskerk fame. Grapes from La Provence were sold";
HI6[0]=" to Heemskerk and from 1986 to 1993 with wines made under contract for La Provence. In 1993, Andrew Hood was contracted to make wine for La Provence. The original name 'La Provence' was changed to 'Providence' due to pressure from";
HI7[0]=" France. Pipers Brook Vineyard, the largest winery in Northern Tasmania, was established in 1974. The company acquired Heemskerk, Rochecombe and Buchannan vineyards from Heemskerk Wine Group in 1998. The Belgium Company Kreglinger";
HI8[0]=" bought Pipers Brook winery in 2002. Delamere winery vineyards were planted in 1982, Brook Eden and Dalrymple in 1987. Clover Hill winery opened in 1996, and 'Bay of Fires' opened in 2002 using the former Ninth Island Winery site ";
HI9[0]="bought by BRL Hardy from Pipers Brook Winery.";