NA ="Tea Tree, Richmond, Campania,";
FE1[0]=" This sub-region in the Coal River Valley includes wineries surrounding Tea Tree and along the road between it and Richmond. Ten minutes from the city of Hobart the Coal River Valley is one of the Southern Tasmanian Wine Regions. H";
FE2[0]="ere the valley's sunny aspects, soils and microclimates are helping growers and winemakers to create superb cool-climate wines. Vineyard restaurants, cellar doors and the historic village of Richmond make this region an ideal day ";
FE3[0]="tour from Hobart. There's even an oyster farm along the way! The road into Tasmania's convict past runs down the Tasman Peninsula to the nation's most important heritage site at Port Arthur, passing tall sea crags and superb coast";
FE4[0]="al landscapes. Dotted along the way are vineyards, fruit farms, galleries and bistros where you can taste a local wine and sample the region's seafood. The Coal River Valley has come into prominence with agricultural pursuits over";
FE5[0]=" recent years since the construction of the Coal River dam. The dam has benefited primary producers and provided an improving recreational outlet for trout fishers. Vineyards are expanding and developing, with many new ones now pl";
FE6[0]="anted. Both the Coal River Valley and Tea Tree will play an important part in the southern wine route. Being so close to Hobart, the two areas make comfortable day trips for wine enthusiasts. The Coal River Valley could be become ";
FE7[0]="Tasmania's largest region with large plantings continuing. The Upper Coal River region north of Richmond, near Campania, features many boutique wineries that have won many awards.";
FE8[0]="";
FE9[0]="";
LA1[0]=" The Coal River Valley is the dominant landscape feature and is defined by roughly parallel north-south ridges with heights of up to 900 metres.  From the gently sloping, higher altitude areas around Tunnack and Stonor, the Coal Ri";
LA2[0]="ver passes through a deeply incised gorge (up to 180 metres deep) in the upper catchment before crossing the broader plains of the lower valley. Wetlands characterise the low relief areas which fringe the Pitt Water estuarine zone";
LA3[0]=". The geology features include Jurassic dolerite intrusives form the high ridges and rounded hills (weathered igneous plugs) which cover approximately thirty percent of the Coal River catchment. Triassic fluvio-lacustrine sequence";
LA4[0]="s of quartz sandstone with varying proportions of shale and mudstone comprise nearly forty percent of the total area, primarily in the upper regions of the Coal River valley floor. Siliceous siltstone outcrops of Permian age cover";
LA5[0]=" ten percent of the catchment in the Tunnack-Baden region and around Cambridge. Tertiary sedimentary deposits (basalt silts and fine sand) are found along the Coal River Estuary and Pitt Water, while basalt extends between Campani";
LA6[0]="a and Richmond on the Coal River plain. Quaternary alluvial deposits are restricted to stream valleys throughout the catchment .The major soil types in the area are: # aeolian or wind-blown sands which are good for intensive agric";
LA7[0]="ulture but susceptible to wind erosion. # floodplain/terrace soils which require dry weather irrigation and may have moderate to high subsoil salinity. # alluvial plain soils which are good for most crops but require irrigation an";
LA8[0]="d drainage. # pediment and high terrace soils characterised by poor workability and drainage. # tertiary sediment prone to drainage problems, high sub-soil salinity and breakdown of soil structure. # tertiary basalts subject to cr";
LA9[0]="acking in dry seasons but capable of producing good crops. # friable dolerite soils prevalent on hill tops. # soft plastic clays underlie dispersible clays and fine sand or silt soils on the western shores of Pitt Water.";
CL1[0]=" The Coal River catchment is a relatively dry area of Tasmania with an annual rainfall averaging around 500-600 mm. High ridges ringing the catchment (Central Highlands to the west and Brown Mountain to the east) place much of the ";
CL2[0]="valley within a rain-shadow. While East Coast low-pressure systems tend to produce more rain from October to December, average monthly rainfall statistics are relatively uniform in the 40-60 mm range. Despite this apparent uniform";
CL3[0]="ity, rainfall tends to be highly variable from year to year and month to month. Water resources within the Valley are heavily dependent upon rainfall with few perennial streams and springs in the region. The Coal River catchment i";
CL4[0]="s located in a relatively dry area of Tasmania with an average annual rainfall increasing from 520 mm at Hobart Airport to 630 mm further inland at Colebrook While east coast low pressure systems tend to produce more rain from Oct";
CL5[0]="ober to December, monthly rainfall figures are relatively uniform in the 40 - 60 mm range. River flow records indicate that only ten to fifteen percent of rainfall in the catchment is evident as run-off. Low run-off can be the res";
CL6[0]="ult of high net evaporation rates and increased ground permeability. Mean maximum daily temperatures (Hobart Airport) range from 22 ºC in January and February to 12 ºC in June and July. July has the mean minimum daily temperature ";
CL7[0]="of 3.9 ºC. On average, frosts occur nine times per year with the frequency increasing further inland. Winds generally blow down the valley from the northwest, with the lower catchment receiving cooler south-easterly sea breezes in";
CL8[0]=" the summer. The regions around Hobart are coldest in Tasmania and the challenge here is to grow grapes out of the wind. The recent development of the South East Irrigation Scheme has enabled farmers to diversify into a range of o";
CL9[0]="ther more intensive irrigated cropping activities, previously prevented by the low annual rainfall. Nevertheless, limitations in the availability of irrigation water mean that dryland cropping and grazing dominate.";
HI1[0]=" The Coal River Irrigation Scheme, completed in the late 1980s provided the key for expansion of wineries in this area. Prior to the 1980's, only George Park at Stoney Vineyard had attempted viticulture (on a micro-scale) because o";
HI2[0]="f the low rainfall. However, he proved how amenable the climate was (water excepted) by successfully ripening and making Zinfandel. Domaine A Stoney Vineyard, the first in the Region, began its life as the property of George Park ";
HI3[0]="in 1973. In 1988 Ruth and Peter Althaus purchased the property. Their first wines were produced in 1993. Amongst the earliest vineyards in the Tea Tree sub-region was Morningside Vineyard established in 1980 by Peter and Brenda Bo";
HI4[0]="sworth (winemakers) The district has a very interesting history. Towards the end of 1803, a party from Lieutenant Bowen's settlement at Risdon Cove explored eastwards, hunting kangaroo and emu; they discovered coal and named the C";
HI5[0]="oal River. Land grants to settlers encouraged settlement in the area. In 1823, the erection of the Richmond Bridge facilitated travel to the east coast, and the Tasman Peninsula, as settlers pushed further in search of land. Richm";
HI6[0]="ond Bridge is Australia's oldest bridge still in use. It was built by convicts from sandstone quarried locally and hauled by handcarts to the bridge site. The bridge is said to be haunted by several ghosts, including Grover, a cru";
HI7[0]="el flagellator. In 1824, the township of Richmond was named and it became one of Lieutenant-Governor Arthur's police districts; the gaol, the courthouse, the barracks and a watch house were erected.  Richmond continued to grow, la";
HI8[0]="rgely because of its importance as a convict station and a military post. In the 1830s, Richmond's position on the route to the East Coast and the Tasman Peninsula made it a natural overnight stopping place. In 1872, the opening o";
HI9[0]="f the Sorell causeway and the extension of the Hobart-Launceston railway line through Campania increased Richmond's growth. Richmond is now acclaimed as a must-see tourist destination.  ";



























