About us

Margaret Pooley,
Australia’s oldest female Vigneron

Pooley Wines was established in 1985 when the late Denis Pooley and his wife, Margaret, planted ten rows of Riesling and seven rows of Pinot Noir on their 16-hectare farm at Cooinda Vale in the Coal River Valley in southern Tasmania.

Today, after more than 20 years of producing premium quality cool-climate wines, and having been awarded numerous trophies and medals at prestigious wine shows, the Pooley family has established a second vineyard in the Coal River Valley at Richmond. Margaret Pooley, still lively, although well into her 90s, is chief executive of Cooinda Vale Vineyard. She is a hardy Scot and she can be found tending vines during the coldest Tasmanian winters.

In 2003, John Pooley, son of Denis and Margaret, and his wife Libby bought Belmont Lodge, a heritage-listed Georgian home on the outskirts of Richmond. They have been lovingly renovating this second Pooley Wines Coal River Valley property, and have planted vines on nearby Butchers Hill. In 2007 the first vintage of Pinot was produced. The cellar door is housed in old sandstone stables on the Belmont Lodge property.

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Belmont Lodge

Belmont Lodge – a fine two storey Georgian stone house – was built in 1832 by a Hobart wine dealer, Benjamin Guy.

A book of the finest private colonial estates in Tasmania, by Alice Bennett and Georgia Warner, was published in 2009. Belmont Lodge is one of the 26 properties featured.

The family’s love of wine was ignited many years ago, in 1954, when Denis Pooley became a founding member of the Hobart Beefsteak and Burgundy Club, two years after he and Margaret arrived in Tasmania from England. “There were only six members. It was very exclusive,” recalls Margaret.

Matthew Pooley
Manager and Winemaker
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Matthew Pooley

The Pooley Wines family business has been under the management of Matthew Pooley for the past 12 years. Matthew is also the Winemaker for the Pooley Family Reserve range.

In the task of developing and expanding the Pooley vineyards at Cooinda Vale and at Belmont Lodge, Matthew has brought a strong commitment to his craft, and to the wine industry in general.

In response to various climate change and peak oil issues facing businesses today, Matthew is reducing Pooley Wines’ reliance on chemicals, using various techniques such as growing crops in the vineyard to provide nutrients to the vines and using natural predators to control pests.

Listen to a podcast of an interview with Matthew Pooley.

Three generations of the Pooley family work in the vineyards. The General Manager and chief wine-maker of Pooley Wines is grandson, Matthew Pooley.

This grandmother/grandson wine-growing team is believed to be unique in Australia. “She is the main drive behind it,” says Matthew Pooley of his astonishing grandmother. “She puts us all to shame.”

The Coal River Valley produces some of Australia’s finest wines and the Pooleys are one of its longest-established winegrowers.

Pooley Wines consistently wins awards. Pooley Wines Rieslings and Pinot Noirs took home 22 medals and trophies at the 2007 Tasmanian Wine Show.