Carlos Souris
VINEYARD VISIONARY
Demand for grapes and wine outstrips supply in Tasmania, and it’s thanks to people like Carlos Souris – a passionate viticulturist doing things his way.
Carlos never planned to live in Tasmania. It was the 1980s and the budding viticulturist – who had almost become an aircraft engineer, was on his way to Western Australia. The fast-growing Margaret River wine region was full of buzz and excitement and he wanted to get in on the action. But a stopover in Tasmania turned permanent, and today he’s managing one of the island’s most important vineyards and scooping up awards along the way.
Hot property in a cool climate
When a young Carlos hit the road, heading from New South Wales’ Mudgee wine region to Margaret River in the west, he took a circuitous route via Tasmania. And never made it further than that.
“It was blatantly obvious to me, even with my relatively novice approach, that this was the place to grow grapes,” says Carlos.” I rang my family and said that I was staying in Tasmania.”
It was early days for Tasmania’s wine industry, with less than a hundred hectares of vines on the pristine island. Carlos planted a vineyard on the cold, dry south coast and today, almost 40 years later, he’s still excited about Tasmania’s winemaking potential.
“We have a really dry and long and cool ripening season, and there are pockets of soil that are just so incredibly unique,” he says. “The combination of those two things and all of the other beautiful, pristine things that Tasmania has to offer... You end up with something pretty special.”
For Carlos, these elements come together to create something more than the sum of its parts at Tolpuddle Vineyard, where he has been Vineyard Manager since 2012. The vineyard was established in 1988, producing extremely high-quality wines right from the start. In 2011 it was bought by Martin Shaw and Michael Hill Smith who previously founded Adelaide Hills’ renowned Shaw + Smith.
Carlos is on a never-ending mission to improve grape and wine quality, and he’s not afraid to make bold changes, whether it’s pulling and replanting vines, rethinking pruning techniques or transforming soil and water management. At the heart of it all is his unyielding passion.
“I have an empathy with the vines that I think is probably my guiding light,” he says. “To be able to be creative and scientific in the same field is pretty special. And wine certainly allows you to do that.”
“To be able to be creative and scientific in the same field is pretty special.” – Carlos Souris
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