COOL climate grapes may be the only grapes that grow in Tasmania, but the state is to reap the benefits.
For the first time, and only the second time in Australia, the International Cool Climate Wine Symposium will be held in Hobart next week.
The symposium, held every two to three years, was last held in Seattle, US, where Tasmania made its formal bid to host the 2012 event.
A lot of wine was tasted as part of the bid by Wine Tasmania, the Department of Economic Tourism and Tourism Tasmania, said Wine Tasmania CEO Sheralee Davies.
Close to 300 winemakers, growers and media will visit Tasmania for the symposium, many of them for the first time, said Ms Davies.
"We had to explain to them where Tassie was," she said.
Organiser winemaker Andrew Hood said it was 'the most ambitious thing the industry has ever taken on and Tasmania is probably the smallest region in the world to take it on.
The most influential wine commentator in the world, known as the queen of wine, has been booked for the event.
English master of wine Jancis Robinson will talk about the importance of cool climate to wine production and what that means for consumers.
Tasmania produces less than half a per cent of the total Australian production but is probably the strongest wine region in Australia, said Ms Davies.
"Demand for our wine outstrips supply, the prices for our fruit and our wine are some of the highest in the country and 100 per cent of our wine is in the premium and ultra premium categories," Ms Davies said.
International guests will attend a reception dinner at MONA and another gala dinner is open to the public.
The Cool Climate Wine Symposium is from January 31 to February 6.
For details, phone 6223 3770.
Read more on The Mercury.
