The East Coast is one of the Tasmania's premier wine-growing regions, known for its fine cool-climate wines and sweeping coastal views across the likes of Freycinet and Great Oyster Bay. Wineries are scattered between the townships of Four Mile Creek, Orford, Apslawn, Cranbrook, Bicheno, Swansea and St Helens.

Ossa's Belbrook Vineyard is situated between Cranbrook and Swansea. The first vines are at around 60-80 metres of elevation on a slight, amphitheatre-shaped slope. There are views of the ocean at Great Oyster Bay, but the site’s mesoclimate is complex, given that it is some eight kilometres inland. As is the case across Tasmania, with complex convergences of geological and climatic conditions in every little pocket, the conditions are highly particular to this spot. For instance, Liam McElhinney and the team have been sourcing fruit for sparkling base from a site three kilometres away that is chalk and cheese.

Belbrook is influenced in the afternoon by convection currents from the ocean, but the predominant airflow factor is the cool air descending from the midland ranges at the back of the property. "It can be extremely brisk if the wind’s going south or southwest,” says Liam. Essentially, then, the maritime and mountain-influenced continental influences collide here, and the balance of power shifts across the site. The soils likewise vary. For the most part, they are clay-based dolerite soils similar to the Coal River Valley, with more ironstone and calcareous deposits from fossilised crustaceans as you head on northwest-facing land as you head west towards the hills. As you clamber higher—and there are plans to go up to cooler, less accessible heights around 130 metres—with lighter, more friable soils and huge potential.

There is plenty of light and sunshine here, and the wines will never want for fruit weight. This is balanced by briny, sea-spray, rock, and umami layers, along with natural acidity. High tones of fruit and flowers peak above windswept, woodsy, outdoorsy elements and earthier, savoury tones. All the way, they look as free and unbound as this landscape.