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What grows together, goes together Landfall Beef and Josef Chromy Wines

We travel to Tasmania to lunch with Launceston neighbours Landfall Beef and Josef Chromy Wines and discover the old adage of what grows together, goes together is still very relevant.

Long before we started digging things out of the ground, our economic prosperity as ‘The Lucky Country’, came from agriculture, livestock in particular.

From the mid 1800s and for most of the 1900s, we were literally ‘riding on the sheep’s back’ as we matured and developed into what we are today.

Our identity, what we eat, drink and appreciate, comes from this industry and to help celebrate what is recognised as the best produce in the world, Selector has partnered with Australian Beef & Lamb to bring you the stories of some selected producers across the country.

Each article will be based in one of our great wine regions and feature a prominent wine producer meeting a livestock producer over lunch and a glass of wine. By sharing the fruits of these agricultural pursuits, we hope you gain a greater appreciation of the best food and wine we produce and the regions that bind them together.

We start our series in Tasmania’s Tamar Valley with the Archer family, renowned for their lamb production, and Josef Chromy OAM, who, after developing some of Tasmania’s most significant wineries, established his own at the age of 76.

The Archer Family

The Archer family have been farming their property, ‘Landfall’, in Northern Tasmania’s Tamar Valley for five generations. Arriving in 1876, brothers Gerald and Hedly Archer started cropping and raising livestock.

The other five Archer brothers moved to Queensland to farm and their heirs, like their Tasmanian cousins, have remained on the land, raising their families and livestock.

Today, the Tasmanian Archers specialise in prime lamb. Their lives are intimately connected to the Tamar Valley, their property, their animals and as the sixth generation of Archers grow up, they will learn and understand the true meaning of paddock to plate; breeding, birthing, raising, selling and marketing their animals.

The Archers know the value of their labour and have opened Landfall Farm Fresh, a direct-to-customer butcher shop in Launceston that allows customers to appreciate the highest quality lamb that is raised just minutes from the shop.

Pastoral Connections

Over a special lunch of Landfall lamb neck with potato & olive oil purée, glazed artichokes, sheep milk curd and almonds, and slow-cooked Landfall lamb shoulder with perfect sauce, salt-baked celeriac, winter greens and radicchio salad, especially prepared by chef, Nick Raitt, fifth generation Archers, Ellie and Ed, got to share their produce, connect and get to know another Tamar
agri-producer in Josef Chromy.

Over a glass of Josef’s exquisite Pinot Noir, crafted by chief winemaker, Jeremy Dineen, the Archers discovered that they had more in common with Josef than just the land they share.

Josef ‘Joe’ Chromy escaped his Nazi controlled Czech village and fled across borders, dodging soldiers, dogs and minefields, before eventually emigrating to Australia as a destitute 19-year-old. Joe found hope in Tasmania, became a Master Butcher and started a business called Blue Ribbon Meat Products, building his business over 40 years to become a leading Tasmanian brand.

Joe floated Blue Ribbon and invested in Tasmania’s fledgling wine industry, developing the now iconic labels Jansz, Heemskerk, Rochecombe (Bay of Fires) and Tamar Ridge.

In 2007, he started Josef Chromy Wines and has developed the business significantly to become recognised internationally as one of Tasmania’s leading producers and the region’s most impressive cellar door and restaurant.

Kitchen Royalty

Nick Raitt, head chef at the Josef Chromy Wines Restaurant, has some pedigree of his own, having cooked at Level 41, Otto and Coast and has even cooked for the royals of Oman and a laundry list of other royals and world leaders.

To match colleague Jeremy Dineen’s spectacular Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, Nick was keen to work with secondary cuts to show the Archers what was possible with their product. He chose neck and shoulder, which are highly accessible and inexpensive cuts with plenty of flavour potential.

The Archers were quietly impressed, and as they were able to gain a further appreciation of their products, they got to share their stories, enjoy Joe and Jeremy’s delicious wines and develop a further appreciation for the amazing place that connects them all.