So, off he went to Tasmania, working for many years at Bay of Fires (cool climate whites and Pinot) and sister company, House of Arras (sparkling), sourcing fruit from 13 growers all over Tasmania. It was during this stint that he cultivated a deep understanding of Tasmanian terroir, traveling the 200 mile stretch north to south between various subregions of volcanic to alluvial clay soils. Yet, after nearly seven years, the glamor of the job description could no longer hold back the rushing flood of corporate-winemaking-induced head smashing.

In 2015, Peter and his fiancé moved from the north of Tasmania down to Hobart where he would start Dr. Edge, the nickname he earned for himself in 1998 at Petaluma, which is decidedly better than being named after sucking mud out of the bottom of a river. And remember those trip-hop days? Peter spent years hunting down the artist who did the original album cover for the Headz 2 album, a compilation of  DJs and artists like The Beastie Boys, DJ Shadow, Nightmares on wax, Massive Attack. He finally found an original painting available at an art gallery in Bristol and, with a swift coup de coeur, paid “a hell of a lot” for it and shipped it down to Tasmania. Peter was able to coax the artist, Robert del Naja, into giving him the rights to use that painting and other original pieces on his labels in exchange for a case of wine here and there. Not a bad trade…  The paintings are all abstract pieces that depict heads; one can’t help but see this art as a humble homage to the days of Peter’s tenuous brain functioning.

Peter sources his fruit mainly from Meadowbank, where he also moonlights as their winemaker. His ethos in the cellar is to make wines that are “unashamedly soft-handed,” fresh, light, and textured, accolades that earned him the Young Gun of Wine People’s Choice award in 2017. His days at Petaluma had him convinced that single vineyard wines were the only acceptable way, but sourcing fruit for Hardy’s had him changing his tune. The Dr. Edge portfolio is bolstered by fruit from all over Tasmania, which scratches Peter’s itch of experimenting with blends of clones and vineyard sites. (He once made a Pinot Noir from 29 different clones). With a twinkle in his eye, he remarks that “every vineyard is someone’s dream on a patch of dirt.” Weave those dreams, Dr. Edge. Fly us to the bright side of the moon.