Tassie holiday - any tips?

[Michael R]

Off to Tassie for 10 days @ end of August.
No agenda other than starting & finishing in Hobart, driving all around in between.

Doesn’t seem to be a lot of Tassie forumites lurking here, but I’m hoping others might have experiences worth sharing.

I’ve only been to Bridport a couple of times (for golf) but nowhere else.
Will be going to Garagistes & Montys restaurants in Hobart, heard Stillwater’s pretty good in Launceston.

On the winery front Pooley, Heemskerk, Spring Vale, Freycinet, Stefano Lubiana, Morilla Estate, Domain A, all on the radar.

Any tips would be great. Particularly on accom & food outside of Hobart, as I have no idea.

Cheers
Michael

[Hacker]

You mentioned Bridport so I assume you have played Barnbougle and Lost Farm. My advice, play them again, they are that good! And stay at Lost Farm and eat at their restaurant perched on top of the sand dunes over looking the water - magnificent!

Cradle Mountain Lodge is worth a night or two as well. Some nice walks there, but perhaps a tad chilly in August.

[Thommo]

Lebrina in Hobart is lovely and old-school. Make sure at some stage you get to Jackman and Macross bakery for one of their fantastic (and imaginative, and seasonal) pies. They are in Battery point and North Hobart.
There is a very good bottle shop on Elizabeth St, North Hobart called "Just Add Wine", and another in Salamanca called Grape. Both have very good ranges of Tassie wine, and do tastings. Grape had those oneotec wine tasting doasage machines last time I was there. JAW was quite a bit cheaper than grape from memory, and had a very helpful and knowledgeable owner.

I love Hobart! I really want to get back there again.

cheers,
Tom

[Rossco]

Go see Julian at Moores Hill. His Rieslings are fkn amazing!
Just down the road from Moores Hill are Mary & Micheal at Velo wines.... GREAT chardonnay!!!
If you like cheese, you cant go past Yondover Farm House Cheese near the Tamar Valley
I stayed at Peppers York Coveer in George Town. Great place although sadly the old managers have now left. Dont know what the
new managers are like however the food was amazing......Med-Rare Tassie Rib Eye on the bone.........mmmmmmm

[crusty2]

if you are at Bridport and travel towards St. Helens you will pass through Weldborough, great pub there, and there used to be a challenging golf course there cut straight out of the rainforest. On towards St. Colombia Falls is Pyengana Cheese, the best matured chedder to be found anywhere. I don't know if the beer drinking Pig is still there, but get there early if he is otherwise by early afternoon he has had a belly full.

cheers
Phill

[griff]

Second Moores Hill. Would add Delamere and Dalrymple to the list of must do's wineries should I get there again. Angasi is pretty good, the location superb.

[via collins]

Derwent Estate rieslings are real fine, their pinot rated too though I've not tried.

They're about 20km out of Hobart, it'd be high on my list of places to visit in the neighbourhood.

[kaos]

Recommend Home HIll down in the Huon Valley for both food and for their wines. Recommend Barringwood Park up Mersey Valley way for wine primarily (although we had a highly satisfactory platter there). Consider Goaty Hill (Fran Austin makes the wine), and Bay of Fires in the Tamar Valley and surrounds. Rosevears pub for a feed if you're in that neck of the woods - lovely spot. Apsley Gorge has some interesting pinot and great location. I love Tasmania.....

[Michael R]

Fantastic info, exactly what i was hoping for, thank you all.

Hadn’t heard of most of your recommendations, pretty much all are on the itinerary now. Will certainly post any notes afterwards.

Unfortunately wont be playing golf this time, but enjoyed your post Hacker. The lost farm set-up is great, will still try to get there for lunch hopefully.
FWIW I prefer the course at Barnbougle though, certainly a tougher test. Actually I might have to grab a quick 9 holes, just hope the rental club options are as decent as the course...

Thanks again
Michael

[cuttlefish]

Practically right across the road from Spring Vale is Milton Vineyards. They typically have something very good made from Riesling be it dry style, or dessert style, and some quite good sparkling wine from time to time as well.
They have a fairly low profile, but definitely worth a look. You might need to call in advance. I think the wines might be made by the folk at Spring Vale.

[GraemeG]

Yes, definitely worth catching Delamere in Piper's River, even if you're not going to the Lost Ball / Barnbougle.
It's now owned by Shane Holloway and Fran Austin - that's a lot of winemaking talent for just a few thousand cases.
My "to watch" Tassie winery.
Also, good food and sensibly-priced wine (in Tas context) at Josef Chromy just south of Lonnie.
If you're driving to Cradle, it might be worth a detour for lunch & tasting to Barringwood Park. Good wines here too.

Also, the other winery in Coal which was an eye-opener is Puddleduck. Have they ever stepped up their game.
Also get to Craigow if they're open.
My recent (Jan-12) notes are here:

TASMANIA WINERIES JAN-12 (1) - COAL VALLEY - Coal Valley, Tasmania (10/01/2012)
TASMANIA WINERIES JAN-12 (2) - TAMAR VALLEY - Tasmania (15/01/2012-19/01/2012)

cheers,
GG

[odyssey]

Launceston/Tamar Valley:
- A third for Moore's Hill, Mick. A little gem run by one of the nicest owner/winemakers/families you'll find.
- Bay Of Fires (Arras).
- Book lunch at Josef Chromy after tasting at the cellar door. Even better on a nice day, sit on the deck or in the garden and enjoy the laid back garden/pond setting.
- Doubly recommend Stillwater - our favorite dinner at Tassie and easily on par with the best restaurants in bigger cities.
- They have a very convenient little dozen-shipping mechanism in Tamar Valley where you can gradually collect a mixed dozen as you drive around and the last winery you visit will ship it off via Australia Post.

Hobart:
- Definitely grab brunch at Jackman & Ross Bakery in Battery Point, then wander around the nearby quaint little streets and walk it all off
- Grape Bar and Bottleshop at Salamanca is a pretty cool wine bar with an interesting, varying choice of wines by the glass.
- If you need a break from all that fine dining Da Angelo is a quality little local pizza restaurant in Battery Point.

Cradle Mountain + lake is beautiful and I'm not just saying that because it's where we got engaged. We would love to go back and stay a few nights there at the Lodge.

[griff]

Practically right across the road from Spring Vale is Milton Vineyards. They typically have something very good made from Riesling be it dry style, or dessert style, and some quite good sparkling wine from time to time as well.
They have a fairly low profile, but definitely worth a look. You might need to call in advance. I think the wines might be made by the folk at Spring Vale.

Yep. Liked and bought the sweet riesling from Milton. Both are a hop skip and a jump away from Freycinet so it would be rude not to visit them as well.

[odyssey]

Oh I almost forgot Native Point!

Their 'cellar door' is a strange little cafe/grocery store halfway up the highway. Great pinots.

[Michael R]

Thanks gents, I'm getting quite excited now.
Andrew, always keen for your restaurant tips, stillwater now a certain starter. Also will stay at Cm lodge.

A lot of wineries I've never heard of too, Delamere wines sound v interesting in particular.
To be honest I struggle with Rieslings with high res sugar, but will give everything a go. Any chance of a Sydney visit soon Cuttlefish?

[odyssey]

Nah haven't been to CM lodge Mick, just heard about it.

We stayed at The Riverhouse in Launceston and absolutely loved it there - best place to stay in Launceston. Have to book quickly however as it is the top rated B&B in Tasmania on Tripadvisor.

[Sharkey]

Launceston/Tamar Valley:
......
- Book lunch at Josef Chromy after tasting at the cellar door. Even better on a nice day, sit on the deck or in the garden and enjoy the laid back garden/pond setting.
- Doubly recommend Stillwater - our favorite dinner at Tassie and easily on par with the best restaurants in bigger cities.
- They have a very convenient little dozen-shipping mechanism in Tamar Valley where you can gradually collect a mixed dozen as you drive around and the last winery you visit will ship it off via Australia Post.

+1 for lunch at Josef Chromy. One of my favourite cellar doors anywhere.

Stillwater is very good. This reminds me, I have booked the Bluestone Cellar dining room at Stillwater for a dinner for my daughter's graduation from UTAS in December.

Yes, being able to buy a couple of bottles here and there and getting the last CD you visit to post it all home is a great idea. This should be avalable in more wine regions.

[Michael R]

Unfortunately I didn’t take any notes at the time, and the holiday already feels like a year ago….good ole work. However here are some impressions for those thinking about a future holiday.

Firstly the tips I got were fantastic, so thanks again. I got to most, but not all.

In general I loved Tassie. Hobart has a lot of charm and I’m hoping to getting back there with a small group in the next 12 months. Perfect for food lovin winos.

Some highlights
Dinner
Montys on Montpelier (Hobart) was a great experience, food was basic but good, ambience was great and service was even better. Plus its byo….and they know exactly how to handle decent bottles. A bit old fashioned but worth a look. Brought a 01 Penfolds RWT which was showing well. Drink now for my tastes…Mahmoud, if you have any, you’re safe to keep 3-5 more years, comfortably.
Garagiste (Hobart) was very good, nothing basic here, shared plates approach, communal dining tables in a warehouse set-up. Wine list was great and service was solid. Was probably looking forward to this dinner most and wasn’t disappointed. At the cooler end of the spectrum, but not too cool for school. All the wines are centred on bio-dynamic producers. Had a Philippe Pacalet Chablis which was a decent wine, but nothing impressive (I struggle with Chablis to be honest).
Didn’t get to Stillwater in Lonny, was closed for dinner service for winter and we couldn’t fit a lunch in the diary.

Grape wine bar was fantastic, never ate there but enjoyed a glass or 2 of 08 Apsley Gorge Chardonnay each night in Hobart. They keep all the bottles racked on the walls, you just pull whatever you want and pay a few bucks etc if consuming in the bar. Great selection too.
Had serious visions of the Grape mates settling in for a loooong lunch here. Happy days indeed.
I went up to North Hobart but Just Add Wine had closed down unfortunately. Did find another place called ‘Remi from Provence’….which had a small wine bar & restaurant attached….had some really nice wines, no obvious bargains though.

Accom
Hobart - Stayed at the Zero Davy …basic but good location, less than $200 a night….leaving more money for food and wine  If you want something swanky, the Henry Jones Art hotel next door looked superb.
Freycinet – stayed at the Lodge, good set-up, and restaurant and staff were a treat. Had a seafood platter which was good. Also went to the local pub one night and enjoyed it, basic menu, but like everywhere in Tassie, food was pretty solid. Did the 5 hour walk to Wineglass Bay and Hazards Beach etc, wasn’t cold at all and very eye catching scenery.
Cradle Mountain Lodge…highly recommend. A little dated on the décor etc, but the best service on the whole trip. Mostly young kids working there, and doing an awesome job. Buffet breakfast was very good, and dinner was superb. Can still taste the venison I had one night. Think it only cost about $150 per night (inc breakfast). Major snow blizzard while we were there, only added to the enjoyment. Did some short walks, was freezing. The cheapest place we stayed and easily the best/most enjoyable.
Red Feather Inn (Launceston) – Boutique B&B about 10 min drive outside Launceston. Based heavily on a provincial French home/gite, and good attention to detail. Has a cooking school attached (didn’t get to try it), lovely gardens and a killer bath, which is why we stayed there ….i don’t normally like to stay in B&Bs but my wife was craving a decent bath (we don’t have one at home) and I got 18 holes in Barnbougle from the ensuing negotiation . The accom was good, and my perceived drawbacks of B&B didn’t really exist here. We should’ve had dinner, looked great, but didn’t in the end.

Lunch
Jackman & McCross Bakery (Hobart) was great, pottered around beautiful Battery Point then strolled up for lunch. Can see why a few forumites tipped it, quality food and nice casual vibe.
Hit the Weldborough Hotel on the way to Launceston. Totally empty like a lot of places in Tassie, given the season I suppose. Food was good though and had good banter with the owner and his wife. Very nice spot too.
Hit the Lost Farm for lunch one day. My wife doesn’t golf, but she loved the spa, and the lunch setting there is hard to beat. Foods basic but the view is the secret sauce that makes everything taste great. I played Barnbougle that morning and had it all to myself, Course was in excellent condition, although mother nature was v cranky but I loved every second and luckily hit a decent ball. Tiff walked a couple of holes with me and could instantly see why it has such appeal…incredibly rugged & beautiful part of the world.

Wineries
Delamere was probably my favourite. Rocked up, no one there except a very cool easy going lady, who turned out was Fran Austin (ex Bay of Fires and wife of winemaker) . Ended up chatting for quite a while and was taken by their Chardy. Picked up a few bottles. Quality.
Velo, wifes favourite…was also a lot of fun…thanks again to Mary, co-owner and co-winemaker. I was gutted that they didn’t have their oaked Chardy available for taste, but they had some decent wines, a sav blanc that caught us by surprise enough to buy bottle!
All the tips for Moores Hill rang true, that bloke is a real gent, and must sell a tonne of wine due to his champion personality. Wines were good, think we bought a sticky & Riesling in the end. Goaty Hill was worth visiting, and picked some decent Riesling up here.
Dalrymple was closed, and the Pipers Brook experience was a bit ho hum but bought the 08 Chardonnay which I rated.
Barringwood Estate had ok wines, liked & bought the sparkling, had a sensational platter and scenery possibly the best. Joseph Chromy was busy but again, beautiful food, location and a couple of reasonable wines.
I struggled with the Tassie cabs/cab blends in general….a bit green for my palate, didn’t go to Domain A but everywhere else failed to impress.
Freycinet was a very pretty location, picked up some 01 Radenti sparkling and their Pinot. Rocked up to Stefano Lubiana only to find it was closed.
Morilla Estate was great, great guy behind the bar, beautiful building and art everywhere. Wasn’t blown away by the wines unfortunately, until found a Pinot Gris that was probably the most surprising wine I tasted on the whole trip. Plenty of interest on the nose and palate, nothing like a Pinot Gris and a fun options wine for the future, if my only bottle lasts that long.
Buying Sav Blanc & Pinot Gris…..i could get kicked off this forum if I’m not careful.
Mona was a v good, and sometimes confronting experience. But what a fantastic thing to have in Tasmania, and the building will exceed even high expectations.
Pooley wines were very good, had some back vintage stuff available too, which I always appreciate. Picked up a few bottles. Beautiful country location, and very decent friendly people. Strongly recommend. Milton vineyards was a cool experience, another gent of a winemaker, picked up some Riesling here which was ok.

Apologies for no tasting notes, however Graemes were a superb guide for us, and i highly recommend referencing.

So Tasmania was terrific, would be keen to return sooner rather than later, and really enjoyed being there out of season. A bit cold at times but felt like we had it all to ourselves. No problems picking up random bottles and getting the final winery to ship home.
If you’re considering it and haven’t been before, I hope this overview helps. Gavin should consider putting an Auswine travel guide to compete with the Lonely Planet ….this forum’s certainly added serious value to my holidays in the last few years.

Cheers
Michael

[damonpeyo]

Nice one Micheal!

Thanks for the report! Brings me back memories of my old hometown, grew up in Tassie for 13 years, then my trade as chef took me out and took me around Australia and overseas Worked and lived at Cradle Mountain Chateau for almost two years back in '03/'04, just stone's throw from the Lodge. Back then Chateau was more of fine dining place, heard recently it's become more of laid back dining establishment, probably the losing numbers of weathly tourists due the GFC and they decided to switch to causal type of place to meet the current market conditions or something.

Totally understood where your coming from about the Moorilla Estate, not much a fan of their wines, but I like their Moo Beers especially the Pilsner, a German-style Hefeweizen beer. I find their beers far more enjoyable than their wines. Again, understand about Tassie's Cab's being bit greenish, it's pretty hit and miss if Tasmanian wine makers attempt making wines with those varieties.

If you go back next, you definitely have to explore Bruny Island/Huon Valley/D'Entrecasteaux Channel, plenty small wineries down that way.

For anyone here planning trip, worth checking out:

http://brunyislandcheese.com.au/ the cheesemaker, Nick Haddow is a nice chap, loves his cheese, if it's a quiet day, you might find staff baking breads in woodfire oven outside, they would wave you in to get you walk into their direction, not the front entrance and chat about many things.

http://www.brunyislandwine.com cellar door by appointment, worth it, check out their chardy's and pinot noir's. Serious close-knit family affair type of winery.

It might be worth to have a esky full of local products and wines brought from Hobart to be brought over to the island. Limited access to basics, but worth the experience, especially if you brought some local bruny island osyters and cheeses to eat with wines you brought along, you will be glad you did. There's a lot of private holiday shacks in Bruny for rent, but *whistles* not cheap...*coughs*.

Last year a mate and I went there last year for 3 nights, stayed at Captian Cook's Caravan Park ($69 bucks a night off season), had all the basics we need including a stove (I borrowed my father's portable webber BBQ just in case, glad I did, as chef, I am fussy when comes to cooking), and two esky's full of food and meats, carton of little creatures pale ale, 6 bottles of decent wines, being early November, off peak season, caravan right front of the beach.

Happy campers...cooked our own local produce tucker, good wines, we were seriously happy little grinning sh*ts very few tourists.

It's funny how people see Tasmania being small island, need few days to explore.

If you guys plan head down in summer/peak season, you might find yourselves in little trouble, lots of places are usually fully booked out 1-2 years in advance.

Off peak...if weather doesn't bother you, go ahead mate, enjoy the ride.

Nup...least least 2-4 weeks to fully explore Tasmania in relaxed slow holiday pace, not rushing from one place to the next.

Mind you...Tasmania isn't that "cheap" if you get my meaning but the overall experience is worthwhile to fork out few $$$!

[Michael R]

Hi Damon

thanks for the note, would agree with you that Tassie aint cheap, was quite surprised at prices actually, particularly outside the cities. Did like Morilla beers, plus a few Tassie ciders caught the eye also.

Seemed to be the global road kill capital too...sounds weird, but genuinely, i've never seen so much road kill..particularly in Northern Tassie, Tamar valley etc.

Cheers
M