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Issue 10 - The Great Pinot Quest |
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For anyone who is a food and wine lover, a trip to Tasmania is an absolute must. The island produces some of the most flavoursome and freshest foods you have ever tasted and the wines are stupendous. From the berry farms and the cheese factories, to honey outlets, oyster and fish farms and the myriad of wineries large and small, there is something to delight everyone.
The pinots for which the island is famous
The Great Pinot Quest
Well I said to my travelling companions. Now that we have arrived in Tasmania we should start the search for the best Pinot. No one demurred. In fact the whole idea was greeted with boundless enthusiasm and a grim determination to get on with the task. It wont be easy, one of the group was heard to say but someone has to do it so it may as well be us.
The pinots for which the island is famous, whites such as riesling and chardonnays and the various sparkling wines proved to be an absolute pleasure. We found new labels and came away with a fresh appreciation for the flavours that the cool climate can produce.
For anyone who is a food and wine lover, a trip to Tasmania is an absolute must. The island produces some of the most flavoursome and freshest foods you have ever tasted and the wines are stupendous. From the berry farms and the cheese factories, to honey outlets, oyster and fish farms and the myriad of wineries large and small, there is something to delight everyone.
Known for its clean environment and certainly for the rain that the mainland is lacking at the moment, Tasmania is a natural food bowl for Australia and has a reputation for innovation. Growing saffron and setting up a truffle industry are two examples of thinking beyond the square.
Just visiting the 100 or more vineyards can keep you busy although not all are open every day and many are very small. One contract wine maker, Andrew Hood, makes wine for something like 40 small vineyards which must make for heavy traffic at harvest time. However, no matter how small, they all seem to be able to produce distinctive wines and Andrew Hood himsel, under his Wellington label, not only produces great pinot, riesling and chardonnay but also a unique dessert wine called Iced Riesling.
The various food outlets and farm gate destinations are all listed in a wonderfully helpful booklet published by Tasmanian Tourism called Taste Tasmania - Farm Gate and Cellar Door Guide. It led us to Kates Berry Farm in Swansea, Barilla Bay Oysters, Pyegana and Ashgrove Cheese Factories, Mole Creek Leatherwood Honey and many other food outlets that pride themselves on making products from the best of natures bounty.
With such a variety of great produce, meats, sea foods and dairy products there is no excuse for restaurants not to serve fresh foods but it is amazing how many still take the easy way out. However, on the whole we had wonderful meals and not always in well known restaurants. Sometimes the only food outlet available was the local pub and we had some great honest meals. One to mention was at Derwent Bridge which services Lake St Clair. Although it no longer has a pet wombat it has a couple of enthusiastic young people cooking fresh local ingredients with imagination.
While we were on the road, we often ate at the local bakeries where we were always assured of fresh pasties and pies (often made with venison, not something you would expect to find in a country town in the mainland) and great bread.
Launceston although only a small town by mainland standards, has two of Australias top restaurants - each an award winner and each so very different. Fee and Me, the oldest of the two has been gathering best restaurant awards almost since its inception and everything about the experience made for a beautiful evening. The grand old house in which it is situated dates back to 1835 and the ambiance and the service were a perfect match for the sublime food prepared in exquisite detail and in entrée size helpings. The menu was very different too - you could order three, four or five courses, each set in such a way that you could eat from light through to heavy.
The previous evening we had gone to Stillwater Mill situated on the water on the other side of the city. Every bit as innovative as Fee and Me but much more conventional in its serving sizes, the dishes were a wonderful fusion of Asian and modern Australian. It is no wonder it won the inaugural Renault Award for the best restaurant in Australia. Stillwater Mill would be a prizewinner wherever it was positioned and because it serves breakfast, lunch as well as dinner, it was an obvious choice for our morning coffee during our stay in the city.
Hobart also has great choices and the restaurants that can really be recommended are Mit Zitrone in North Hobart, Lebrina in New Town and Maldini in Salamanca Place, one of the best known tourist destinations. Home to galleries, great restaurants and an impressive food outlet called Wursthaus Deli which would be my spiritual base if I lived in that city.
Not far away from Salamanca Place was Lark Distilleries where Bill Lark was blending single malt whisky and schnapps from Tasmanian apples and cherries and also using native pepperberry to add spice to gin and vodka. <
And the best pinot? Well, we were four travellers with four different palates so it was not easy to get to a consensus but I think we all agreed about Stefano Lubianas pinots, closely followed in no particular order by Wellington, Holm Oak, Dalrymple and Golders.
Dont take our word for it. Go on a Pinot Quest yourself. Tasmania carries no travel warnings and the only thing you have to loose is your waistline.
The Happy Gourmet
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