I know, I know....I said in my last we were off to Geeveston, and indeed we'll Hit the road shortly, but I suddenly realised I was a touch ahead of myself. Before we headed south into the Huon Valley and beyond, Vicki and Andy, our Margate hosts good and true, took us off to a whisky tasting with a difference and then on into the Coal River Valley region (Hobart is surrounded by significant valleys) where we visited a couple of well know wineries and tasted some cheese.
The distillation of whisky, and more latterly, gins, has become big business in Tasmania. But it was not always so. Post 1804, the original settlers in and around Hobart Town, including the military, convicts and freemen alike, were quick to take advantage of the excellent water of the Derwent and the favourable conditions for growing barley to produce large amounts of potent liquid salve to ease their hard lots in life.
Stills popped up everywhere and production was in full swing......until 1838, that is, when John Franklin, the colony's Lieutenant-Governor, took the view that distilled spirits were having a less than positive influence on the colony as a whole. The result was the passage of the Distillation Prohibition Act, and that was the end of the road for those in the whisky making business. Some unkind souls might say that the redoubtable Sir John finally received his just deserts for this social stricture when his later expedition to discover the fabled North-West passage came to grief in 1846 with the loss of all involved.
This ban lasted a long time, until 1990 in fact, when Bill Lark succeeded in having it overturned. In 1992 he established the Lark distillery and the modern Tasmanian whisky industry was on the road.
Now the Apple Isle boasts at least fifteen whisky producers with distilleries all over the State, and they produce some pretty good drops. In 2007 Sullivans Cove took out the gong for the 'Best Other Malt (whiskies outside Scotland)' at the prestigious World Whiskies Awards but it was not until 2014 that the everyone sat up and took real notice of what was going on in the Antipodean whisky world.
And the reason? The single malt from French Oak cask HH0525 produced by the Sullivan Cove distillery was named the world's best at the very same World Whiskies Awards. The Scots were mightily miffed I can tell you, and there was some serious criticism of the decision at the time, but the award stuck and the reputation of Sullivans Cove and Tasmanian whiskies as a whole skyrocketed.
The 'Tasmanian Whisky Trail' is now a heavily promoted tourist attraction. I must confess to having a real liking for a single malt or two, but to date I have been more than restrained as far as this tourist attraction goes.
We visited Sullivans Cove primarily because Andy has a personal association with this distillery rather than its reputation. He spent quite some time working on the establishment of their current operations at Cambridge after they moved from their original premises in the old brickworks at Sullivans Cove.
I have to say that I was somewhat underwhelmed when we pulled into the car park
but dare I say my spirits lifted (intended!) when we went inside. The tasting room was laid out with several intimate little nooks and I was soon to learn that here the tasting experience is different to any I have previously encountered.
And it is not cheap. After I paid the required $30 tasting fee we all milled about for a while, wondering what was to come next.
We did not have too long to wait before we were ushered into one of the tasting nooks where a paddle of tasting glasses and some water appeared.
And then one of the charming and very knowledgeable staff members appeared with three different bottles of single malts and one of gin, sat down opposite us with apologies for the delay,
and we were under way. Here the 'tasting experience' includes a personal explanation of the process by which each of the whiskies was produced
followed by a liberal offering in the tasting glass. I was having a very good time indeed, until we got to the gin. Despite the sterlng efforts of our hardworking host, she could not sell me on this. I've never taken to gin, and nothing had changed. It's probably just as well I've never had anything to do formally with the British Navy....I'd be cashiered!
Through Andy's good offices (there is normally an extra charge for this tour of the distillery) we then wandered upstairs,
from where we could gaze over what struck me
as a quite modestly sized operation. I noted a comment in their official blurb about struggling to keep up with demand, and now I could see why.
But did I leave with a bottle or two in hand? The sad answer is no. I must say I was more than taken by two of the offerings which had been splashed into my waiting glass. That which I favoured most could have been mine for a mere $450. With the cheapest bottle coming in a $170 I'm afraid there are no Sullivans Cove labels now featured on the caravan spirits shelf. And, needless to say, the prize winning drop was not for tasting, no matter what personal connections we may have had!
Despite my lack of ownership of any of the product of the distillery I can say that this had been a real treat, a most different experience and well worth the fee. They do things very well indeed at Sullivans Cove.
And then it was off for more tastings, this time product of the vine rather than the malting floor. Our destination was the Coal River Valley.
By referring to yet another offering from my good friend Google Earth, you will find the Coal River Valley just to the north-west of Hobart, between the towns of Cambridge and Richmond. Much of the valley overlooks what is in effect the most northern reach of Storm Bay.
It will probably come as no surprise to learn that coal was found here in abundance, but now the entire district is given over to agriculture and horticulture with the production of cool climate wines being a feature.
I had decided that a visit to two cellar doors would be more than enough of an introduction to the wines of this region, given that our agenda for the day also included a demand to call into a couple of cheese and produce shops of note in the area.
The trip from Cambridge to the first of our selected wineries took very little time and in short order we pulled into the car park of the Frogmore Creek establishment
from where we could overlook some of the vineyards and the sea inlet beyond.
This quite imposing entrance
led us into an equally imposing tasting bar.
This august establishment offers fine fare as well as wines where patrons can indulge themselves in either the main dining area
or taking in the views from the enclosed balcony.
Liz and our hosts headed directly to the souvenir shelves
but I had far more important things to do. And here I had my first experience of something I had never come across before, and have since discovered is universally imposed at all cellar doors.....the requirement to pay a fee to taste, no less!
I was flabbergasted. This whole concept that I had to pay to sample what each winery is trying to sell and, if I like it, I may end up buying, left me more than peeved, but this is the 'Tassie thing'. The only upside is that the sampling fee is refunded if a purchase is made.....bloody commercial blackmail!
I have since been told that this is now the common practice in the McLaren Vale which I guess shows I may be a little out of touch, but after today's venture the 'Tasmanian Wine Trail' has been scrubbed from our touring agenda as a matter of principle. And no, I've not cut off my nose to spite my face as I shall relate.
But back to Frogmore Creek, where the chap behind the bar could not have been more obliging. Things were quiet this early in the day and he had the time to give me all his attention. And, to my relief, a few of the wines on offer here at Frogmore were more than passable, something I could not say about many of the local drops we had sampled to date.
Interestingly, at a function we attended on the first evening of our visit to Margate, all who attended brought their own drinks, and we soon noticed that there was nary a Tassie plonk to be seen. Plenty of good old SA vintages and others from elsewhere, but the local product did not seem to rate a mention. In answer to our comment about this the response was universal......Tasmanian wine is far too expensive and apart from the pinots and the bubbles, not very good.
We agree, but as I said earlier, a few of the Frogmore offerings were good enough to find their way into the Marshies' cellar including their pinot grigio and their very different 'Ice Reisling'.....but the budget certainly took a solid hit notwithstanding the refund of my $5 sampling fee.
The oddly named (and highly commercialised) Puddleduck Winery was the next on our list.
Here things are done a little differently as this notice on the cellar door wall indicated.
We had not brought our own supplies and decided that this would be the spot for a quick bite, but not before I had again breasted the tasting bar, where the fee levelled was a staggering $10. But I had heard much about their sparkling white and decided 'when in Rome!'
Bad decision! To describe these wines as 'average at best' is a generous comment. And with the bubbles, which I would rate as far less appealing than our favourites Bird in Hand and Di Georgio, coming in at $46 a bottle, over twice the price of both of these, my tasting fee remained languishing unrefunded in the Puddleduck tasting till.
and happily munched on hearty mixed toasted sandwiches whilst looking out over the winery pond and some of the vines.
With wine tasting done and dusted for the day it was then time to visit another two of the Coal River Valley's much proclaimed venues, firstly the Coal River Farm, producers of cheeses, fine speciaty chocolates, confectionary and jams. Here in season, one can also wander about the strawberry fields filling personal buckets.
The range of chocolate in particular was stunning, including this fine porker.....the only real question is who was the more fragile after whisky and wine tasting?
But, as we were rapidly discovering, nothing on the Tassie tourist trail comes cheaply, or even moderately priced. If this sounds a little mean spirited I can report that the locals agree, or at least all to whom we spoke. Most of these places are designed to separate visitors from as much of their coin as possible. We did taste a few of the cheeses on offer here, but left unimpressed and empty handed.
Finally, our last stop for the day was at The Wicked Cheese Company, a highly rated producer of award winning cheeses.
In addition to their own products, the shop here does what we have found to be quite common all over the Island.....displays and sells many other local produce as well, including in this case, olive oil, locally made fruit pastes, and Tasmanian whiskies.
Again, we nibbled for a while at the tasting counter but did not come across anything to excite us to the point of reaching for the wallet. In part, my purchases at Frogmore Creek had seen to that, but frankly put, whilst Wicked Cheeses may well have taken out gongs at various shows over the years, we did not find ourselves here in rennet heaven.
So with bottles clanking in their carton, but otherwise uncluttered, we made our way back to Margate after what had been a delightful day out, one of several surprises, some welcome, others less so. We were beginning to get the hang of Tourist Tassie!
And now we are really off to Geeveston!
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