Twas the morn before wine tasting

When all through the van,

Not a child was stirring

Not even the Lach.Lan.

We picked up our drinking possie,

From Battery point with care.

With Caroline, Lachlan, Ava, Audrey, Dani, Hamish and Dr Grubb,

We soon would be there!

Each cellar door was lined,

With bottles and glasses.

The selection was plentiful,

As we sat on our asses.

“Now CUVÉE !, now SAV BLANC!, now PINOT! And GAMAY!

On, GEWURTZTRAMINER, on GIN!, on CIDER! And CHARDONNAY!

From Battery Point to Huon Valley and back

All in one day,

The car trip remained merry,

The entire way.

Rather than continue this poem

For longer than I should,

We wish you a merry evening,

And trust your day has been good!

As you may gather, today has been quite a full day visiting of tasting and travels. We woke early and headed to Battery Point to spend the day with great friends Hamish and Aunty Emma. First stop – Salamanca Markets. Aunty Emma gave the girls $10 each to buy something from the markets – a fantastic strategy to keep the girls entertained throughout the sea of activity! Being the first to admit I am not fond of crowds AND markets, the Salamanca Markets were surprisingly interesting! People swayed from left to right to catch glimpses of produce, arts and crafts. Caroline and Danielle were particularly taken by Gin varietals, Hamish by a gourmet sausage sandwich. After visiting many stalls Audrey eyed out a fairy sitting next to a snow globe while Ava bought a turtle and a cling – a small dish for rings.

We left Salamanca Markets and commenced the wine discovery tour of the Huon Valley. First stop Home Hill. Home Hill was a beautiful cellar door, unfortunately slightly tarnished by the inconsistency in service. We worked our way from the Cuvée, Reserve Chardonnay, 2016 & 17 Estate Pinot and the 2016 & 17 Reserve Pinots. The 2016 & 17 Home Hill Kelly Reserve Pinots were the pick of the bunch. Very nice wines – I understand why the 2017 sold out so quickly after a James Halliday review. #93rating and #94rating respectively from LordLachlanWines.

Next stop was Kate Hill, where we met Kate’s partner Charles. Kate Hill was a beautiful boutique vineyard that previously soured grapes locally, planting their own vines just over three years ago. The girls collected an array from beautiful flowers from the garden while Hamish, Danielle and I worked our way through the Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Riesling and Pinot Noirs with grapes sourced from Derwent and Huon Valley respectively. For me, I really enjoyed the 2014 Riesling. A mix of turpentine, sugar and acidity, while the preference in Pinot Noirs was for the 2013.

After Kate Hill, we decided it was time for the girls to experience their own form of tasting. Next stop, The Honey Pot. The girls enjoyed working their way through different honey varietals, while the adults tried to locate the Queen bee in a live bee hive. The girls left extremely satisfied – particularly Audrey, whom coerced me into purchasing some honey shortbread for her before we left.

In preparation for our afternoon festivities, we concurred it was time to line the stomach and headed to The Willie Smiths Apple Shed. WHAT a fantastic place! An incredible atmosphere. A rustic shed done extremely well with live music! Jazz music –  playing clarinet, bass and accordion. The bass player singing whilst playing. Ecstasy! A fantastic atmosphere and equally fantastic food. Definitely recommend The Willie Smiths Apple Shed for anyone heading down this way! THANK YOU!

From the Apple Shed next stop was apple themed – Pagan Cider, recommended by the dear Donna Dubsky x. Our Hagrid-esque ‘cider expert’ spoke with authority – whom spoke with an outside voice (great voice projection) even though we were indoors. Many varietals of cider were explored from apple, pear, strawberry, quince, blueberry, peach and apricot. The standouts for Caroline and I were pear and cherry!

Leaving Pagan cider, the most noteworthy of vineyards we visited was Two Bud Spur vineyard – and the partner, Craig. A passionate, educated and enthusiastic gentleman, who works a full time job before embracing his passion. Once again we worked our way through the wine list, before admiring the Gewurtztraminer, Gamay and Pinot Noir. All wines were lovely, best in show for today – we particularly enjoyed the Gewurtztraminer and the Pinot Noir! Thank you Craig! 

It was lovely to see so many of Tasmanian wines from the Huon Valley. Despite the different expressions of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir experienced today, the notable point of difference between one vineyard and the other is based on the ‘personality’ of the vineyard. Time and time again one common denominator of our cellar door experiences is based on the attitude of the person at the cellar door. It is far better to have ‘an experience’ at the cellar door with a person passionate about their wares, than to not!

We returned to Battery Point after the day of tasting, to another tasting experience. Hamish and Grubb put on a fantastic spread of cheeses with truffles, a delectable curry and a tiramisu paired with some exceptional wines. Thank you so much Hamish and Aunty Emma for your hospitality today. A sign of great friends, when every time you meet up it just feels right. First wine experience of Tasmania #100rating.