J19.3 Coal River Valley Wine and Whisky Trail

This post is part of a series called Journey 19 ● Dark Mofo 2016

The countdown is on
J19.2 Mt Wellington & Dark Mofo
J19.3 Coal River Valley Wine and Whisky Trail
J19.4 Russell Falls, Willow Court, Symphony, Whisky and The Brizzy
J19.5 Lubomyr Melnyk, Dark Park & Winter Feast
J19.6 Hobart to Perth

Today was an exciting day as we had some spare time up our sleeve and decided to hit the Coal River Valley region from Richmond down to Cambridge.
No doubt with an earlier wake-up we could’ve discovered more in this region but we were delighted with the wines on offer at Pooley Wines where this relatively new fan of red wine found some great Pinot Noir as well as Pinot Grigio and Riesling, each with fascinating character, worthy of a 6-pack order directed back to Perth!

Since we’re in the area, it made sense to cross Coal River and view Australia’s oldest bridge in use, the Richmond Bridge. The foundations of this stone bridge were laid in mid-December of 1823 and completed in 1825.

Pressing on through mid-afternoon we headed to Sullivan’s Cove Distillery for their tour on-the-hour for 3pm and although I’ve been on a distillery tour through Aberfeldy in the Scottish highlands, it was just as fascinating to witness the process that many distilleries put into practice in Tasmania which produces the world-renowned Whisky this region is famous for.
One of the points that stuck with me is that all the distilleries in Tasmania are indeed quite small so their focus is not on volume and quantity, but rather quality and a unique point of difference that sets them onto the world stage. Of course I was delighted to get to the pointy end of the tour, the tastings and I was pleasantly surprised by not only the Whisky varieties produced but also the rich botanical notes of Hobart No.4 Gin and silky smooth Fire Drum Vodka they produce too, each with unique characteristics I haven’t come across before. It’s no surprise that I had to order some of these quality goods, destination: home!
It was also interesting that not only are the bottles hand-packed and labelled individually but that some of their Whisky also makes its way to other local produce such as Cheddar from Wicked Cheese which regrettably we passed on the way to the distillery, no doubt I’ll have to return to Tassie someday again!

Across the road a sign got Cindy really excited which also led to a few puns – Wursthaus Kitchen, where we picked up some great sausages and cheese for the next day on the road – top idea!

Before you know it, the sun is below the horizon early and it was ideal to make our way to the Winter Feast where we tried more food and drinks we didn’t get to try the previous night.
It was also great to see Hobart’s most attractive people also appreciate the Ginger Beer I love so much, *sigh*.

With a great feed sorted, I got ready for Blacklist and although I had no idea what to expect, that is part of the magic and surprise to the whole festival really. It’s not about the lineup – who were great by the way – but the experience and fun you have on the night, the diversity and the warm, welcoming party environment that isn’t as typical as it should be. Highly recommend it!

Oh and there was a slide.
Thanks Cindy for picking me up in the stupid-early hours of the morning ^_^
Time for some sleep.