Dickens Cider

I know that this is a wine blog however being a consumer and an enthusiast of a variety of different alcohols I think that it is necessary to mention the notable 'Dickens Cider House' in Launceston. 

Having been so lucky to taste some of the delicious wines from the south of Tasmania we continued our journey north and finally after hours of driving we reached our destination of Launceston. As you would know, driving is thirsty work and whilst on route we dreamed of taking that first sip of perfectly brewed apple cider that would quench a thirst of kings. 

I make the assumption (rightly or wrongly) that the readership of this blog is mostly women so I will take the liberty of labouring the name of 'Dick-ens Ci-der' which provided many giggles amongst the group before it even occurred to me that there would be something mildly amusing about the name.

Needless to say, the amusement caused meant that a trip to the Tasmanian cider producers local haunt was a necessity. And what a pleasant surprise! One of the great joys of travelling in my opinion is that you can simply be passing through a place that is a normal functional city but without significant importance to your travels, when all of a sudden you find a gem of a place that leaves an impression and makes it to the permanent memory bank of your stories. 'Dickens Cider House' in the little city of Launceston, Tasmania is one of those little gems and if you ever happen to pass through, you must stop for a cider with the locals.

It is a cosy little place with friendly staff who know all about the Dickens story and are more than willing to chat to anyone who sits up at the bar for a bevie. Up the back are more comfy seats and if you are feeling peckish you can get the bar staff to order you a pizza from across the road. Definitely worth a look in.

You can find it at  63a Brisbane St, Launceston or check out their wares at their website. http://www.dickenscider.com.au/

That's all for now. Until next time, have a glass for me. Alex Mac xxx

Beautiful Tasmania

Well hello there! I have just returned from an amazing food and wine extravaganza in Tasmania. It was my first time there and I couldn't believe how absolutely beautiful it was. The little island below the Victorian mainland definitely bats above its weight and is worth a visit from any mainlander who is yet to venture across the Tasman and especially anyone who has travelled the minimum 8 hour flight to get down under.

As we were travelling in a group with cars and motorbikes we met in Melbourne and caught the Spirit of Tasmania to Devonport. This was a long day but well worth the effort to have all out gear with us. We only stayed one night in Devonport before heading to Marion Bay for the Falls Festival over New Year, however there are plenty of wineries in the area to check out if you make it to Devonport. 

Sparkling in a our festival glasses

The festival was rustic and fun. We enjoyed the simple things in life like beautiful countryside, sleeping in a tent on a grass paddock with 16,000 other festival goers and drinking wine out of a bag that one of our crew ingeniously smuggled into the concert in the panel of the car door of his ute. 

Whilst very entertaining it wasn't until we hit the Taste Festival in Hobart that we really begun to see the culinary and viticultural skills of Tasmania shine. Similar to any other food and wine festival, local producers join together for 7 days along the Harbour of Salamanca and show off their wares. The best thing about this festival in particular is that it is free! All you have to do to try each and every wine is buy a $7 plastic glass which you use to get a sample of the different wines.

The festival deal at Clover Hill 

The restaurants around the Salamanca area also bat above their weight. It is hard to believe that Hobart only has a population of around 200,000 people. Along the foreshore there are a number of excellent restaurants with fresh produce and great wine lists. The one thing you might notice however is that when there are a few more people than expected the unsuspecting waitstaff tend to get a little hot under the collar and you might end up waiting some time for service or be denied a table at all even though there are some free. 

That said we only got turned away once and we found a perfectly acceptable substitute right next door at 'The Quarry'. The other little treat we found was the wine bar 'The Grape' from the photo below you can probably tell what an amazing selection of wine they had from Tasmania, Australia and around the world. Definitely worth a look in. 

It is a really cosy little wine bar and bottle shop where you can sample many different wines. They also have delicious platters with flavours to make the wines pop.

The Grape Wine Bar Salamanca

Blimy, already a full post and we have only made it to Hobart. Keep checking in and I will share the rest of my Tasmanian wine adventures. 

Until next time, have a glass for me. Alex Mac xxx