Discount fares associated with the launch of the first version of Tiger Airways had us flying from Mackay to Melbourne for $20 return per head, and a further $20 return got us across Bass Strait to Launceston, with four days to sample the delights of northern Tasmania.
A little circuit from George Town back to Launceston took us through some of the prime Tasmanian vineyards and a last-day time excursion put us onto a rather good Riesling. You can read the relevant travelogue over here, while vineyard-specific content appears below.
We'd spent the first night in Clarendon House, south of Launceston, and the second night in George Town and since our last two nights’ accommodation was on the west bank of the Tamar, we decided to head back to Launceston by tracking clockwise around the Tamar Valley wine route, a decision prompted by a slightly higher number of wineries with a five star rating in James Halliday’s Australian Wine Companion 2008.
We'd already diverted briefly to Three Wishes Winery, partly because it was on the way, partly because, as far as I could gather, it was only open on weekends but mostly because I was after something to drink after dinner that night.
Like most of the wineries we subsequently visited there was a limited range, and baggage limits ruled out large purchases but, as I worked my way through the options on offer, if what we were seeing was any indication of what lay in store we were in for a very good time indeed. In the end I opted for a bottle of the Land Bridge Pinot Noir and would have loved to buy extra bottles if we weren’t limited by time, budget and baggage constraints. The Riesling, in particular, is worth going back for.
The following day our first port of call was Bay of Fires at Piper River, where the first wine on offer was the current vintage of Arras (rated 96 by Halliday). Not a bad way to start a tasting tour! The Riesling was outstanding, though, again, I could have happily walked away with a dozen assorted bottles if we weren’t subject to constraints associated with baggage limits.
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