Wine and dogs do mix

At Wobbly Boot Vineyard they do, anyway!

What a lovely idea: invite dog owners to bring their furry four-legged friends and walk/play/romp through the vines, glass of beautiful Tassie Pinot noir in hand, to raise money for local animal welfare organisations. On Sunday we took the girls for a drive to the other side of Hobart to do just that. It was a terrific day out. One fenced in vineyard was designated for "big dogs" and another for "little dogs". Everyone played nicely together and enjoyed the sunny winter's day. There was hot soup available and some people brought a picnic or some sausages to barbecue. All with beautiful views of the Coal River Valley as a backdrop. A photographer was there to capture all the happy pups. It was good to see the media coverage of the event too.

This was the second 'Wine and Woofs' and the owners of the vineyard now say it will be a quarterly event. This time the entry fee went to Small Paws Animal Rescue, an organisation that our local Huon Valley Dog Walking Association has also supported in the past. Sign up to Wobbly Boot's Facebook page to find out when the next one is on.

Drink Tasmania(n)

For a girlfriend's birthday, a small group of us 'locals' from Hobart and surrounds joined the Drink Tasmania 'signature tour' last Saturday, together with visitors from Melbourne, USA-via-Sydney and Canada-via-Brisbane. Starting with a 9am coffee and a taste of Lost Pippin wild ferment cider at Brooke Street Pier, our super-friendly and relaxed guide Dolly drove south to Home Hill Winery in Ranelagh where we sampled some of their lovely wines, then Pagan Cider where we tried several delicious ciders including a strawberry and a quince.

We had lunch and a Willie Smiths cider tasting at The Apple Shed in Grove, before heading back into Hobart for a whisky tasting and history lesson at Lark Distillery. From there we headed out to Cambridge to see how Lark's whisky is made. I have been on other distillery tours, and none explained the process as well as our host did at Lark. Finally, I really understand how it it made... and the difference between 'whisky' and 'whiskey'! On the way back into Hobart we popped into a shed in an industrial estate, a.k.a. one of Tasmania's newest breweries, Last Rites, to sample some of their wares.

We had such a lovely day. It reminded me that tourism experiences are not just for tourists. Get out there and see what our beautiful island has to offer.

Model trains at Hartzview

We often take visitors to Hartzview Vineyard, in Gardners Bay, only a short drive from Cygnet. They make some delicious fortified wines and liqueurs, the best (in my view) being a honey mead, served in a slightly warmed glass. The cassis is lovely as well. The vineyard is in such a pretty location, on a hill with - as the name tells you - a perfect view of the Hartz Mountains. They also have a collection of old pickers huts on the property that you can take a look through. And a very friendly cat.

David found out a while ago from owner Anthea that there is a shed containing her husband Rob's model trains on the property. He's been trying to gain access ever since. In fact there are two sheds, each containing a couple of different layouts. A few weeks ago, we read in the local paper that they would be opening the sheds and running the trains to raise money for the Salvation Army's Red Shield Appeal. What a great fundraising idea. Apparently they had so many people on one day last year that they opened for two days this year. We arrived bright and early, just as the volunteers who would be running the trains arrived, and were treated to a personal tour of one of the sheds. It's quite a collection.

If you're a Huon local, keep an eye out on the local paper and classifieds to find out about next year's model train expo fundraiser.

Drink your way around Tasmania

... without leaving the centre of Hobart.

The lovely old Gasworks building, next to the bottleshop on the corner of Macquarie and Davey Streets in Hobart, has been converted into a cellar door. For a very reasonable price per person, you can have a tasting of beautiful Tasmanian wines, including some rarities. Each room on the ground floor represents a different region of Tasmania, with a wall map and information and display cases of wines from the area. You start in the north of Tasmania, tasting wines from the north west,

the Tamar and Pipers River area, then move to the East Coast and finally the south, including the Coal River and Huon Valley regions. I went there for a small industry Christmas function, and would highly recommend it if you have interstate or overseas visitors or even if you are just keen to learn more about Tasmanian wine.

Summer solstice sailing

Three years ago, a beautiful 1930s Danish ship showed up in Franklin after a round the world voyage. The family who sailed her here decided to stay. Now, this summer, you can spend a Sunday afternoon aboard the Yukon, sailing down the Huon River enjoying locally sourced produce prepared by chef Ashley and Jacinta from Pantree Produce. It was an amazing special treat for my birthday. The whole experience was understated, relaxed, personal - an afternoon on the river with friends and great food. "The duck we are eating came from that hill over there," says Jacinta, pointing to the hills south of Franklin. "See that roof there? That's the house they came from." Fresh peas, broadbeans, beetroot, peaches, berries, river herbs and flowers, pink eye potatoes. To drink: local wines including a sparkling chardonnay from Wombat Springs (also in the hills of Franklin), Seven Sheds Ale, a stunning pinot noir from d'meure wines at Birchs Bay and home made limoncello - and yes, the lemons were also from Franklin. We could see where most of our meal was grown. David and Ea who own The Yukon told us the story of her restoration and how she came to Tasmania. We got to explore below decks - the galley, engine room, bunks and bathroom. Wonderful.

I have been completely and utterly spoiled this weekend. First, my dear friend Cheryl flew down from Sydney - a surprise visit plotted weeks in advance with David. I had no idea she was coming until the car pulled up in the driveway on Friday. Cider and burgers at The Apple Shed on Friday evening. Saturday morning shopping in Wilmot Road, Huonville and at Salamanca Market and relaxing in the garden in the afternoon. And then yesterday's feast on the Yukon. Happy, happy days.

Vintage day

Today we were invited to help friends in Franklin with vintage - harvesting this year's pinot grapes. Luckily they decided to move the date from yesterday with its alternating waves of sun and icy rain to today's perfect autumn day. A small army of locals armed with cutters and buckets moved up and down the rows, snipping the bunches of grapes off and delivering full buckets to the waiting bins on a truck to be carted away for wine making. We stopped for a delicious morning tea and were treated to a huge lunch spread afterwards, complete with wine and music by Steve and Marjorie Gadd. I could see that so much work had gone into having all of us volunteer helpers on site, I sure hope the harvest was worth it! We really enjoyed the day, chatting with friends and new acquaintances among the vines. It feels great to be tired from working outdoors.