Wine and Whiskey Tasting at Hobart, Tasmania
Tasmanian wines can be very different from the other mainland big bold Australian wines. The wine here is much more elegant in style thanks to its cooler climate, clean air and water. Sparkling wines here are one of the best in the world, and if you can get yourself a bottle of Tasmanian Pinot Noir or Chardonnay, just grab one while it’s still on the shelves.
We tasted some very good sparkling wines from northern Tasmania, cool climate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from the east coast and southern Tasmania.
Wine growing areas that are close to Hobart city are Derwent Valley, Coal River Valley and the Huon/Channel. Some of the best Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Riesling (dry to sweet) can be found there.
My recommended wineries to visit are:
- Frogmore Creek @ Coal River Valley (very good lunch too)
- Pooley Wines – “Best Small Cellar Door in Southern Tasmania”
- Domaine A/ Stoney Vineyard (the oldest in Tasmania’s Coal River Valley)
- Stefano Lubiano Wines (biodynamic)
- Derwent Estate
- Moorilla Winery (home to MONA Museum)
1. Derwent Estate
We started our first winery of the day from Derwent Estate. 20 minutes drive north of Hobart.
The cellar door is not your-typical cellar door that you normally see. This historic Mount Nassau property is owned by the family since 1913 and currently operated by the 3 generations of family members. From the outside, it looked almost like an abandoned old house with the rusted roof and aged walls. Nonetheless, the wine from Derwent Estate was a true surprise to us!
The vineyards were sitting on the north facing slopes facing Derwent River. Insecticides or pesticides were not used on the grapes at all. Some of the grapes in their vineyard were produced for the other premium wines like Bay of Fires wines and Penfolds Yattarna.
Wine Region: Derwent Valley, Southern Tasmania
Cellar Door Open 11am – 4pm everyday
329 Lyell Hwy, Granton TAS 7030 (20 minutes drive north of Hobart)What to taste/buy: Good quality Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Riesling, Chardonnay. Older vintages bottles are available at an affordable price too. 👍
We wanted to visit Stefano Lubiana Wines too (which is just 3 minutes drive away from Derwent Estate) but it was closed on the day that we visit. If you are at the area, please don’t miss Stefano Lubiano as well!
2. Pooley Wines
After Derwent Estate, we drove east towards Richmond to visit Pooley Wines (previously known as Cooinda Vale). It has been awarded as “Best Small Cellar Door in Southern Tasmania“.
Located near Richmond historic village, Pooley Wines is also run by 3 generations of the Pooley family. It is also Tasmania’s first and only fully accredited environmentally certified sustainable vineyard.
The cellar door is a beautiful sandstone Chateau-looking castle. Staff in the tasting room were incredibly friendly and knowledgeable about their wines. No wonder it was also rated as the “Best Wine Tasting Experience” in 2016. We had an amazing time there.
Some of their best wines are :
- Margaret Pooley Tribute Riesling
- Cooinda Vale Pinot Noir
- Cooinda Vale Cabernet Merlot (my personal favourite)👍
Wine Region: Coal River Valley (Southern Tasmania)
Address: 1431 Richmond Road, Richmond TAS 7025 (24 minutes drive northeast from Hobart)
Cellar Door: open every day 10am–5pm
3. Frogmore Creek
After 2 wineries, it was time for some yummy lunch! Frogmore Creek is just 7 minutes drive south of Pooley Wines, how convenient!
As you can see from my Instagram pic above, the vineyard is stunning. We had a fantastic lunch overlooking the vineyard. The food was reasonably priced ($19-26 per main course), made from the fresh local produce and the presentation of the food was so beautiful like a Michelin star restaurant.
We spent $137.50 for lunch (2 people including 2 glasses of wines).
Wine region: Coal River Valley, Southern Tasmania
Address: 699 Richmond Road, Cambridge, Tas 7170 (20min drive from Hobart)
Cellar Door: open daily 10am – 5pm
Restaurant: open daily from 11.30AM – 3PM 👍👍👍
4. Tasmanian Whisky Tasting – Sullivans Cove
It is possible to do a whole day of tasting and stay sober at the end of the trip. It’s either you taste and spit, or make sure you don’t drink on an empty stomach.
We visited 3 wineries in the morning and a beautiful lunch at Frogmore Creek before driving 5 minutes south to Sullivans Cove Distillery.
2014 World Whiskies Awards put Tasmanian Whisky on the world map after Sullivans Cove French Oak Single Cask Whisky awarded the “World’s Best Single Malt” whisky.
I had a whisky tasting flight of 3 – cost $30
- French Oak Single Cask Single Malt Whisky – rich flavours of Christmas spice, chocolate, dried fruit and powerful oak 👍👍 $450/btl
- American Oak Single Cask Single Malt Whisky – flavours of vanilla, caramel, stone fruit, white flowers and powerful oak $295/btl
- Double Cask Single Malt Whisky – easy-drinking, sweet malt, dried apricots, honey and freshly baked bread. $170/btl
I liked the whisky however for the price is a little bit pricey to my liking. Price range from $170 (easy drinking double cask whisky) to $750 (limited edition special cask whisky). It is definitely special and rare whisky to get for a whisky lover.
Just in case whisky is not your cup of tea, Sullivan Cove also distils gin and vodka as well.
Open: 10am – 4pm everyday
Address: 1/10 Lamb Place, Cambridge, Tasmania (20 min drive from Hobart)
Tour: $30pp (allow up to 40 minutes)
Tasting: $30pp (allow up to 20 minutes)
Tour & Tasting: $40pp
Things To Note Before Doing Wine Tasting Trip in Hobart
- Almost all wineries in Tasmania has a small tasting fee from $5 and above, refundable upon purchase of any bottle
- If you are driving, please taste responsibly (taste and spit), or better to have a designated driver (the friend who doesn’t drink). For our case, my husband just tasted and spit, and we shared a tasting portion at each winery.
- Drink plenty of water in between tasting
- It’s ok to spit if you don’t like the wine, or simply be a responsible person by not getting drunk during the tasting trip
I hope you will find this post useful especially if you are a wine lover and planning a trip to Tasmania.
Please comment below if you have any suggestion of which are the must-visit wineries in Tasmania. Have fun and cheers! 🍷🍷
10 Days Self-Driving Itinerary to Tasmania & Mornington Peninsular
【Part 1】3 days in Launceston (Lavender Farm, Cataract Gorge, Best Sparkling Wines)
【Part 2】East Coast Tasmania (Wineglass Bay hiking, Wine Tasting)
【Part 3】Hobart 4 days (MONA Museum, Bruny Island, Wine Tasting)
【Part 5】Bruny Island – Hobart Day Trip
【Tasmanian Wine】Self-guided Wine Tasting Trip at Tamar Valley (north Tasmania)
