Tamar Valley treats, from wine to truffles
The rich soils of this Tassie region produce a feast for all the senses.
The truffle dogs are having a day off, so I’ll be snuffling out my own fungus. “Entirely doable,” Henry Terry promises. “A good nose can catch the scent of a ripe truffle on the breeze”.
Visitors to the Tasmanian Truffles farm may recognise Terry as a former competitor on My Kitchen Rules. When he’s not cooking up a storm, he’s on the hunt in his trufferie amid serried rows of English and holm oaks at the foot of the Great Western Tiers in Deloraine. It’s a family business with an impressive pedigree; in 1999, Henry’s father, Tim Terry, harvested Australia’s first black truffle from these rich soils.
As we meander among the trees, Terry is pointing out little raised bumps and cracks in the ground that might indicate the presence of a precious lumpy orb. The clues are a tad cryptic. A magnifying glass and deerstalker would be handy but I’m getting the hang of it.
After spying a particularly promising lump, there’s nothing for it but to reprise my rusty yoga skills, assume the downward dog and stick my nose to the ground. Sure enough, there it is, that unmistakeable truffle aroma, an uber earthiness, dirt to the nth degree. Now I must carefully deploy my gardener’s skills to unearth the little treasure without damaging its expensive irregular form. (With their superior sense of smell, the farm dogs help locate unripe truffles, which Terry marks with a little pink flag for future harvesting.)
Back in the shed, we dust off my find and wrap it in a paper towel; I feel a silk pouch would be more fitting, but Terry assures me paper towel is best and that I should change it daily.
Then he produces a truffle-infused grazing platter with honey, oil, mustard, balsamic and salt. They’re all available from a little farm gate Henry and his sister Anna (another MKR contestant) have recently opened in a tiny, fairy-tale hut tucked down at the bottom of the farm near a handsome grove of poplars.
The farm and shop are a picturesque 40-minute drive from Launceston, the perfect base for exploring some of Tasmania’s best produce and finest restaurants.
Not sure where to start? Call Prestige Tours Tasmania and the ebullient Eamonn Seddon, late of north Wales and passionate (and knowledgeable) advocate for the Tamar Valley. He’s taking me off-piste in his little van, following a no-through road that ends somewhere near Green Beach, to explore the lesser-known cellar doors tucked away on the western side of the Tamar River.
But our first stop is a distillery, the Turner Stillhouse run by another blow-in, US-born Justin Turner, who landed here just over two years ago. He’s built an impressive facility next to the Tamar Ridge cellar door and has contracted local farmers to grow corn and rye for his American-style bourbons (currently ageing in barrels). We’re here to sample his range of Three Cuts Gin (the variety “rested” in Tasmanian pinot noir barrels is excellent and best served over ice minus tonic).
After a comprehensive tour, drilling down into the nitty-gritty of the distillation process, we enjoy a tutored gin tasting. “It’s 11am!” someone points out. Fortunately, Seddon is driving, and lunch is up next, at Velo Wines.
Claiming the oldest vines in Tasmania (dating back about 60 years), Velo is also home to one of the region’s best restaurants, Timbre, with chef Matt Adams at the helm. The Tamar Valley winery was once owned by Olympic cyclist Michael Wilson, hence the name and the little wheel motif adorning the wine labels.
In Timbre, almost everything is cooked over fire or in a wood-fired oven: the delicious house-made pastrami, crispy chicken with almond cream, the scrumptious flatbread served with labneh and pickled zucchini. Little dish after little dish alights from the open kitchen as we enjoy lovely views from our window table. The paddock-to-plate philosophy is evident everywhere in the light-filled room, from the twiggy light installations that look to have been foraged after a storm to the fennel pollen sprinkled on the seriously sweet strawberries.
Suitably fortified for the wine tasting ahead, we venture off the beaten track to the tiny Loira Vines to meet Adrian and Mirabai Carruthers.
Holidaying from NSW five years ago, they dropped in here to buy half a dozen wines and ended up buying the winery instead. It’s not hard to see why. The pretty tasting room spills into a lovely garden overlooking a pond and natural spring, home to a friendly platypus. The Carruthers grow apples as well as grapes, and the winery turns out a highly covetable pinot noir (small production, sells quickly) as well as cider. The pink lady cider with a dash of pinot is very good.
There’s a lovely homey vibe to this little cellar door, with children playing on the lawn and Adrian dashing about in his work boots pouring wine and, as a former publican, resolutely demystifying wine-speak. (And if, like the Carruthers, you decide you don’t want to leave, stay overnight in their little studio apartment.)
Nearby at the family-run Swinging Gate, I may have found the missing truffle dog. Nellie looks the real deal, but it turns out she’s a winery dog, and a bone fide model, having graced the cover of the book Wine Dogs Australia. Her role is not to sniff out wine, that’s easily done in this part of the Tamar. Rather she is the self-appointed chair of the meet-and-greet committee, welcoming guests who venture up the unsealed road to Swinging Gate’s large shed-cum-boho-chic-tasting room. With owners Doug and Corrie Cox serving the wine, this convivial space feels like visiting old friends, and if you want to sample their wild ferment wines, you’ll need to make the journey. Some 95 per cent of wine is sold at the cellar door.
The shed is poised above 9ha of vines with views over forest to the distant mountains. Inside, a handful of visitors are lounging on mismatched chairs around tables fashioned from old doors with pots of irises from the garden dotted about. I put this effortlessly stylish rusticity down to Dutch-born Corrie, who has converted her father’s old bulb sieves into light fittings and provides crocheted knee rugs on chilly afternoons. She also runs a little day spa for guests of the property’s three ensuite geodesic domes.
So, food and wine lovers, if you’re planning a visit to Tasmania post lockdown, start flexing that nose now. Always handy when assessing a pinot, the proboscis, as I’ve learnt, can also prove indispensable when the truffle dogs are AWOL. The Tamar Valley wine region is not to be missed.
In the know
Join Henry and Anna Terry’s truffle dogs on a hunt. A range of packages are available including a tasting of the farm’s truffle products or a hunt followed by tasting and lunch.
Prestige Tours Tasmania operates small-group tours where the emphasis is on meeting the producer, whether winemaker or cheese maker. Wildlife and wilderness tours also available. Half-day and full-day itineraries are on offer.
Christine McCabe was a guest of Tourism Tasmania.
This article was originally published in August 2021 and has since been updated.
