Inside the remote Tasmanian winery where the food is as wild as the landscape
They say it takes a certain courage to craft wines in this remote part of the world, where the weather is often unforgiving – but the region’s wild natural beauty make it a simply unforgettable trip.
The thing about embarking on a wine-region tour is that it tends to involve a bit of wine drinking. Then strange things can happen.
Here we are in the wilds of eastern Tasmania after a day of sipping riesling and pinot noir from local wineries, followed by dinner overlooking Coles Bay – one of many lush bays and beaches that make this part of the country remarkable.
Laughter grows louder, confessions flow – one of our party has a badly broken heart, which garners much discussion – and then someone produces a pack of tarot cards.
“All right,” says the owner of the cards, a dapper 30-something with the bushranger beard favoured by the Millennial men of these parts, “let’s get serious.”
I’m afraid of having my fortune read, being one of those introspective, gloomy types who tends to assume any forecast can only predict calamity. But it appears I’m up first. All is well, though: my card turns out to be the Four of Pentacles, a comfortingly mundane divination promising financial stability.
Our bushranger friend interprets everyone’s futures using that renowned clairvoyant, ChatGPT, to analyse the cards, and more local wine is consumed – along with a great deal of smoked Tasmanian cheddar. Everyone goes to bed quite merry, even the broken-hearted one, whose soothing reading predicts that pain and perseverance will eventually reward greater self-awareness.
The bushranger confesses the following morning that he woke with a large wedge of half-eaten cheddar beside him on the pillow. These things happen on a wine tour, I guess.
Daylight finds sobriety, especiallyfor those who chose bracing morning dips in the icy waters of Coles Bay. Not me, obviously – that wasn’t in my cards. Rather, today will bring another excellent day of wine tasting, reaching Devil’s Corner, which at 190ha is Tasmania’s largest winery.
From Freycinet Lodge, a rustic yet elegant property with views of Richardsons Beach, we tackle the winding road to Apslawn, where we find Devil’s Corner has an abundance of blessings, especially as we’ve arrived on a good day. Previous weeks apparently brought rain and perilous winds, though you’d never know it from the gentle blue skies and green hills rolling from the glossy multi-level cellar door down to an internationally recognised wetland that at times is home to 16,000 black swans – not that many today, but if you look hard, you’ll see them overhead.
We’re lucky, too, because the winery has just launched a new menu under chef Jack Bennett, who has created a list offering excellent grazing options – handmade pizzas featuring local cheeses and smallgoods along with pastas and hearty mains. Bennett has worked in remote restaurants from Falls Creek in Victoria to Orange in New South Wales, and brings a skilled touch to a menu that folds a distinctly Tasmanian theme into every dish.
Coming for lunch, you can start with some spine-tingling Fishers of Freycinet Pacific oysters – harvested this morning – that taste as briny and metallic as the Tasman Sea. Then move onto dishes that sing of the Tasmanian bush: perhaps a wallaby and red wine bolognese that will surprise you with its richness and delicacy.
Devil’s Corner offers a cool-climate wine for every taste, with three ranges – Devil’s Corner, Resolution and Hazards – each referencing local landmarks. The depth is impressive, spanning sparkling, rosé, pinot grigio, chardonnay, riesling, pinot noir, syrah and more. Fortunes predict you will like something, and take a few bottles home for good measure.
Wine lovers could spend hours fossicking through back vintages and varieties, but for more casual observers like me, it’s enough to sink into a glass of juicy young riesling while lounging in one of the beanbags on the rolling lawn overlooking the Hazards – the rocky range looming across the bay. Many pleasant hours could be spent here, enjoying wine and freshly shucked oysters.
But if you’re sober enough to drive, the area is dotted with smaller wineries, including Freycinet Vineyard, Spring Vale, Gala Estate and Milton Vineyard. There are tiny, pretty towns too – Cranbrook, Swansea and Bicheno among them. The region is both richly historic, scattered with grand old Georgian homesteads and heritage artefacts; and gorgeous, with a wild natural landscape in which rolling fields give way to tangles of silver banksia, Tasmanian blue gum and Oyster Bay pines. The beaches, when you reach them, are all fine-grained white sand meeting aquamarine sea. It’s exquisite countryside.
They say it takes a certain courage to craft wines in this remote part of the world, where the weather is often unforgiving – they don’t call it Devil’s Corner for nothing. But on a good day it feels more like god’s own country, a slice of heaven. Just beware these winey nights, for when the bacchanalian spirits are set free, the future may land one of many ways. Let the bushrangers loose.
Checklist
Getting there: Devil’s Corner Cellar Door, 1 Sherbourne Rd, Apslawn, Tasmania (devilscorner.com.au), is about two scenic hours from Launceston or Hobart. The roads are twisting; hire a car and take your time.
Do: Devil’s Corner Cellar Door offers wine tastings and pairings, including an intriguing wine-and-chocolate experience featuring local chocolates. Straight tastings start at $30 and include the Pirie NV Sparkling, Devil’s Corner Resolution Pinot Gris, Mt Baudin Chardonnay, Mt Amos Pinot Noir, Mt Dove Pinot Syrah and Mt Mayson Syrah.
Eat: New chef Jack Bennett’s menu focuses on local produce, with an emphasis on wallaby and game meats. Try venison pappardelle with mushrooms and rich sauce ($32), beef short rib with polenta and salsa verde ($34) or the excellent wallaby and pinot noir bolognese with spaghetti and soffritto ($28). The dishes are designed to pair with Devil’s Corner wines, and staff can guide you through perfect matches.
Stay: For a splurge, check into Saffire Freycinet (Coles Bay Rd, Coles Bay; saffire-freycinet.com.au), a luxury lodge with superb views of the Hazards, the striking rock formations across Coles Bay. Freycinet Lodge (Freycinet National Park, Coles Bay Rd; freycinetlodge.com.au) is more modest but beautifully located, with individual cabins luxuriously appointed. Rates from about $300. At the lodge, we have a glorious (if slightly chilly) alfresco dinner (pre tarot reading) overlooking Coles Bay, lit by fairy lights — so charming it feels like a movie scene.
Optional extra: Freycinet Air (freycinetair.com.au) offers helicopter joyrides over this beautiful region, departing and landing at Devil’s Corner. Pilots take passengers over spectacular Friendly Beaches, a stunning stretch of sand rivalling nearby Wineglass Bay for beauty. The water colour is nothing short of spectacular. From $325.
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