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Horses and Wine Courses
By Greg Clarke
Horse thieves must have had quite a time of it in Tasmania. In a state that is renowned, today, for its swathe of World Heritage wilds, there would have been no shortage of places to hide the colony’s ill-gotten booty.
Tassie’s Tamar Valley is just an hour’s drive from one edge of the World Heritage Area. Given that many of the gently sloping banks of the Tamar River have been turned over to vineyards you wouldn’t imagine there would be too many places for horse thieves to operate. But there remains a connection.
Irving Fong, 72, is one of Tasmania’s winegrowers. Some time ago he checked himself out of an old people’s home and married a 35-year old Malaysian woman, Kim. The personable Irving carries a smile as broad as the verdant valley his home and vineyard lookout over. Together Irving and Kim run Jinglers Creek vineyard at Relbia, just outside Launceston.
Their vineyard is named after a creek, the name of which was coined from an escaped convict who, according to Irving, had a knack for stealing horses.
The Fong’s manicured vineyard is a labour of love – Irving has retired from the market garden he ran by the site of the winery – for Irving doesn’t consider his efforts in the vineyard as work. The Fong’s first vintage produced 800 bottles of wine from 4ha of grapes.
But there is a lot more wine in the surrounding Tamar Valley. This region produces around 75 per cent of Tassie’s wines and the pinots from here are some of the finest in Australia.
Heading north from Jinglers Creek, toward the vast majority of the region’s vineyards, you’ll pass through Launceston. There is a small part of the city the locals refer to as the Charles Street precinct and these days it has quite an edge to it.
TwoFourTwo is a self-contained hotel as every bit as boutique as many of the nearby vineyards. It’s made up of just three apartments and all come with style and funk. Across the road is Elaia. This café offers up food with Mediterranean flair and the comfort of wood fires in winter. If you’re still peckish after the café, a providore, Delicacy, is barely a hop away. tantpourtant, a luxe bakery, isn’t much further.
Elsewhere in Lonnie, the Italian restaurant Novaro’s is an institution. The menu is an enticing blend of classics along with more adventurous dishes involving seafood and game. The finely sliced abalone comes with white truffle oil. Novaro’s also comes with a warm welcome, good service and an extensive wine list. Fee and Me, in the city centre, won an American Express ‘Best Restaurant in Australia’ award. For foodies who stop in Lonnie the only regret you’ll have is that, with everything so close, it can be a little tough to walk off the good food.
For those trenchermen who can manage to drag themselves from Launceston, the continuation of the Tamar Valley wine route follows the Tamar River on its journey north toward Bass Strait.
There are plenty of vineyards and many cellar doors have sweeping views of the valley and the river. The Ninth Island vineyard is quite a package and has views, friendly staff and a range of vinos including pinots and Rieslings (if you thought escaping the city would be good for the waistline you’d be wrong – there is a restaurant here that is run by one of the best chefs in Tasmania).
Ninth Island is part of the large Pipers Brook group yet there are plenty more Jinglers Creek-sized places about. Moores Hill Estate, Brook Eden, and Iron Pot Bay just are just some. Sixteen of the 24 vineyards in the official Tamar Valley wine route are smaller family run vineyards. Meet the winemakers and chat about their ripping cool climate wines – you’ll doubtless find more great characters like Irving Fong.
More information:
Note: Not all the smaller vineyards have cellar doors and some are open only by appointment. Get a copy of the Tamar Valley wine route brochure – it’s available from Tasmanian Visitor Centres or at: