The first thing I thought of when I first heard of the Tasmanian region in Australia, was the cute Tasmanian Devil character from the cartoons I used to watch as a little girl; that little thing was one unpleasant creature for my taste. Nowadays, when my kids watch these timeless cartoons, they scream of joy and happiness and laugh uncontrollably filling my heart with joy. And while the kids are obsessed with their cartoons, me and my husband are obsessed with planning a wine tasting trip to the famous Tasmanian region. Being the oenophile of a large scale, I turned on my detective skills to find all that’s worth seeing and tasting there, with an accent on Tasmanian wines, of course.

About Tasmania

The shortest introduction of the Tasmanian Region would be that it’s an island on the southern side of Australia and it’s the second biggest country in the Commonwealth of Australia. The state capital and largest city is Hobart, where most of the 517.000 people live. The place has a rather interesting history, including hostile colonisation, diseases of large proportions like plagues and even genocides. Often described as a wonderland where nature never stops surprising, the Tasmania region is characterized with a cool climate with long autumn days and mild summers. A combination like this reminds much of the European climate conditions for wine making, which provides a very convenient ambiance for producing some really tasty wines.

The Wine Producing Region

Tasmanian wines are some of the finest wines on the market and that’s largely thanks to the perfect climate for growing various grape varieties. Talking particularly about the Tasmanian wine region, it has often been described as “the new Champagne” becoming one of the most popular destinations for wine aficionados – case on point: me and my husband. Most of the Tasmanian vineyards take advantage of the cool climate grapes mainly for producing sparkling wines. Among the famous producers are: House of Arras, Bay of Fires and Jansz, to name a few. Now, most of the grapes are grown at the northern parts of this destination, while the rest remains a spacious wilderness. With all those famous wine producers, wine tourism has a pretty bright future here in Tasmania, although it’s still in its infant stage.

Once there, the first on your wine list should be one of Australia’s premium wines: the Pinot Noir, which is the pride of Tasmanian wines. Tasmania is known as the largest producers of high quality Pinot Noir, among the best in Australia. Other varieties to try are Riesling, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris and Cabernet Sauvignon.

What to See and Where to Go

Since you’re on a wine tasting and buying trip, the first thing you should visit are some of the numerous wine cellars in the region. Josef Chromy’s is among the most popular ones, offering fine wines at affordable prices, and a very knowledgeable staff that will introduce you to the wine producing procedure and things to know about their wines. For the pleasure to be even bigger, there’s a restaurant in the complex that offers local produce. For the lovers of strong booze, Tasmania also has a whiskey producing industry. Among the famous distilleries that offer tasting for visitors and tours around the complex are the Cascade Brewery in Hobart the capital, and James Boag Brewery in Launceston.

Now, this is definitely not all of Tasmania; the region has something for everyone: lovers of amazing sites and beaches, lovers of versatile and rich wildlife and gourmets. Whoever you may be, just make sure you enjoy your passion with a glass of Tasmanian wine for the bigger pleasure of it all.