The 2008 Red Wine Weekend (14th and 15th June) - eye witness account by PJ 

When I saw the ad I couldn't quite believe my eyes.  Head along and for $15 you could drink Tassie red wine to your heart's content.  Did someone say $15 - all you can drink?  Well not really.  Yes it only cost $15 to get in and yes there wasn't a limit to the number of tastings.  But treating this event as a cheap afternoon on the sauce misses the point and let me tell you a few people on the day we went definitely missed the point. Whereas I only nearly missed the point but that was due to dedication not wanton over indulgence ( we believe you, no really - Ed). 

The real point was to experience, in one place, all the very good red wines produced by a number of southern Tasmanian vineyards.  As you would expect, all the well known ones were represented but so were some of the lesser known and I have to say seeing so much quality red wine in one place nearly made me break into my happy dance.

The venue was the wonderfully old Hadleys Hotel in Murray Street which, according to my sources, does a pretty mean afternoon tea.  Heading into a back room in the hotel we were greeted with a number of tables upon which were the said red wines.  Behind the tables a veritable who's who of the Southern Tasmanian wine industry to make sure the 'punters' not only tasted the wines but learnt a bit about them along the way.  Actually the set up reminded me of an after Christmas sale just with a lot less pushing and shoving.  

What did we like ?

There was a lot to like about this event but the things that really stood out for me were: 

The people serving you the tastings all work in the industry and many of them were the vineyard owners or winemakers.  You just don't get that many chances to be around so much knowledge and passion.  There is something pretty special about standing there and saying "lets try some of your wine" and watching the eyes light up in the person opposite as they tell you about what you're tasting.  

Despite the crowd, all the winemakers / vignerions we spoke to were more than happy to take the time to let you know about the wines and answer your questions.  As an example, despite being busy Neil Snare (Winstead Vineyard) took the time to explain the difference between an 'estate' and a 'reserve' wine and how you go about putting a wine into these categories.  

There was a great range of wines and vintages to try.  In addition to some of my favourites I found a number of wines that I had either not tried at all or had only sampled rarely.  Discovering Kilbowie Wines was a real highlight.  I was also impressed with the opportunity to try several vintages so I could get an idea of how a particular wine would age.  

The layout of the room allowed you to start with a sparkling or Rose and then move through various wines like pinots and cabertnets and to end up at the 'museum' vintages.  I can't think of too many other situations where you get to   try vintages stretching from 2008 back to 1998 in the one place. 

As I am sure you know, wine tasting is hungry work and so imagine my delight when I spied the cheese tasting table.  Now I could bang on about how good the cheeses were but it is a wine site after all so I'll just say well "Hello cheese where have you been all my life!". 

What did we like maybe not so much?

I feel a bit petty here but there were a couple of things I think need some tweeking.

My girlfriend thought the room was too small and stuffy for the event and I have to say I agree.  Another problem with the size of the room was that there was only space for a couple of tables for people to sit at so they could relax and discuss the wines they were tasting.  

There wasn't clear signage for the room.  We expected to see a sign near the door saying "Red Wine Weekend - set your face to stunned" or something similar but nope instead there was a big Beijing Olyimpics sign that took up most of the doorway (what the...? - Ed).  I know Hadleys isn't a large hotel but still you wanted to see a clear sign rather than looking throught the door and thinking "This looks like the right place". 

Summing up

Brilliant, please put it on again - please - c'mon don't make me beg! 

Actually the same people are organising the White Wine Weekend in September and we can't wait. 

Did you go ? If so, let us know what you thought? Send us a comment