WinePunters.com we go to the Taste of the Tamar

Tamar Valley Wine Route Events

The Taste of the Tamar - "the wine industry comes to town"

We love our wine and we love our punters so every time we get a chance to drink wine and talk to punters we drop everything, leave the stove on and head for the door (Don't worry, our neighbour has the fire department on speed dial - Ed).

Recently the Tamar Valley Wine Route held their annual Taste of the Tamar (henceforth known as the Tamar Taste) which was held in the Conference Centre at the Grand Chancellor in Launceston. We have been to quite a few Winesouth events so we have a pretty good idea how wine tasting events are run in southern Tassie. But it was time to see how they did things north of Ross so we went along for a look.

For those of you who have been to Winesouth events but not the Tamar Taste, there are a couple of differences. The Tamar Taste is more like the Taste of Tasmania in that there are both wine and food exhibitors. In addition it was organised around producers rather than wine varieties. We like both approaches but one punter was temporarily 'outraged'. "I have to walk all over the place just to try all the chardies ... still I guess it keeps me sober longer ... less trouble with the wife ... I withdraw my complaint!".

What do the organisers say ?

The Organisers Podcast
Cory Baker.mp3 ( 6.69mb 7:10 minutes )	Corey Baker is the recently appointed Executive Officer for the Tamar Valley Wine Route. We spoke to him late in the day to guage his reaction to the event and to get his response to the very minor quibbles the punters had with the Tamar Taste. We also spoke to him about his latest venture, Dickens Cider.
Natasha Nieuwhof.mp3 ( 7.23mb 7:53 minutes )	Natasha heads the organising team as well as being part owner of Goaty Hill Vineyard. To say that she has been busy of late is an understatement. We wanted to know how she thought the event fared on the day and to see if she would agree to a punter's request that the event be held more regularly - say everyday!

What did we like ?

This is one of two major events held by the Tamar Valley Wine Route, the other being their awards dinner, and it was a very well organised and professionally run. It was held in a good venue that was able to accommodate the large number of punters, estimated at around a thousand, who took advantage of the opportunity. You never felt crowded nor did you have to wait in order to get a taste of the wines.

We didn't count how many but there were plenty of exhibitors and not only could you try wines from almost all the vineyards in the Tamar but you could also indulge in every thing from honey to chocolate.

We also liked the various musicians that played during the event. The music was good and not too loud. Often the music at these types of events becomes intrusive. If you wanted to listen you could but if you were in a tasting frenzy then it added to the background ambience.

As with all of the wine tasting events we've attended, there was plenty of opportunity to talk to the vineyard owners and/ or winemakers. We also liked the fact that Tassie wine tasting events continue to attract people who are not wine 'experts'. We spoke to a number of punters who appreciated the range and quality of the wines on offer and a number of them told us they had discovered new varieties and new vineyards. We even spoke to a couple of Kiwis who thought the Tamar Taste was better than comparable events in Un Zud because it was less anal (I know, just take the compliment and move along people - Ed). They also suggested we should see a movie called Black Sheep (I know, I know just keep moving - Ed).

Lastly we liked the fact that the event is used to raise money for the St Giles appeal which is a charity very active in the local community.

What did we like maybe not so much?

No complaints from us except for the fact that we were so busy trying to get photos and audio we didn't try very much wine. By the way, what is it with punters of the male persuasion. It was very difficult to get blokes to have a chat, they left it to the ladies to do all the talking. This was despite the fact that the lovely Michelle was doing the asking.

The punters did have a few, admittedly minor, quibbles. "Where's the cheese?" made famous by Wallace and Grommet could also have applied to the Tamar Taste. A few punters made the comment to us that they were surprised and a little disappointed that there was no cheese on offer. We asked Corey about this and he replied "we can't always get all the exhibitors we want".

Our kiwi punters also made the comment that " there was no where to sit for the people on the deck .... and I mean deck ... d. e. c. k". We were pretty sure we understood what they meant but it is nice of them to make sure. Natasha pointed out that this was an unfortunate consequence of the success of the event. "We may have to look at another venue" she mused.

Our thoughts also go out to the two people who had to make the 'welcome along' speeches. The first one only had to contend with kids lying down and rolling around in front of the stage. Distracting but nothing an experienced public speaker couldn't handle. But the nice fundraising lady from St Giles was completely ignored and you could barely hear what she had to say. Come on people how about a bit of respect - a few minutes listening and then many hours tasting - it's not that hard.

What did the punters think?

Anyway enough of us and the official views. What about the most important people who were there that day, what did they think?.

The Puntelicous Podcast
Tony, Priscilla and Craig.mp3 ( 8.79mb 9:36 minutes )	A family that drinks together stays together! These guys were very interesting. Tony in particular had a lot to say about how he went from someone who said "I'm not drinking that crap" to being a very knowledgeable wine punter.
Keith and Leonie.mp3 ( 9.1 mb 9:56 minutes )	Kiwi wit, Kiwi comment and Kiwi accents - woo hoo!
Jane.mp3 ( 3.43 mb 3:45 minutes )	Birthday girl Jane accuses PJ of having a birth defect and fights off an insurance agent! She also makes time to tell us what she thinks of the Tamar Taste.
Sharon.mp3 ( 2.64mb 2:53 minutes)	Everyone else ran when we asked for a comment but Sharon held her ground and delivered.
The hens day.mp3 ( 6.41mb 7 minutes)	Thinking of running off to Italy to get married? Hear how it's done and find out what Tassie's younger professional women think of wine tasting.

Summing up

This was our first Taste of the Tamar and it won't be our last. Next time we will organise ourselves a bit better so we have more time for tasting. It's on again on the 11th September 2010 so make a note.