Grandvewe

So, Jo and I recently spent two weeks in Australia, mostly in Tassie, which turned out to be one of our worst traveling experiences to date! That doesn't mean we didn't have some fantastic times, because we sure did, and the wedding we went to (the point of the whole trip) was simply one of the most perfect wedding we have ever been to! The bad side of the trip is that we were both horrendously sick! I came down with everything from fevers to vomiting to migraine and spent more time crashed-out on various friends beds and couches than I did actually socialising with people! Jo wasn't much better off, and came crashing down just as I was getting better! Not what we traveled thousands of miles to do >_<

Ok peeps remember, just been horrendously sick, ya.

However, one of our most perfect days (aside from the wedding) was the very last day of the trip where we took a ride down the channel, through Snug and towards Woodbridge. Thems who know us know that this turf is near and dear to our hearts, so seeing the outcome of the Snug fires was pretty sobering. We'd been meaning to do this drive for the entire trip so we were both so glad that we could finally fit it in on the last day, that and we were both finally feeling well enough to enjoy life again!

Aside from meandering through familiar countryside, the point of the trip was to get to Grandvewe...A sheep cheese farm whose produce Jo had sampled previously. She had been talking this trip up for months so when it looked like it wasn't going to fit in we were both devastated, but never fear, we made it!

View from the Grandvewe deck, and grand it was, even in the rain!

Grandvewe went above and beyond my expectations. I had no idea that such a gem was lurking just 30 mins from the city. Oh to live in Hobart again! The first thing we did was a tasting, cheese and wine, of what was fresh and on offer at the moment. There were several incredible cheeses (primarily sheep since that's the point!) but lucky for us one of those was a cheese known as "the diplomat"...part sheep, part goat, part white mold and part blue mold...Basically all the good stuff in one! From the tasting we could select a cheese platter, paired with their own wines, so we selected the diplomat (of course) combined with the pinot paste (gorgeous, like quince paste but richer) and the fermented mutton sausage which was out of this world! I can't really remember the wine pairings because they were both a bit fresh but had potential, I think Jo had a chardonnay and I something light and sweet (the rose?) While we waited for our platter to be arranged we hung out in the 'dining area'...a covered in deck overlooking the farm which consists of hills rolling all the way down to the channel, edged by forest and just so beautiful (especially after the dust and concrete of Texas). There were so many birds and the rain was sweeping across the river in squalls leaving rainbows in its path.


When the platter arrived bliss turned to perfection! I'll let the photo speak for itself, but needless to say sitting on that deck, sipping wine and eating wonderful food surrounded by the view and the the rain/sun tag team...It was truly one of the high points of the trip. One of Tootles' marbles.


So if you live within driving distance of Woodbridge and you haven't been to Grandvewe yet, get your butt in gear, seriously. The restaurant is closed at the moment but it is my understanding that they do tastings, coffee and platters year round. Sheep milking starts again in August and the full restaurant (which has had good reviews) will be back in November.