Chilling at Bruny Island Winery

Thursday 14^th September, 2017.

Very slow start today, it’s raining and miserable and the plan is to walk up to the Bruny Island Winery, taste some wine, eat some lunch and generally chill out there for the afternoon. Luckily, by the time we have to make a decision about walking or driving, it’s fined up and the sun is out. I’d already checked out the possibility of walking along King St and up onto the main road and there’s a little watercourse that an Olympic long-jumper could probably manage, but probably not us. If I lived here, I’d put a big plank across it! So, it’s the long way round for us, about 1.5km, but the road is quiet so it’s not too bad, again, a nice walk. We are greeted by a lovely lady who asks if we’ve come for lunch and suggests we take a table, whichever one we want. I ask if they do wine tastings and she says of course, would we like to order lunch and have a tasting while we wait for our lunch to be prepared? When I tell her we plan to stay all afternoon and are in no hurry at all, she smiles and guides us to stools at the bar. She likes our plan. We end up being attended by 2 very lovely ladies, both locals with lots of handy information. Shame we’re leaving tomorrow! But the one very helpful tip one of them gave us was about a shortcut home! Excellent! Across the road from the winery is a property up for sale and there’s a track, almost wide enough to drive along, which will take us back to Cemetery Rd, not far from our house! One to remember for next time! We enjoy the wine tasting, and also some cider tasting, there’s a particularly nice apple cider mixed with blackberry, the straight apple is not that impressive, nice, but not anything special.

We move to a table in a sunny spot and peruse the menu. Working backwards from dessert (as you do!), I decide I have to leave room for the cheese plate because it’s all cheeses from the Bruny Island Cheese Co. At some point, our waitress suggests we try the Wallaby San Choy Bow, one of her favourites. We don’t think we can fit it in and still have room for the cheese, so decline. Next thing we know, she presents us with a complimentary tasting serve, and she’s right, it’s really good. What a nice thing for her to do. The cheese plate is served on 2 pieces of an old wine barrel attached underneath with small metal plates, very rustic. I really like it and I ask if they sell them. Sometimes they do, but sadly, they don’t have any old ones they’re getting rid of today. 

By the time we finish up, it’s around 4pm, so we go looking for the shortcut home and find it easily. Much better! The property that’s for sale is called Heron Waters and it’s a little old house, past it’s best but in need of someone to love it again. And oh so handy to the winery! It’s turning colder but I’m keen to find the beach along Cemetery Road that the ladies at the winery told us about, so rugged up, I head back out. I’m surprised at how far Cemetery Rd goes, and I also see some of the holiday houses that I had considered when looking to find something on Bruny. 

Not needing much for dinner, we stay in and stick our heads out every now and then in the hope that tonight will be our Aurora night, but still she doesn’t appear for us.