Winter used to be the season when tourists avoided Tasmania. Now it is one of the most popular times to visit. Travel editor Winsor Dobbin explains why.
Are you heading for Hobart this winter? Would you like to experience an authentic food and wine experience that is a collaboration between two esteemed Tasmanian family producers? If you fancy enjoying fresh wild-caught sustainable bluefin tuna from the Mure family paired with outstanding cool-climate wines from the Pooley family then you might want to get your name on the list.
Owner Will Mure’s parents Jill and George established Mures Fish House in Battery Point in Hobart in 1973. When they struggled to get the best fish, George went fishing. Over 50 years and three generations on, the Mure family continue their commitment to both catching and selling fresh, quality seafood and operate several outlets in their waterfront complex.
I was one of the very fortunate gourmet guinea pigs when Mures Upper Deck (in collaboration with Pooley Wines) launched its new pop-up dining experience, the Southern Bluefin Carving Ceremony, as part of Tasmania’s Off Season festivities.
The giant whole fish was presented and expertly carved by Jock Mure, who also caught the fish. Guests first sampled raw fish off the bone before being treated to a four-course degustation menu prepared using various cuts from the freshly carved fish (above).
Tuna is known for its vibrant colours, texture, and rich umami flavour, and each course showcased the versatility and freshness of the various cuts. It is far healthier and better for the environment than farmed salmon. All the dishes were paired with cool-climate Pooley Wines bottles selected to complement the courses and presented by third-generation family member and brand ambassador Matt Pooley.
Pooley Wines is this year celebrating its 40th year in the wine business and has two estate vineyards in the Coal River Valley. Think pairings like tuna with nori seafood and soy paired with 2021 Pooley Matilda Sparkling; three cuts of sashimi with Pooley 2023 Butchers Hill Riesling; tuna tataki with sesame crust and Pooley’s superb 2019 Cooinda Vale Chardonnay; tuna steak with Pooley 2013 Pinot Noir. Finished off with a hot-smoked tuna dip with a luscious 2024 Butchers Hill Cane Cut Riesling.
Matt Pooley tells some behind-the-scenes stories as part of a delightful seafood and viticulture feast.
The first public session will be on Tuesday, May 6, followed by three other feasts on the first Tuesday of each month: June 3, July 1 and August 5.
The price is a very reasonable $190 per person (I guessed at least $225 after the trial run and before doing my homework).
“This is the kind of Off Season offering that only two traditional Tasmanian family businesses can pull off,” said Mures restaurant general manager Shaun Baker. “Every day the challenge on the water is different, but the aim of producing quality seafood is always the same.”
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Winter festival
From car crashes to artworks, performances to a food and wine festival, Tasmania’s favourite winter festival Dark Mofo returns from June 5-15 and 21. Organisers have announced an ambitious program designed to entertain locals and bring tourists to the island state during its coldest month.
The mid-winter festival will showcase large-scale public artworks in the Dark Park art hub and across nipaluna/Hobart, along with annual rites such as the sprawling Night Mass parties, the Winter Feast gourmet festival, the traditional Ogoh-Ogoh burning, and the Nude Solstice Swim.
Dark Mofo Films also make a comeback under new artistic director Chris Twite.
“Once again we will bathe the city in red, filling it with art and taking over disused and hidden spaces all across Nipaluna/Hobart,” Twite says.
“Night Mass – the late-night labyrinth of revelry – will carve new paths through the city and a host of Australian-exclusive artists from around the world will storm our stages.”
The festival will utilise deconsecrated churches, rooftops, basements, bars, bank vaults and the shores of River Derwent. Dark Mofo will also stretch its tentacles to a theatre in Launceston and the planetarium in Ulverstone.
“It feels incredible to bring so many boundary pushing artists to Tasmania in 2025 for the full-scale return of Dark Mofo,” says Twite.
The festival features new artwork commissions from Paula Garcia and Carlos Martiel, the Australian premiere of a massive light installation from Nonotak and performances from the likes of The Horrors, Tierra Whack, Beth Gibbons and Crime and the City Solution. In Crash Body, two cars will engage in an exchange of near misses, building to a visceral head-on collision between Brazilian artist Paula Garcia and a stunt driver. This event will unfold at the Regatta Grounds over two hours and festivalgoers will encounter the aftermath at Dark Park.
SORA by Nonotak will create a dancing, hypnotic firmament inside a cavernous warehouse. Lights on kinetic armatures will spin and pulse at the whim of an invisible wind.
In a new Mona exhibition, in the end, the beginning, Italian sculptor Arcangelo Sassolino plays with fire.
The Winter Feast will take over Princes Wharf and Salamanca Lawns throughout the festival. This year the Feast welcomes guest chef Niyati Rao from Mumbai restaurant Ekaa. She will be teaming up with chef Craig Will and fellow co-owners of Launceston’s Stillwater restaurant, Bianca and James Welsh.
This year’s Ogoh-Ogoh ritual solicits fears to feed a giant Maugean skate – an endangered species found only in Tasmania’s Macquarie Harbour and threatened by those polluting salmon farms.
Tickets are on sale now. Subscribe for updates at www.darkmofo.net.au.
See more of Winsor’s recommendations at www.gourmetontheroad.com.