'If there's a place that could transform someone into a winter person, it's Tasmania'

Travelling to Tasmania during the off-season, in the crisp cold winter air, was the last thing on my mind as someone who hates the cold.

And yet, the beauty of its landscapes, the warmth of Tasmanian hospitality, and the incredible food had me never wanting to leave.

If there's a place that could transform someone into a winter person, it's Tasmania. 

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The winter months of our smallest state are considered its 'off-season', yet it's the perfect time to book a trip to the Apple Isle and have unique experiences with the makers behind the best of Tassie's food and drink.

The locals embrace the cold with seasonal experiences that immerse you in the paddock-to-plate cuisine that they're so well known for.

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It's no wonder that Launceston, famous for its Tamar Valley wine region and bountiful artisanal foodie experiences, was named a UNESCO City of Gastronomy in 2021.

Here are some of the best places to get immersed in the paddock-to-plate cuisine northern Tasmania is so famous for. 

Truffle Hunting and Wine Masterclass

If you've ever been curious about where some of the rarest ingredients in fine dining come from, the winter months offer the perfect time to head down to Pipers Brook and see what it's like hunting for truffles.

The famous delicacy of the black truffle is only in season during the winter months, so the Truffle Hunt and Wine masterclass offered by Pipers Brook Truffles and the House of Arras winery give you the perfect opportunity to get fully acquainted with the behind-the-scenes of Australia's foodie culture. 

Nestled in the hills of Pipers Brook, farmer Ian gives an exciting tour of his young truffle farm, where his dogs Diego and Maple use their keen sense of smell to point out where the truffles are growing beneath rows of beautiful French oak trees. 

The morning of truffle hunting is then followed by a true paddock-to-plate experience with a three-course truffle lunch.

The courses included a starter of deliciously melty brie cheese with honey and truffle. The main that followed also featured the farmer's own pasture-raised beef and vegetables from his own garden, in a delicious French classic Beef Bourguignon. 

Australia is actually the fourth-largest producer of truffles, supplying fine dining restaurants locally and internationally with the delicacy, so it was great to get a behind-the-scenes look into what it takes to cultivate the rare ingredient. 

Following lunch we headed to the House of Arras vineyard to sample sparkling wines with an intimate tour of the vineyard led by Flinders the border collie. The tour included a pruning workshop that gave insight into the important work that goes into vineyard maintenance while the vines are dormant, ensuring the vines will be lush and fruitful by summer. 

Despite being a fraction of the size of other wine regions, Tassie is fast becoming a major centre of wine making excellence. The Tamar Valley's wineries are known for producing some of the best sparkling wine and Pinot Noir in the world.

The House of Arras alone won six of the seven gold medals awarded to Australian wine in 2024's Champagne and Sparkling Wine World Championships. If you're a wine lover, this is definitely a place to check out and get some insight into the wine making process from vine to glass. 

Paddock-to-plate dining at Fork It Farm

For the gourmands, a visit to Fork it Farm offers a full 'Epicurean' experience of food. While the destination may be off the beaten track, the farm allows visitors to get in touch with where their food comes from and discover small-batch artisan charcuterie from farmers who put their animals first.

Amongst a view of rolling hills and paddocks, dotted with grazing pigs across the landscape, you can sit down to a rustic open-air dining experience as the farms offer tail-to-snout feats throughout the winter months.

The serene farm views are an idyllic setting for a warming winter feast which put emphasis on using the whole animal, not just the most popular cuts that we see on supermarket shelves.

Our hosts were the farmers who raised our meal, from transforming their produce onsite into delicious charcuterie meats to pickling their own garden vegetables as accompaniments.

The farmers run a very small-scale operation and you can only taste their produce in Tasmania as they only provide their meats to local restaurants and sell their produce onsite and at farmers markets.

Callington Mill Distillery's whisky and history preservation

Halfway between Launceston and Hobart sits the quaint, and very rustic town of Oatlands. Walking through its streets feels like stepping back in time, as the town boasts the Southern Hemisphere's largest collection of Georgian buildings - they've even made an effort to remove all telegraph poles from the town centre to preserve the original look of the area. 

The town is home to Callington Mill Distillery which aims to preserve the history of the town, having restored its famed windmill to working condition, while also providing a way to continue the legacy of the town as a barley farming district.

The mill has a history of being used as an illegal distillery back in the 1800s and after being revitalised in 2010 it became a legal whiskey distillery as well as a hub for preserving the history and legacy of the town. 

The distillery uses locally-grown barley and has a very hands-off process they've developed for distilling it into whisky. You can also enjoy lunch and a whisky tasting. If you're still cold from the winter breeze outside, a sip of whisky is sure to warm you up.

Sightseeing at Cataract Gorge

No trip to Launceston is truly complete without a trip to its beautiful Cataract Gorge Reserve, including a scenic chairlift ride across its beautiful landscape. The scenic chairlift is offering a special insight into life at the gorge across the winter season with their twilight rides.

You can sit back and watch the sun set over the gorge before it lights up with lanterns and fairy lights, bringing a bit of magic to the beautiful landscape.

The gorge really comes to life at dusk, I was lucky enough to see the peacocks who live there, run up to their tree to roost, as well as possums and Tasmanian pademelons waking up and starting their day. 

Fine dining at The Agrarian Kitchen

Just 40 minutes away from Hobart, The Agrarian Kitchen offers visitors a taste of exclusively Tasmanian produce. The onsite gardens supply the restaurant with over 90 per cent of its produce and anything they can't grow is supplied by local farmers.

During this off-season the restaurant is also hosting campfire treats, allowing visitors to kick back at firepits and roast s'mores made with homemade honey marshmallows, spiced biscuits, and federation chocolate.  

After meeting the farmers at Fork it Farm I was excited to see it was their pork being offered on the menu, as well as House of Arras sparkling wine.

Dining at the restaurant brought the trip full circle, fulfilling the paddock-to-plate fine dining experience that Tasmania has become so well known for. 

The writer travelled as a guest of Tourism Tasmania.