New restaurant offers an authentic taste of Tasmania

Tasmanians and visitors to the Apple Isle have a new venue in which to taste the state.

The Pooley family, among Tasmania's leading wine producers, this week launched a new restaurant identity in their Prospect Country House hotel in the Coal River Valley. 

   

The eatery has been re-named Buscombe’s Restaurant, in tribute to the estate’s historical origins and builders James and Elizabeth Buscombe, who established the elegant Georgian homestead around 1830 and were regional farming pioneers.

“The new name reflects Prospect’s commitment to honouring its heritage, while continuing to deliver elevated, regionally focused hospitality in the heart of the Coal River Valley,” hotel manager and family member Lisa Pooley said. 

Chef James Paul Miller (ex Peppina and Van Bone) leads the kitchen brigade at the historic and gracious mansion with an aim to showcase flavours from around the Apple Isle to be served alongside award-winning Pooley wines. 

Most of the ingredients will be sourced from local farmers, and some from the property's own kitchen garden.

Starters may include Tasmanian scallops on the half shell with celeriac cream, nori butter and toasted almonds.  

Think mains like local orange roughie with saffron potato fondant, confit cherry tomato, snow peas and fish veloute, or mouth-wateringly tender Central Highlands of Tasmania venison backstrap with parsnip cream, roasted root vegetables, toasted walnuts and chocolate jus. 

“With over 17 years of experience in some of Australia’s most respected kitchens, [chef] James brings a refined yet grounded approach to contemporary dining,” said hotel owner John Pooley.

Lisa Pooley (pictured above with chef Miller) said the restaurant menu aims to showcase a farm-to-table experience that reflects both the estate’s heritage and Tasmania’s seasonal bounty.

“Buscombe’s is not only a tribute to our past, but it also showcases the very best of our state," she said. 

The wine list features not just Pooley Wines, but also a selection of bottles from across Tasmania. 

Buscombe's at Prospect Country House, Richmond, and is open seven nights for dinner and Friday-Sunday for lunch. It is 20 minutes from Hobart CBD and 15 minutes from Hobart Airport. 

The hotel has 11 rooms but dining is open to non-residents all year round. See https://prospectcountryhouse.com.au/buscombesrestaurant 

Calling golfers who love their wine and food

 

Calling all lovers of luxury, Tasmanian food and wine, and golf. 

How about three nights at delightful Country House, dinner, Pooley wine experiences and the chance to play two of the best golf courses in Tasmania? 

The the inaugural Prospect Epicurean Open from April 19-22 might be of interest. 

The experience includes a three-night stay at Prospect Country House - just across the road from owners the Pooley family's cellar door - and rounds of golf at 7 Mile Beach and Royal Hobart Golf Club.

From seasoned low handicappers pros to weekend enthusiasts, the event is designed for golfers of all skill levels. 

After the golf, participants can retreat to the heritage comfort of Buscombe's Restaurant and Prospect Country House in the Coal River Valley for a five-course degustation dinner, Pooley wines, and the quiet of the very pretty 1830s estate.

Mathew Goggin's 7 Mile Beach (above) is one of Australia's newest top-rated courses and participants will be led by pro golfer Scott Laycock and John Davis from Tasmanian Golf Experiences. 

Davis will also host the 18 holes at Royal Hobart Golf Club. 

The experience includes all transfers, accommodation, curated meals, Pooley wines, green fees and pull buggies included. All you need is a toothbrush and your golf clubs. The price is $3,150 person.

For full details email Lisa Pooley at lisa@prospectcountryhouse.com.au or check out https://prospectcountryhouse.com.au/

A uniquely Tasmanian gourmet treat to celebrate winter

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 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 last week 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.

All the dishes were paired with cool-climate Pooley Wines bottles selected to complement the courses and will be presented by third-generation family member and brand ambassador Matt Pooley, whose father John (below with Matt) was also in attendance for the first run.

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.

The events are part of Tasmania's Off Season festivities and also run on  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."

For more details and bookings see https://www.mures.com.au/the-off-season

# Pooley Wines will hold 40th birthday celebrations in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane on May 13-14-15 as well as June public tastings with the Huon Hooke and the Real Review. Contact cellar door for details.

Images: Supplied, John Pooley, Winsor Dobbin 

# The writer was a host of Mures Upper Deck and Pooley Wines 

Septuagenarians began a Tasmanian family wine dynasty

John and Libby Pooley; Shelley and Matt Pooley

English migrants Denis and Margaret Pooley were in their 70s when they decided they would like to plant a vineyard and make some wines in their adopted homeland in Tasmania. 

Many of their friends told the septuagenarians that were crazy, but with the help of Tasmanian wine industry pioneers Fred Peacock and Andrew Hood, they set off on their wine journey in 1985. 

Almost 40 years on, the third generation of Pooley vignerons includes Matt Pooley and wife Shelley; and Anna Pooley and husband Justin Bubb. 

Under the keen eye of parents John and Libby Pooley, the latest generation is making the world of wine sit up and take notice with world-class pinots noir and remarkable, long-lived rieslings.

The first Pooley vineyard was a few rows of vines planted on the banks of the Coal River, north of Campania, but still just a short drive from Hobart in southern Tasmania. 

The 16-hectare farm that began as a retirement project is still part of the family vineyard portfolio, along with the Butcher's Hill vines next to the family cellar door just outside the hamlet of Richmond.

Cooinda Vale yielded its first vintage in 1989 and Denis continued working in the vineyard until he died in 1994. Margaret Pooley lived on until 2010. 

In 2003, their son John Pooley - a well-known Hobart prestige car dealer - and his wife Libby bought Belmont, a heritage-listed Georgian home on the outskirts of Richmond. 

Pooley Wines expanded and established a second vineyard, the adjacent Butcher’s Hill, with its first vintage produced in 2007.

Until the passing of Margaret Pooley, three generations of the Pooley family were working in the vineyards with John’s son, Matthew Pooley, taking on the responsibility as viticulturist and with Margaret’s granddaughter, Anna Pooley, returning to the family business in 2013. 

Pooley wines have been made entirely by family hands from that point onward.

Former viticulturist Matt Pooley is today the brand representative and sister Anna Pooley is the award-winning winemaker. 

The 2020 Margaret Pooley Tribute Riesling ($75) - named in honour of the family matriarch - was named the best riesling in Australia in the 2022 James Halliday Wine Companion. 

It has, predictably, already sold out, but a few of the remaining bottles were the stars of the show at a small celebration at the Pooley cellar door on Friday night - along with back vintages including stellar wines from 2018 and 2015 - both ageing gracefully and drinking beautifully. 

Both Hood and Peacock were in attendance at this week's celebration. 

Also being enjoyed were the two recent release single-vineyard 2020 pinots noir; the Butcher's Hill and the Cooinda Vale (both $70 and worth every cent). 

The Butcher's Hill is a stunning wine, full of delicate deliciousness and sweet and savoury notes, while the tighter Cooinda Vale is one destined for a long happy life in a dark cellar.

Further evidence of the talent of Anna Pooley, formerly of Treasury Wine Estate's and a stint as a winemaker in Italy, is the lip-smackingly vibrant Pooley 2021 Pinot Grigio ($36), a superb summer wine with great vivacity that has concentrated flavours and a persistent acid line along with a subtle Italian accent.

Any wine lovers visiting Tasmania should make sure to check out the delightful old Georgian home that houses the Pooley cellar door. 

Belmont is a grand heritage-listed, convict-built home circa 1832, purchased by the Pooley family in 2003. 

The original coach house and barn is now home to Pooley's cellar door and tasting room,  open seven days a week and known for excellent pizzas at weekends. The staff, like everyone employed by the family, are consummate professionals. 

The Pooley family also operates Prospect House, a country manor-style hotel just across the road from the cellar door. 

For more info visit www.pooleywines.com.au/