Tasting Tasmania: Dining at the Moorilla Estate

By Marjie Courtis

On a private peninsula on the Derwent River, North West of Hobart, Moorilla Estate is diversifying well beyond its wine-growing origins.

From 2011, it will be the site of the largest private art museum in the Southern Hemisphere. The Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) will be set within a tranquil natural environment with striking architecture as its showcase.

Moorilla Estate will continue to offer accommodation, a cellar door, local produce, a fine-dining restaurant, and Moo Beer from its micro-brewery. (The beer brand has nothing to do with cows as it turns out. It's simply the first syllable of Moorilla!)

The diversifications I've just mentioned are only part of the story. For the second time, in January 2010, it sponsored the MONA-FOMA, the MONA Festival of Music and the Arts, a Hobart-based music festival, with panache.

As I recall it, some years back I visited Moorilla Estate at a less ambitious phase in its development. Sales of local products included not just food, but even a local novel or two! If my recollection is right, it's the very place where I bought my first novel by Tasmanian writer, Richard Flanagan. I've since been greedily devouring every word that he's written. But no, I didn't spot any novels for sale this time!

On this visit, the main reason for my visit was Moorilla's restaurant, The Source.

The ambience was delightful, especially on this fair-weather day. There were smartly-set tables both inside and outside. My friend and I chose to have our lunch on the wooden balcony overlooking the Derwent Estuary.

It was a bit of a jiggle to get to our table with people and tables already occupying most of the width of the balcony. But otherwise, a beautiful vantage point for lunch.

The menu was a tempting read. We skipped entrees since we were offered a pleasant home made bread and an olive oil for dipping. I would have preferred one of the two tastes to have been more dominant. And the olive oil deserved a more reverential receptacle than a round, flat plate.

Before deciding on Cape Grim beef, I asked a waitress where Cape Grim was. I assumed it was a place in Tasmania, that was renowned for its beef. And given the name of the restaurant, The Source, I thought that the origins of the food were part of the overall offering. I did find out later that the beef has won many accolades, but at the time, the waitress's response was not much better than "my guess is as good as your dining partner's." Actually, my dining partner's thoughts were "spot on", as she thought it was somewhere in the North West.

That said, my beef was beautifully presented on a bed of spinach, it was juicy and accompanied by a baked fig and a superbly integrated reduction sauce. The chef and the Cape Grim farmers certainly know what they were about.

My Hobartian friend chose trevalla. We both thought that it was a light serving for a fish meal, but my friend assured me that it lived up to expectations of quality, if not quantity.

Desserts were very tempting, so we were tempted. I chose a Dark Ale and Chocolate Torte. It was a Moo dark ale, naturally. Complemented by a delicate scoop of blood orange sorbet, more dollops of chocolate and a chocolate delice to top it off. The little buttons of mint gel on the plate added colour, and perhaps, some style. My Hobartian friend chose Lemon Sabayon and Pine-nut Tart with orange and a marmalade.

I thought that overall the chef delivered on the promise of the menu.

There were a few areas where I thought attention to detail could have been improved. For example, one waitress was about to remove the sugar from the table before the coffee had arrived. And my friend's coffee wasn't complimentary as it was meant to be following her slightly disappointed expectations of the Sabayon. Yes, mere details, but they do have the potential to spoil wonderful experiences.

But my point of real delight was in the integrity of the wine and beverage service. I pursued my usual preference for a local wine with the waitress. I noticed that the Moorilla red selections included only their Pinot Noir and not their Syrah (Shiraz) or Cabernet Merlot. I liked the honesty of my waitress in suggesting, so rightly, that a Stefano Lubiana Merlot from a competitive vineyard, was actually the right choice for my beef.

Later, Restaurant Manager, Andrew Low, explained that although the Cellar Door sold the Syrah and Cabernet Merlot, those wines were too young to be served in the restaurant this year.

My selection criteria were essentially met on this visit. Whether discussions about food and wine are as important to you as to me, a visit to Moorilla Estate now, and MONA in the future, is highly recommended.

You too may get a Taste for Hobart. And do look out for me at The Source restaurant!