Home Hill Winery

Today was a beautiful sunny (albeit windy) day in Hobart. 

AJ and I decided to roam further than our usual inner CBD eateries and drove down south to Huonville. Here, you will find a bunch of great fruit and vegetable stands, quirky little homesteads and many farming properties which is a great contrast to the suburban Hobart landscape but only a half hour drive away. 

Now, Tasmania is known by many wine aficionados to be Pinot Heaven and for good reason too! In the Huon region you will find some wineries spruiking their wares but none as well known as Home Hill winery - a multi-award winning winery that is set in. picturesque Ranelagh.

The winery comprises a restaurant, function centre and vines all around. A beautifully designed main building with plenty of natural light, exposed wooden and steel beams and water features makes the place an enticing eatery. There are plenty of wines to taste other than Pinots and many are worth stocking up on if you're visiting.

Now on to the meal: we ordered some sourdough to kick things off, shared a plate of braised beef cheek, mains were gnocchi and duck and had some desserts of chocolate terrine and panacotta.

The entree was presented with crispy sweet potato shavings, vine-ripened tomatoes, moist and rich beef cheek (that pulled apart with the slightest prod of the fork) all atop a creamy sweet potato puree. This dish was a great example of beautifully prepared beef cheek, all flavour and no nonsense. 

The Gnocchi was a rich main of light potato, vine ripened tomatoes, shallots peas, parmesan and brie . 

The brie, parmesan and cream made for a somewhat overwhelmingly decadent sauce but the addition of the tomatoes, peas and shallots cleansed the palate. 

The serving size for a dish of this type would be probably best to share. 

Moving on to the duck breast which was the real winner of the day. 

Beautifully rendered down duck breast with slight caramelisation on the skin but left tender throughout the meat. This was served atop of a rich parsnip puree, broccolini and some more of those crispy sweet potato shavings.

After all of that richness - it only made sense to up the ante! So AJ and I decided to grab some desserts.

A generous block of baked chocolate terrine served with two scoops of sorbet; one mixed berry the other blood orange. The latter was a cleansing and delicious compliment to the dark, smooth and devilish terrine.

The panacotta was creamy and had a superbly balanced texture. It was served with some fresh berries, mixed berry sorbet and was an excellent example of a dish that can be difficult to accomplish. At the end of all that we decided that our next meal was definitley not going to be on our minds (probably for a few days). 

The quality of the produce, the relaxing winery setting and the skill in which the food is prepared makes Home Hill's restaurant a worthwhile visit for anyone travelling the Huon trail. 

Even if you're not a wino before you visit, you'll enjoy the meal and may even discover a love for some Pinots, Chardonnays or even a delicious Rose.