A new Tasmanian wine and seafood venue and experience has just opened. The Bangor Wine and Oyster Shed is a purpose-built venue overlooking the sea on the historic farm of Bangor in Dunalley, just 45 minutes from Hobart and approximately halfway to the Port Arthur historic site.
The ‘Shed’ caters for 80 guests seated or 100 cocktail style, in addition to a private room that seats 30, and offers a genuine experience of Tasmanian history, seafood, wine and hospitality.
The venue also has a farm gate shop and cellar door serving Tasmanian wine, cider, seafood and other local produce.
The main feature of the menu is the cool climate wine produced by Matt and Vanessa Dunbabin of Bangor and the oysters grown by Alice and Tom Gray on the neighbouring farm of Fulham, just 2.5 km away.
Both the winemakers and oyster growers are at the venue daily, so delegates will have a genuine ‘meet the maker’ experience. They offer wine and oyster tastings for groups. Whisky tastings can also be arranged on request.
Oyster grower Tom Gray said, “You can actually see Norfolk Bay where the oysters are grown from the venue. Customers would have to be on the oyster lease to get them fresher.
“The oysters are served natural, dressed or grilled. We have old favourites like oysters Kilpatrick and we’ve created new recipes,” said Gray.
The menu features items like Thai lime oysters and grilled macadamia pesto oysters in a trio, ½ dozen or dozen. It also features seafood and cheese platters, beef pies made from beef raised on the property, mussels and abalone.
Regarding the property’s name, Vanessa Dunbabin of Bangor said, “We opened the venue 372 years to the day after Abel Tasman set anchor off the shore of Bangor in 1642.
“The wines are all named after significant historic figures who have left their mark on Bangor, such as the Abel Tasman Pinot Noir, the Captain Spotswood Pinot Noir, Jimmy Hill Pinot Gris, the 1830 Chardonnay and Bangor Sparkling.
“Captain John Spotswood, a retired army officer, was the first settler to be granted land at what was to become Bangor, including the land where Bangor’s vineyard now stands. Early accounts record that he rather enjoyed a drink. The bricks from his cottage, which tragically burned down in the recent Dunalley fires have formed the hearth of the fireplace in the new Bangor Wine and Oyster Shed.
“Jimmy’s Hill, the highest point on Bangor, was home to a convict era semaphore station.
“1830 was the year when John Dunbabin, a convicted horse stealer, was transported to Van Diemens Land. He earned his freedom and bought his own land – paving the way for the five generations of Dunbabins that have farmed Bangor and still do today.
“Delegates will be able to learn the full history from the interpretation on-site, along with information on how the oysters are grown.
“We also created an alcoholic apple cider from apples picked on a friends farm in the Huon Valley. We called it Three Farms Cider because it is a collaboration of three Tasmanian farming families,” said Dunbabin.
Co-owner Matt Dunbabin said,“We have tables and couches indoors with a fireplace for cooler days. We have bar seating on the verandah overlooking the vines and water, we have picnic tables with market umbrellas outside and picnic blankets to take out onto the lawns.”
