Saturday 2 July 2011

Places of Note 1 - Cool Wine

Shop 8, MidCity Arcade, Criterion Street, Hobart, TAS 7000

www.coolwine.com.au/ 

That island state, the Apple Isle, a land where legends have trod the earth.  Darwin, Flynn, Boonie, Foster, erm…Princess Mary?  It is a beautiful yet rugged land, some compare it to Scotland, although those people may need to check their facts as last I looked Scotland wasn’t smothered in gum trees or haunted by flannelette-clad bush pigs.  Sure, we may be that perennially broke cousin who’s whining all the other states do their best to ignore at the family gatherings, but this is God’s own country dammit!  One day we’re going to secede and then where will you Mainlanders be?  Think about it,  we’ve got all the hops!!!

KNEEL MAINLANDER!!!  So commands the Keg with Legs...
That same (some would say cantankerous) climate which provides such excellent conditions that allow members of the noble Cannabicea order to flourish in these damp, rich soils also quite suits the vine, there are quality vineyards and wineries all over the island.  This becomes depressingly apparent as you walk into the average bottle shop and see nothing but shelf after shelf of wine, with only stacked cartons of Cascades of Boags looming in the distance like grim housing commission flats.

Luckily, Cool Wine is no ordinary bottle shop.  Tucked down a small street in Hobart’s CBD it came as a very pleasant surprise when I spied a carton of Stone & Wood in the window.  As the name suggests a fair percentage of shelf space is devoted to wine, and if that is your thing then you shall not be disappointed, nothing is filler, every bottle here is of quality.  One of the owners is a qualified wine judge so the only stuff you’ll see here has been intensely vetted.

The big draw for our purposes though, is the formidable selection of beers in the back third of the store.  I have never seen such a range of beer squeezed into such a small space, two shelves and a mid-sized fridge, all straining under the weight of a couple of hundred bottles.  The opposite wall is reminiscent of a busy port with dozens of brightly coloured cartons, stacked liked shipping crates bearing the names of brewers from all over the world; Sierra Nevada, North Coast, Adnams, Fullers, Schneider Weiss, Hitachino, beers which were nigh impossible to find in Tasmania a few short years ago.

The shelves are stocked with a universal selection, the likes of Mikkeller, Renaissance, Innis & Gunn, Cantillon and many of the trappists while the stalwarts which all good beer stores should stock such as Samuel Smith, Epic, Rouges and Paulaner were well represented.  Proudly proclaimed as the best beer fridge in Tasmania, half the fridge space was taken up by the Tasmanian microbreweries, Seven Sheds, Van Diemans, Moo Brew, et al and a smattering of stuff from interstate, including a strong showing from Holgate.
This is the best beer selection in Hobart, hands down, the thought of all those quality beers still sends a shiver down my spine. 

If you live in Hobart and have even the slightest interest in good beer then this will become a great place to blow half your pay.  Judging by their facebook page they also do regular beer and wine tasting nights.  If you’re only visiting then this should be one of your first stops so you can stock the hotel room fridge with a good sampling of Tassie’s finest.  Seriously guys, visit.  We need the money and I’ve got a nasty feeling Canberra would be quite happy selling us off to China.  Heh, that’d distract attention away from the carbon tax.  Can you imagine Bob Brown's face when he read that in the paper?  Priceless...



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