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food&wine (The Red Velvet Lounge and Lotus Eaters Café), Tongola Goat Products and Cygneture Chocolates. Like Nick Haddow at Bruny Island Cheese Co. and the sheep's milk cheesemakers at Grandvewe Cheeses, Hans Stutz from Tongola Goat Products says he finds it "almost impossible to keep up with demand" for his cheeses. He says more and more people are looking for local tastes, a view echoed by former Sydneysider Gillian Ryan, who handcrafts her Cygneture chocolates using Belgian couverture and "fresh fruit, vegetables, herbs, teas, local beers, wines, ports and liqueurs from the Huon". Chef Steve Cumper from The Red Velvet Lounge says, "I'm proud of the produce available locally and try to weave as much of it as possible into our menus." If you want to dine while taking in vineyard views, there are plenty of options, ranging from The Source at MONA to Frogmore Creek in the Coal River Valley and Home Hill in the Huon Valley. North of the city, just off the main road to Launceston, you'll discover pinot noir specialist Winstead in the hamlet of Bagdad (Sunday pizza here is great, but check for dates). There are also several smaller wine regions; the road to the historic settlement of Port Arthur boasts a handful of wineries, including Bream Creek, Australia's major producer of the aromatic German grape variety schönburger, and Cape Bernier. The east coast's most charming cellar doors include Spring Vale, Freycinet and Milton. Launceston's fine produce The majority of wine grapes are grown in the north of this dramatically beautiful island, which is easily accessed from Launceston, the second biggest city in Tasmania. Wine tourism is in its infancy – the Tamar Valley Wine Route this year celebrated its 20th anniversary – but there are plenty of cellar doors to visit, ranging from larger operations with on-site restaurants to tiny family-run affairs with just a couple of hectares under vine. At some of these – Holm Oak, for example – you may have to sound your horn and wait for the vigneron to emerge on his tractor and open the tasting room door. On the east side of the Tamar River you can visit cellar doors such as Pipers Brook, Jansz, Brook Eden, Dalrymple, Delamere and rising star Sinapius. Established stars of the Tamar include Holm Oak, Stoney Rise, Moores Hill, Grey Sands, Goaty Hill, Josef Chromy and Tamar Ridge. Micheal and Mary Wilson, who have opened a casual restaurant and cafe on their Velo vineyard site at Legana, say there is a desire for more casual eating options. "We see a definite move away from three-course fine dining to casual dishes, local food and a relaxed atmosphere," says Mary. From top: Bruny Island Cheese Co. uses traditional cheesemaking techniques; Stillwater River Cafe; Salamanca Market comes to life every Saturday. 39