Czeching Out Tasmania

Rising out of the ashes of disaster, Bangor Wine & Oyster Shed is a perfect example of the perseverance of the human spirit in the face of difficulty. Back in 2013, the whole area surrounding the property was the site of devastating forest fires which destroyed thousands of acres of land and numerous homes in the area. Thankfully nobody was killed but the economic losses were in the millions and the land still bears the scars today.

The Bangor estate lost over 2000 hectares including fences, stock, feed, buildings and equipment. The vineyard was badly damaged and almost lost alongside the historic shearing shed which was scheduled to be the cellar door for the wine business. Rather than despair and give up,  Matt and Vanessa Dunbabin went back to the drawing board and alongside their friends Tom and Alice Gray from Fulham Aquaculture, they joined forces and created the Bangor Wine & Oyster Shed, combining their passions for wine and oysters to develop a winning combination.

Fast forward two years and today Bangor Wine & Oyster Shed is an award winning cellar door, farm gate shop and restaurant brimming with cool climate Bangor wines, freshly shucked oysters and local produce. Located on gentle sloping hills they’ve adopted a ‘paddock to plate’ philosophy, whereby the wine you’re sipping on is grown right before your eyes in the vineyard outside and the fresh oysters have come from the sea a stone’s throw away. what you enjoy is harvested from the vines and the sea before you.

After the delightful Instameet day trip the previous week, it was a case of the more the merrier as the next Instameet was to take place at Bangor the very next weekend. Fiona Morley, a fellow Instagrammer was very kind to offer to drive myself and another lady to the venue on the day (Thanks Fiona!) and we had a lovely chat on the way, discussing all things photography and Tasmania. We arrived at Bangor in the glorious sunshine and waited for everyone else to arrive before being greeted by the lovely Vanessa Dunbabin who introduced us to Bangor and told us a little more of the history of the place.

We were then free to wander the grounds and take photos of the shed, the vineyards and anything else that tickled our fancy. The sun was really splitting the stones so many of us took the opportunity to shelter inside the shed whenever we could to cool down with a taste of the wine from the vineyard to wash down some oysters. Although it’s called the Bangor Wine & Oyster Shed, the building itself is very far removed from what you’d typically think a shed looks like. It’s very modern with beautiful wooden vaulted ceilings and large bright airy windows that make for a very warm and welcoming experience. There’s plenty of space to sit down and enjoy what’s on offer both inside and out and there’s a great deal of products produced by the team and Bangor as well as from local producers based all over Tasmania.

Matt and Mia Glastonbury who are two of Tasmania’s most talented photographers, were on hand to add their expertise to the event and took some fun group shots of everyone at the end of our time there. All in all it was a really fun day and big thanks to Instatassie and Discover Tasmania for putting together yet another fantastic Instameet.

You can visit the Bangor Wine & Oyster Shed website here for more information.