And well might you look longingly Kina - it was very delicious but not really suitable for dogs! Visit @analiesegregory’s profile to see what was inside.

We are doing a tiny tasting at @five.leaves.left.hobart this Saturday afternoon (3 January) from 2pm-3:30pm. Drop in if you would like to try these two treasures - Mosse Bangarang from the Loire and La Petite Empreinte Coteaux Bourguignons). And … see the second photo for @leboucatroispattes Dernier Voyage Au Mal Pais a rather wild Languedoc red, just like its label. Three wines only so short and sweet but each wine comes with its own story which we would love to share with you. Open to all … including of course our trade customers. No RSVP needed - just come along.

We are excited! A collaboration with @barrochford and @paranormalwines in Canberra on 25 November at @barrochford. More information on @barrochford’s Instagram account and bookings on their website. @reeceinkpen and @alisdairbt working together in the kitchen and @themaxwalker and @bellair_official joining the @barrochford front of house team on the floor. What a way to round out the year!

Mito Inoue’s Flow … a picnic by a river and a wine of our lives.

Our first tasting many years ago with Dominique and Roland from @ch_mariecourtin and @champagnepiollot - a picnic at the top of a hill overlooking their vines. A very special moment. The views aren’t quite as special at @locdotcom but the wines are equally as unique as those bottles were. Come say hello to their daughter @rosepiollot this afternoon. It’s always better talking to someone who was there when the wine was born (although possibly the 2003 Champagne we are opening today may be beyond her early memories!). We’re there from 4pm pouring until the wines run out or 6pm. No need to reserve, no need to pay (although @lewis.not.louis will have a magnum open if you’d like to drink a glass as well).

Our friend @kobi_ruz hasn’t opened a new restaurant but as the culinary director for @six_russell_bistro, which opened on Friday, he may as well have. He has lived and breathed this project for two years with as much energy and commitment as if it was his own. We’ve watched and enjoyed its evolution! A sibling to next-door bakery @six_russell_bakes, which has been open since December, it’s a bistro with attitude. There’s a classic steak au poivre with a choice of three types of accompanying potato dishes. (They’re in the PDT section, the name a bit of a hint of his love for Paris.) There are three types of oysters, two martinis in two sizes, smoked rainbow trout almondine garnished, not so traditionally, with curry leaves, duck liver parfait topped with mirror-level jelly, steak tartare with onion rings on the side, a particularly clever rum baba and much more. It’s classic but it’s not and all with the same impeccably-sourced produce he uses at his own venues @lucindawinebar and @diermakr including @fatcarrotfarm, @feldsfarm and @provenancegrowers (lucky, like us, to be at its soft opening). It’s a wine list with broad appeal and we are very happy that some of the people we work with are on the list. Years of planning and a wonderful kitchen team led by @jyefergusonnn and @julie_kettyle_ meant everything was going very smoothly when we turned up again the next day as the first walk ins on the official opening night. We had the unexpected bonus of dining companions @palisaanderson and @nthornburgh, here to lead a group of visitors on @roadsandkingdoms’ first Tasmanian sojourn. It augurs well for who you might eat with if you sit at the communal table! (And the @roadsandkingdoms Tasmanian itinerary sounds like a dream - a lucky group are going to discover some of Tasmania’s best secrets).