Running from May to August, Tasmania’s ‘Off Season sees’ travellers discover a range of culinary experiences available only in the cooler months – from warming up beside crackling firepits with award-winning whisky, wines and mulled drinks to feasting on freshly carved Southern Bluefin tuna, foraging for fungi in damp winter forests, or following truffle dogs through frosty orchards before feasting on freshly unearthed finds.
Alongside large-scale winter events such as Dark Mofo’s sprawling Winter Feast and Bridport’s Tassie Scallop Fiesta, the season also offers a range of intimate behind-the-scenes foodie experiences rarely available to the public – from whisky barrel tastings on remote Flinders Island to oyster shucking beside the Moulting Lagoon and mushroom harvesting inside a former railway tunnel transformed into a gourmet fungi farm.
Dark skies and after-dark dining also emerge as a defining theme throughout the season, with travellers able to sip hot cocktails between telescope sessions, dine beneath the stars aboard seafood cruises and settle beside vineyard feasts beneath Tasmania’s clear winter skies.
To help travellers plan their winter escape, Tourism Tasmania has highlighted a selection of some of the island’s most immersive and distinctive Off Season culinary experiences below.
Fires, Feasts & Winter Rituals
Dark Mofo Winter Feast – Hobart, Southern Tasmania
Event: Winter Feast (11 – 21 June 2026 (selected dates))
While part of Dark Mofo’s wider festival program, Winter Feast has evolved into Australia’s largest winter food festival in its own right – a vast, firelit celebration of Tasmania’s culinary culture that takes over Hobart’s waterfront across two weekends each June. Inside cavernous surrounds, more than 75 stallholders serve flame-licked seafood, slow-roasted meats, seasonal produce, mulled drinks, small-batch spirits and decadent winter desserts, all unfolding beneath a soundtrack of live music and performance late into the night.
This year’s Feast will also welcome acclaimed Italian guest chef Floriano Pellegrino, of Michelin-starred restaurant Bros’ in Puglia, collaborating with Hobart baker Roberto Mele from MAMA Artisan Bakery on a special festival offering.
*Selected dates throughout June 2026.
Tamar Ridge and Tuner Stillhouse – Rosevears, Northern Tasmania
Event: Noir Noir (20 June 2026)
Noir Noir invites guests into a moody winter gathering of pinot noir, whisky and stargazing beneath Tasmania’s dark skies. Held for one night only on the winter solstice, Tamar Ridge and Turner Stillhouse will transform Tamar Valley Cellar Door into a firelit winter escape, where guests can settle beside roaring firepits with new-release wines, groundbreaking small-batch whiskies and curated local produce overlooking the valley’s vine-covered slopes in winter.
As night settles across the Tamar, astronomer Chris Arkless will guide guests through the southern sky – pairing cool-climate indulgence with the atmosphere and ritual of the longest night of the year.
*Event takes place 20 June 2026.
Chocolate Winterfest – Latrobe, North-West Tasmania
Event: Chocolate Winterfest (9 August 2026)
For one gloriously indulgent winter day each August, the town of Latrobe transforms into Tasmania’s chocolate capital as Chocolate Winterfest returns with a packed program dedicated entirely to cocoa in all its forms. Held across multiple events and venues throughout the town, the long-running festival brings together artisan chocolatiers, makers, bakers and local producers for a day of tastings, workshops, sweet treats and family-friendly festivities.
From decadent hot chocolates and chocolate-inspired desserts to demonstrations, talks and hands-on experiences, the festival leans fully into winter decadence with a playful, sugar-dusted sense of spectacle.
*Event takes place 9 August 2026.
Callington Mill Distillery – Oatlands, Southern Midlands Tasmania
Event: Dark Night at Callington Mill Distillery (12 June 2026)
Offer: Serendipity Experience
At Callington Mill Distillery, The Off Season unfolds through whisky, ritual, astronomy and richly atmospheric dining, with two immersive winter experiences set within the distillery’s historic 1837 mill precinct.
‘Dark Night at Callington Mill Distillery’ invites guests into the depths of winter for a one-night-only communal dining experience inspired by the spirit and spectacle of Dark Mofo. The evening begins fireside beneath the night sky with a warming whisky cocktail, before guests gather at long shared tables for a five-course feast designed to spark conversation, connection and sensory indulgence.
As the night deepens, the experience culminates in the rare ritual of charring a whisky cask – an evocative moment steeped in the craft, ceremony and mystique of whisky making. Meanwhile, the ‘Serendipity Experience’ offers a more intimate exploration of Tasmania’s whisky culture, with guests guided through five cask-strength expressions by an expert host before crafting their own bespoke blend – a signature single malt entirely their own.
*Event takes place 12 June 2026. Offer valid 1 May – 31 August 2026.
Rathmore – Hollow Tree, Central Highlands Tasmania
Offer: Woolshed Shenanigans: Lamb Over Coals with Winter Vibes
Inside Rathmore’s heritage-listed woolshed in Tasmania’s Central Highlands, long weekend winter lunches are being reimagined as atmospheric long-table feasts centred around slow-cooked lamb, glowing coals and Highland hospitality.
Taking place on the last Saturday of each month throughout the Off Season (May–August), ‘Woolshed Shenanigans: Lamb Over Coals with Winter Vibes’ invites guests beneath the timber rafters of the historic shearing shed for generous servings of Rathmore lamb raised on the property and cooked over open coals, paired with local Invercarron wines, live music and warming winter desserts. The experience also includes a tour of Rathmore’s convict-built 1828 homestead and sprawling sheep property, offering a glimpse into one of Tasmania’s most storied pastoral estates.
*Held on the last Saturday of each month from May to August 2026.
The Agrarian Kitchen Eatery – New Norfolk, Southern Tasmania
Offer 1: Very Cheesy Very Truffle-y Toasties
Offer 2: Wouldn’t You Like S’more?
In the heart of the Derwent Valley, The Agrarian Kitchen is embracing the chill with two indulgent Off Season specials served from its outdoor kiosk on weekends throughout winter.
Their ‘Very Cheesy Very Truffle-y Toasties’ offer delivers deep winter comfort in the form of crisp house-made woodfired sourdough toasties layered with mozzarella, gouda, cheddar and alpine cheeses, finished with generous shavings of locally sourced truffle. Meanwhile, ‘Wouldn’t You Like S’more?’ invites guests to gather beside crackling outdoor firepits to toast honey marshmallows between house-made spiced biscuits and melting Federation chocolate.
*S’mores available 1 May – 2 August 2026. Toasties available on weekends (Friday-Sunday) in June and July.
Truffle Indulgences
Fico – Hobart, Southern Tasmania
Offer: Indulgent Truffle Tasting Menu
At Hobart fine diner Fico, winter is being celebrated with a mouthwatering five-course truffle degustation devoted to one of Tasmania’s most prized cool-season ingredients – black truffle.
Available exclusively from 30 June – 15 August 2026, the indulgent set menu threads freshly shaved truffle through each course, from crunchy pasta with raw Cape Grim beef and scallop gnocchetti in truffle beurre blanc to rich venison pithivier and honey gelato finished with delicate curls of fresh truffle.
*Valid 30 June – 15 August 2026.
The Truffle Farm – Deloraine, Northern Tasmania
Offer: Afternoon Truffle Hunt with the Dogs and Tasty Delights
Rugged up in the crisp Meander Valley air, guests joining The Truffle Farm’s ‘Afternoon Truffle Hunt with the Dogs and Tasty Delights’ experience venture into the frosty truffière alongside trained truffle dogs and expert handlers in search of prized black truffles hidden beneath the soil.
As fallen leaves crunch underfoot, the experience reveals the rituals of the winter harvest and the story behind Australia’s first black truffle farm. Afterwards, guests gather beside a crackling firepit where freshly shaved black truffle is folded through molten handmade truffle s’mores, paired with elegant Tasmanian wine.
*Valid 1 June – 31 August 2026.
House of Arras – Pipers River, Northern Tasmania
Offer 1: Truffles and Vines: Private Tour
Offer 2: Vineyard Safari
Tasmania’s cool-climate wine country sets the scene for two new House of Arras Off Season experiences celebrating sparkling wine, winter produce and behind-the-scenes access to the Pipers River region.
The ‘Truffles and Vines: Private Tour’ brings together House of Arras and Pipers Brook Truffles for an indulgent winter journey featuring a guided truffle hunt, vineyard tour, three-course lunch and sparkling wine masterclass exploring some of Australia’s most acclaimed sparkling wines.
Meanwhile, the ‘Vineyard Safari’ reimagines the traditional cellar door experience with behind-the-scenes access to the vineyard, as guests travel through the vines aboard luxury cart transport while learning about viticulture, terroir and the cool-climate conditions shaping House of Arras’ celebrated sparkling wines. Along the way, the tour pauses for sweeping valley views and a celebratory glass of vintage bubbles, with guests also having the chance to spot resident platypus Charlie in the wild or wedge-tailed eagles soaring overhead.
*Offer 1 valid 13 June – 22 August 2026; Offer 2 valid 4 May – 30 August 2026.
Seafood, Salt & Cold-Water Feasts
Tasmanian Wild Seafood Adventures – Hobart, Southern Tasmania
Offer: Sea to Sky: Dark Sky Seafood Cruise
Tasmanian Wild Seafood Adventures is taking its ‘deep-to-dish’ philosophy into the night this Off Season with the winter-exclusive ‘Sea to Sky: Dark Sky Seafood Cruise’.
The experience begins with a warming hot gin cider before guests board a spacious catamaran and glide through the D’Entrecasteaux Channel beneath Tasmania’s dark winter skies. Along the way, stargazing is paired with a fresh seafood feast of abalone, oysters, scallop pie, winter soup and apple cake, while stories of southern sea life and astronomy unfold against the stillness of the water and the distant glow of Hobart across the channel.
*Valid 8 May – 26 September 2026.
Tassie Scallop Fiesta – Bridport, North-East Tasmania
Event: Tassie Scallop Fiesta (2 August 2026)
As scallop season reaches its peak along Tasmania’s north-east coast, Bridport’s annual Tassie Scallop Fiesta returns with a full-day celebration devoted to the island’s renowned seafood industry.
The Fiesta transforms Bridport’s foreshore into a vibrant showcase of Tasmania’s maritime heritage, with sizzling scallops, seafood chowders and local produce alongside Tasmanian wine, beer and spirits, live music and community festivities. The region’s deep connection to the sea sits at the heart of the event, with cooking demonstrations, seafood experiences and local storytelling offering insight into local industries and the coastal communities shaped by them.
*Event takes place 2 August 2026.
Freycinet Marine Farm – Coles Bay, East Coast Tasmania
Offer: Signature Scallop Pie at Freycinet Farm Gate
For a limited time this Off Season, Freycinet Marine Farm is reviving its cult signature scallop pie – a rich, winter-only indulgence available exclusively from the seafood farm’s East Coast farm gate. Served steaming hot against the salt-sharp air of Great Oyster Bay, the pie layers sweet local scallops through a velvety cream filling beneath buttery golden pastry, best enjoyed with windswept views across to the granite peaks of the Freycinet Peninsula.
*Valid 8 June – 31 August 2026.
Mures Upper Deck – Hobart, Southern Tasmania
Offer: Southern Bluefin Tuna Carving Ceremony
Fresh from the winter waters of southern Tasmania, Mures Upper Deck is hosting a three-hour ocean-to-plate dining experience celebrating the prized Southern Bluefin tuna through an evening of live culinary theatre, storytelling and cool-season indulgence.
Caught aboard Mures’ own fishing vessel Selkie, the experience begins with a ceremonial presentation of the whole fish led by third-generation fisher Jock Mure, who shares stories shaped by a lifetime on the water before expertly carving the tuna in front of guests.
The freshly carved tuna is then transformed into a four-course degustation showcasing the depth, texture and rich umami character of Southern Bluefin tuna across each dish, with every course paired with Stefano Lubiana wines personally presented by members of the Lubiana family.
*Vaid on select dates every three weeks during the Off Season, from 5 May to 18 August 2026.
Tasman Sea Salt – Little Swanport, East Coast Tasmania
Offer: Wild Winter at The Salt Cellar
Overlooking the Freycinet Peninsula, Tasman Sea Salt is embracing winter with a new seasonal experience exploring the journey of sea salt from everyday pantry staple to culinary centrepiece.
On the ‘Wild Winter at The Salt Cellar’ experience, guests warm up with steaming mulled cider while breathing in the crisp ocean air and watching brine slowly transform into delicate sea salt flakes. Back inside The Salt Cellar, tastings of pure sea salt harvested from Tasmania’s pristine east coast reveal how salt can shift, sharpen and elevate flavour, all against sweeping East Coast views.
*Available only on Fridays at 2pm from 19 June – 28 August 2026.
Winery and Distillery Adventures
Devil’s Corner Cellar Door – Apslawn, East Coast Tasmania
Event: Tower to Terroir: Stories and Tastes from Our Unique Corner of the World
Offer 1: Devil’s Corner Moulting Lagoon Adventure
Offer 2: Devil’s Corner Firelight Experience
Award-winning East Coast winery Devil’s Corner is celebrating the Off Season with a trio of immersive food and wine experiences set against the sweeping coastal drama of the Freycinet Peninsula. Alongside the hosted ‘Tower to Terroir’ event – where guests ascend the cellar door’s striking lookout tower before settling into guided wine tastings paired with Tasmanian charcuterie – the winery has also unveiled two winter offers celebrating the flavours and atmosphere of the season.
The ‘Devil’s Corner Moulting Lagoon Adventure’ ventures behind the scenes of the Hazards Vineyard for oyster shucking from the back of a ute beside the tranquil Moulting Lagoon, along with premium wine tastings, an underground lunch within the Devil’s Den and firepit s’mores toasted over vine cuttings. Meanwhile, the ‘Devil’s Corner Firelight Experience’ invites guests to linger beside open-air firepits wrapped in woollen blankets while grazing on Tasmanian artisan cheeses, cured meats, pickled winter vegetables and wood-fired damper with hot honey butter and native pepperberry, alongside cool-climate wine as dusk settles across the vineyard.
*Event takes place on selected dates throughout the Off Season 2026. Offers valid 3 May – 31 August 2026.
Caledon Estate – Richmond, Coal River Valley, Southern Tasmania
Offer: Private Vineyard Tour with the Wine Doggos
Travellers can join Sasha, Caledon Estate’s resident wine dog, and her apprentice Biscuit, for a private winter tour through their Coal River Valley vineyard this Off Season. Reserved for just two guests at a time, the experience ventures beyond the usual cellar door path into rarely accessed pockets of the 11-hectare estate, revealing the vineyard’s prized varieties and the nuances behind its cool-climate Cabernet Sauvignon.
As Sasha is better at sniffing out vineyard secrets than opening gates, a human guide accompanies the experience too, sharing stories and insights into the rhythms of life on the vines. The experience concludes fireside with a guided tasting of Caledon Estate wines alongside seasonal Tasmanian canapés designed to reflect the flavours of the region.
*Valid 1 June – 31 August 2026.
Furneaux Distillery – Flinders Island, Bass Strait Tasmania
Offer: Making Whisky at the Edge of the Earth
On remote Flinders Island, Furneaux Distillery is offering travellers a rare winter-only immersion into one of Australia’s most isolated whisky-making distilleries through its ‘Making Whisky at the Edge of the Earth’ experience.
The journey begins with a behind-the-scenes tour exploring how Furneaux crafts its single malt whisky on the windswept edge of the Bass Strait. From there, guests move into the bond store for exclusive barrel tastings featuring young whisky, mature expressions and special casks rarely opened to the public, before finishing with artisan cheeses, cured meats and local snacks thoughtfully paired with Furneaux whisky.
*Valid 7 April – 31 July 2026.
LARK Distillery – Pontville, Southern Tasmania
Offer: Dark Sky Stargazing
At LARK Distillery’s historic Pontville whisky village, darkness becomes the destination through the winter-only ‘Dark Sky Stargazing’ experience.
Hosted by astronomer Professor Andrew Cole, the after-dark event combines telescope viewings, starmap projections and Palawa stories of milaythina wurangkili – or “sky country” – beneath Tasmania’s clear Midlands skies. Between sessions, guests can retreat to the atmospheric DARK LARK Stargazing Lounge, where hot whisky and gin cocktails are served beside crackling fires within the heritage distillery grounds.
*Valid 6 July – 30 August 2026.
Waubs Harbour Distillery – Bicheno, East Coast Tasmania
Offer: Fireside Whisky Tasting with Maritime Story in Bicheno
Perched above Bicheno’s lichen-covered shoreline, Waubs Harbour Distillery is embracing winter through its ‘Fireside Whisky Tasting with Maritime Story in Bicheno’ experience this Off Season.
Gathered beside a crackling fire in the crisp East Coast air, guests are guided through a tasting of maritime Tasmanian whiskies matured in casks by the ocean, each carrying a subtle briny character shaped by the Tasman Sea. Alongside the tasting, stories of Bicheno’s sealing and whaling past unfold, revealing how the rugged far east coast continues to influence the distillery’s distinctive whisky style.
*Valid for Saturday 4.15pm sessions from June – August 2026.
Hellyers Road Distillery – Burnie, North-West Tasmania
Offer: The Dark Harmony B-Sides
Hellyers Road Distillery is offering whisky lovers rare access to ‘The Dark Harmony B-Sides’ — a behind-the-scenes tasting timed with the release of the fifth edition of Dark Harmony, the distillery’s cult single malt collaboration with Communion Brewing.
The experience invites guests to explore Dark Harmony alongside its elusive B-sides: casks once used by Communion Brewing to mature beer before being quietly returned to rest within the Hellyers Road bond store. Never included in the final release, these experimental whiskies offer a rare glimpse into the evolution of flavour, texture and cask character behind the finished spirit.
Available exclusively at the Hellyers Road cellar door throughout the Off Season, the tasting features two editions of Dark Harmony alongside two B-sides, each poured direct from cask.
*Valid 1 May – 31 August 2026.
Foraging Feasts
Tunnel Hill Mushrooms – Mount Rumney, Southern Tasmania
Offer: Farm, Tunnel and Fungi Experience
This Off Season, travellers can step into a rare winter experience where history and gastronomy converge at Tunnel Hill Mushrooms’ winter-exclusive ‘Farm, Tunnel and Fungi Experience’.
Set within an 1891-built railway tunnel reimagined as one of Australia’s most unusual gourmet mushroom farms, the experience takes guests behind the scenes of the growing process from laboratory to tunnel, revealing how gourmet fungi are cultivated beneath the cool, dark earth. Along the way, guests learn to harvest mushrooms by hand, explore the textures and aromas of different varieties, and gather around a one-of-a-kind ‘train BBQ’ to sample freshly cooked mushrooms.
*Valid 1 May – 31 August 2026.
Sirocco South – Dodges Ferry, Southern Tasmania
Offer: Forest Forage and Feast Adventure Tour
Deep in the damp winter forest outside Hobart, Sirocco South’s ‘Forest Forage and Feast Adventure Tour’ invites small groups to forage for wild mushrooms alongside expert guides before sitting down to a six-course feast matched with award-winning Tasmanian wines.
The Off Season-only experience leads travellers through bushland in search of edible fungi, before returning to a forest clearing where their finds inspire a multi-course lunch with paired wines. For those opting into the exclusive night experience, UV lights reveal fungi and forest life invisible during the day before the evening concludes with a fireside dinner beneath the trees.
*Valid 24 April – 12 July 2026.
