I love The Trip with Steve Coogan and Rob Bryden. The first two were excellent. Human, witty and true. The third didn’t resonate as well, but perhaps I haven’t been where they’ve been, emotionally. The fourth could be amazing, if they set it in Tasmania.

Imagine the two of them, admiring views, drinking too much Pinot, and ruminating on the merits of a curried scallop pie!

Now imagine you can’t afford them, their Range Rover, or the fancy accommodation – let alone the dalliances along the way, and you have The Trip to Tasmania featuring yours truly and old mate Barry.

The conversation, while witty wasn’t comparable, but the wine and scallop pies would remain the same. And the wines were very good.

We were on the east coast, based in Coles Bay, the armpit of the Freycinet National park, topographically speaking. It’s actually a delightful little community with a fish and chippie, pizza place – with proper coffee, campsite and a couple of flash resorts for the well-heeled tourist of which there were many. To the South East, three peaks seem to tower over the settlement – none are that high – just over 400m, but straight up from sea level they still pose quite a challenge. We scrambled up one after a lunch of oysters, scallops and a local Pinot Gris. As we went up, our lunch stayed down, but we probably should have scrambled up beforehand.

I’m struggling to remember any precise details but my favourite wines were as follows.

Freycinet Pinot Noir – I’ve had this before, but a different vintage. The 2016 is so pale, no sign of any carbonic maceration extracting everything like so many NZ pinots. Delicate strawberries and toasty oak. They maintain it will last for 20 years – if you can stop yourself from drinking it.

Craigie Knowe, 2017 Pinot Noir. While this wine sounds like a skinny, obnoxious Australian rapper, it was a good companion at dinner. Fuller than the Freycinet, and perhaps more velvety.

Bream Creek Pinot Noir – James Halliday liked this one. I did too, but can’t recall why. Better read him.

And finally, Springvale Pinot Noir. They do two, the Estate, which is just under $50 and the more affordable, but to my mind quite forgettable Melrose at $30 (it is apparently quite popular).

Now, that was back in November and we are now nearing the end of January! Oops, that’s gone. Christmas got in the way but here’s a late present, three really good wines that are more or less $20.

Pont Rose, 2018 – made by Dominique Portet for Pont, my new local wine shop in Avalon. Perfect summer drinking and two for $30. It’s more drinkable than his more expensive eponymous offering.

Julienas by Mommessin, 2017. One of the Beaujolais Villages and named after Julius Caesar this heavy-duty Beaujolais is a great alternative to the ubiquitous fruity Pinots that you get for around $20. $20.90 when you buy six at Dan Murphy. It came, it saw, it conquered everyone who encountered it over Christmas. If all you know of Beaujolais is Nouveau (which was as much about people like Jeremy Clarkson leaping into a powerful British made motor car and storming off to burgundy to race back to London with the first bottles of the year) then you are in for a treat.

And finally, De Bortoli Villages Shiraz Grenache, under $19 if you get six and you may well want to. The DB Villages series is a great go-to for the budget conscious buyer and unlike a Barossa blend, the Heathcote sourced fruit doesn’t assault the senses, instead it gives you just the right amount of warmth, fruit, spice and love.

I promise it won’t be another three months till the next one.