Iron Pot Bay Vineyard

Iron Pot Bay Vineyard is a small family-run cellar door at 7 West Bay Road in Rowella, set around a century-old cottage beside the vines on the western side of the Tamar. The family plants, picks and pours the wines themselves, and dogs on leads are welcome, which makes this one of the easier spots on the West Tamar to plan a proper dog-in-tow afternoon.

The dog setup

Well-behaved dogs on leads are welcome, and the vineyard is explicit about where: access is limited to the cottage and the garden areas, partly for biosecurity reasons, so keep out of the vine rows. Picnic rugs on the lawns are welcome too, and you can bring your own spread to eat with a glass of wine. There is no dedicated dog station, so pack your own water and bowl.

Pepsi: rug on the lawn, glass of something cool-climate, dog flat in the shade. That is the whole plan and it works.

Worth knowing

Tastings are hosted in the cottage, often by Julieanne or her daughter Ashli, who also makes her own Ashli Rose label here. The list runs to small-batch cool-climate whites, riesling, rose, pinot noir and tiny-volume sparkling. Walk-ins are generally fine with groups better booked ahead. Hours are listed as Thursday to Saturday, 11am to 4pm, though the winery's own pages have shown different days at times, so confirm before you drive out.

Getting there and parking

The cellar door sits on West Bay Road off the West Tamar Highway, about 45 minutes from Launceston and a few minutes from Beaconsfield. Parking is on site, right by the cottage.

Close by with the dogs

Holm Oak Vineyards is on the same road a short hop away and also welcomes dogs, so pairing the two is the classic Rowella double, and Westella Vineyard is nearby too. For an off-lead run on the way back toward Launceston, Legana Off-Lead Dog Park (Tanner Drive) works well.

Go with the shorter opening window in mind and phone ahead if the picnic lawn is the point of the trip. More options are on the Rowella destination page and the state list of dog-friendly Tasmanian wineries.