If there’s one thing Tasmania does well, it’s valleys.

Tamar. Huon. Derwent. Each is as rich in brains as it is in beauty, with savvy producers, artisans and business owners now regularly making the most of the exceptional resources that lie in each.

The Coal River Valley is no exception.

Big, green and dotted with vineyards, the region, just 15 minutes from Hobart’s CBD, is worth plugging in to your hire car’s GPS.

Along Richmond Road, which hosts most of the Valley’s big-ticket items, sits a relative newcomer to the scene.

Coal River Farm, opened just under a year ago by a young couple with great taste in architecture, is a romantic mix of restaurant, fromagerie and chocolate factory, with an assortment of animals you’re welcome to feed and fruit trees you’re welcome to pick.

Once inside the understated front door of the main building – a sensational boxed structure finished with timber – and past the long production line of chocolate, we enter a skinny restaurant filled with King Billy pine tables, plenty of light, monochrome décor and a window to the kitchen.

From the food to service to atmosphere, the place is completely casual.

It’s a stunning winter Sunday arvo and just a couple of waitresses are running the floor while taking care of a bunch of visitors kicking back with glasses of beer by a fire pot outside.

Inside, a big family crams around the share table and drowns marshmallows in hot chocolates while couples gulp red wine and drink in an expansive view of the Valley. A hipster couple in skinny jeans snap the scene on their Canon before exiting past a fantastic display of the Farm’s own cheese and free-range Berkshire ham.

The artisan approach is what underpins this place. Its mantra is “made by people, not machines,” which is perhaps why the Farm’s gutsy Camembert and sultry Bluey are popping up in all the trendy deli cabinets.

We order a bit of everything and it’s soon apparent our eyes were much, much bigger than our stomachs.

After just enough time to polish off a glass of tangy Morningside Riesling from a small but selective wine list, an array of colourful, awfully generous plates are presented.

Chunks of smoked wallaby would be perfect if not slathered in blue cheese cream, and the roast pork belly is lacking an expected crunch and flavour.

Bright pickled radishes stand out beside the falafel, in colour and taste.

But the side of roast pumpkin is sweet and superbly matched with chunks of fresh curd, thyme and paprika oil.

Similarly, a huge stack of stringy, slow cooked lamb shoulder is suited brilliantly with roast leek and creamy potato galette.

There are a couple of dessert specials – panna cotta or dark chocolate tart – but I’m eager to sample some of the handmade chocolates meticulously arranged behind glass at the front counter.

Truffle, mint and nougat are just the ticket as we depart the Farm, past kids feeding tuffs of grass to goats and the hot chocolate family gathering for a snap.

As Coal River Farm approaches its first birthday, it’ll be interesting to watch it grow in this Valley of premium vintage.