D A Y T R I P S

about the

H U N T E R

Articles to wet your appetite:

Australian Traveller Magazine - Travel Guide to the Hunter Region

Australian Traveller Magazine - Top 16 things to do in the Hunter Valley

Australian Traveller Magazine - Top spots for breakfast in the Hunter Valley

Wine Country for up-to-date what's on.

D A Y T R I P - T H E W I N E R I E S

Catch up with some of the best wineries as featured in the SMH Good Weekend - '52 of the Best Wineries' guide.

NATIONAL RANK: 2

TYRRELL'S

Hunter Valley, NSW

Best known for

Single-vineyard shiraz and semillon; many of the vineyards are more than 100 years old.

Venerable 162-year-old family-owned winery making benchmark regional wines from shiraz, semillon and chardonnay. Tyrrell's Vat 47 is the original Australian chardonnay. The 2017 shirazes are outstanding, but the re-released 2014 Four Acres Shiraz, Johnno's Shiraz and Stevens Semillon are the clinchers.

NATIONAL RANK: 3

MOUNT PLEASANT

Hunter Valley, NSW

Best known for

Classic regional shiraz and semillon, produced from some of the most historic vineyards in the Hunter, Australia's oldest wine region.

Single-block, single-vineyard wines from vines dating back to 1880 offer a thrilling experience, capped off by the brilliant 2017 Maurice O'Shea Shiraz. The 2018 1946 Vines Rosehill Shiraz is magical.

NATIONAL RANK: 9

LAKE'S FOLLY

Hunter Valley, NSW

Best known for

A tiny but mega-premium offering of just two styles: the Bordeaux-inspired red blend, simply named Cabernets, and magnificent chardonnays.

Lake's Folly continues to sit at the pinnacle of Hunter wines. The brace of 2019 chardonnays, the Hill Block and regular Lake's Folly labels, are thrilling, while the red blend from the stunning 2018 vintage possesses benchmark style and elegance.

NATIONAL RANK: 22

VINDEN ESTATE

Hunter Valley, NSW

Best known for

Shiraz and semillon are the standard-bearers, but the tempranillo and chardonnay also wow us.

The top label is The Vinden Headcase, limited-volume barrel selections of all four varieties. Vintages sampled were 2017 and 2018, both top Hunter years. Youthful Angus Vinden, assisted by Dan Binet, has emerged as a top winemaker.

NATIONAL RANK: 23

SILKMAN

Hunter Valley, NSW

Best known for

Multi-award-winning winemaker Liz Silkman excels at shiraz, semillon and chardonnay, especially the Reserve labels, but her Reserve shiraz pinot noir (current vintage 2017) is a ground-breaker.

The top 2017 chardonnays, Reserve and Silk, combine smoky, reductive complexity with tightly coiled fruit of great intensity; built to reward cellaring but also accessible young. At $30 a bottle, the 2018 semillon is the value buy: classic but with an extra level of fragrance and textural charm.

NATIONAL RANK: 39

PEPPER TREE

Hunter Valley, NSW

Best known for

Coquun, a first nations' name for the Hunter River, is Pepper Tree's top shiraz and the 2018 is its highest-scoring wine. Owner John Davis, a former geologist, has vineyards in Orange and Wrattonbully as well as the Hunter, and makes fine wine from each. They often carry geological names: Alluvius is the top semillon, with the 2018 and 2019 super-fine examples. Two 2016 Wrattonbully cabernets, P.J.P and Block 21A , are also impressive.

Other wineries guests have enjoyed visiting include

BERTOLLI

SCARBOROUGHS

KEITH TULLOCH WINE

TAMBERLAIN ORGANIC WINE

Spend a day at THE HUNTER VALLEY GARDENS

Acres and acres of themed gardens and famous for the Christmas Lights.

Skippy DownUnder Tours

Heavenly Tours

Day wine tours or Wine & Cheese tour to the famous wine areas of the hunter valley - lunch included in full day package (51 mins 57 km to Pokolbin).

HOT AIR BALLOON Sunrise Experience

Multi-award winning Balloon Aloft has been offering Hunter Valley balloon flights for forty years. Located in the Hunter Valley is Australia’s premier vineyard region and offers the perfect backdrop for the flight of a lifetime.

Balloon Aloft Hunter Valley balloon flights begin at sunrise and take in views of the picturesque wine regions of Pokolbin, Lovedale, Rothbury or Broke. Balloon flights last approximately one hour and are followed by a delicious gourmet breakfast and champagne celebration at the famous Peterson House winery and Restaurant.

Hampers

Hampers of the Hunter

Photography

Jill Ashby

Child Minding

Belinda Buckley

bellabuckles40@outlook.com

Resources:

https://www.whereis.com/nsw/paterson-2421

https://www.visitnsw.com/destinations/hunter/hunter-valley/morpeth/activities

www.visitdungog.com.au

https://www.winecountry.com.au/

D A Y T R I P - H I S T O R I C T O W N S

MORPETH

Visit the Cellar Door of Boydell's https://boydells.com.au/

Book to dine at Boydell's restaurant

Cellar Door (Morpeth)
Wed-Sun 10:30am – 5:30pm
Restaurant
Wed-Sat 8am – 11pm,
Sun 8am – 10pm
Bookings: 02 4933 5862
2 Green Street
Morpeth, NSW 2321

Visit the Vineyard (East Gresford)
By appointment only
65 Allyn River Road
East Gresford, NSW, 2311

Browse boutique shops in heritage 19th century buildings,

including the ALPACA BARN (shop)

MORPETH GALLERY,

THE ANTIQUE CENTRE

or the bakehouse where the ARNOTT'S family biscuit dynasty began

Enjoy the ambience of CAFES overlooking the Hunter River

or the fabulous pizza available at what used to be the doctor's surgery/residence.

The COMMERCIAL also offers good value meals.

Explore on foot the hamlet of PATERSON

Visit Historic TOCAL HOMESTEAD - Planning a wedding or attending a wedding?

Both Tocal Homestead and Mindaribba Homestead host Weddings and other functions.

Participate in a course or visit Field Day at Tocal Agricultural College (8 minutes 7.7 km toTocal)

Explore the village of Paterson, the Cemetry behind St Paul's is fascinating, drop into the CBC for coffee and discover a trove of historical journals relating to the area. Enjoy the self-guided walk around the town centre:

Other Towns of Interest

WOODVILLE

HINTON

CLARENCE TOWN