While Hunter Valley wine region
is the closest to home, only a 1.5 hour drive from Sydney, it’s the only top
wine region in Australia and New Zealand I had yet to visit.
While I’d talked with friends
about a weekend trip to the wineries at Hunter Valley, taking in a concert and
pampering at a spa, it’d never come to fruition. Coordinating busy schedules, finances and
organizing the weekend were the main culprits.
It turns out the secret to success was taking
the spontaneous approach. Seeing a free
weekend coming up (May 11-12), I rang my very capable travel agent Kim Mason (who has
booked all my amazing vacations and who I highly recommend) and voila a gorgeous
weekend in Hunter Valley!
The half-day wine tour very conveniently
included a pick up at my lovely hotel Pepper’s Guest House and
included tastings at:
- McLeish Estate - My favorites were the Tri Moir (cabernet/merlot/shiraz)
- Tamburlaine Organic Wines – The 2010 Nobel Chardonnay (Botrytis) reminded me of the De Bortoli’s Noble One dessert wine
- And then we wrapped up at the cheese and chocolate tasting
Before my pampering massage and facial treatment on Sunday, I squeezed
in visits to two more wineries at Tyrrell’s
Wines and Audrey
Wilkinson Winery.
As I’m a fan of big reds that
fill your mouth with lots of berry flavor and spices, Margaret River and the Barossa
Valley are definite favorites. Mudgee is
where you go for solid wines that are a real bargain. In comparison, Hunter Valley had some
interesting wines that were noteworthy – just not the kind of wine that you’d
save for a special occasion.
Beautiful view at Audrey Wilkinson Winery.
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