Hunter Valley Wine Tasting is an activity you can do in one day from Sydney. I got invited on a wine tasting trip on my birthday. Let’s celebrate together:
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I love wine.
No, this is not me confessing I’m an alcoholic, but I just really like wine. And having lived in Australia, I love it even more. So what better to do on my last birthday than to visit New South Wales’ most important wine region The Hunter Valley?
Usually, I celebrate getting older in the heart of summer. Not Down Under, where my party is in winter and it’s cold, rainy and windy. Luckily most of the wine tasting happens inside and we’re driven all the way up the coast by minivan. Our driver is a friendly guy and the people on the bus are looking forward to a fun day out.
Oldest Wine Production Region in Australia
The Hunter Valley is Australia’s oldest wine production region with more than 180 wineries covering this picturesque valley. Besides lots of wine tasting options, you can taste beer, cheese, chocolate and gourmet food.
The drive from Sydney takes about 3 hours, but there are some pit stops for food, drinks and toilets along the way. And don’t forget to listen to the driver, who will tell you all about the region, the wineries you’re visiting and the best ways to taste a wine.
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Hunter Valley Wine Tasting
We’re starting our day at the “Drayton’s Family Wines“. It’s one of the Hunter Valley’s pioneering wine making families. It’s also one of the few local wineries that is still family owned and operated. You can feel that as soon as you walk in. There is a great atmosphere, the lady really takes her time explaining all about the differences between the red, white, sparkling and port wines and most of us leave with a few bottles in our bags.
Apart from their regular wines, I can really recommend the white port wine, as it is 1) cheap (only AUS$15 for 2 liters!) and 2) it tastes like Christmas.
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While we were happily tasting away, our driver cooked up a simple, but tasty BBQ lunch. There were sausages, rolls, some salad and it was just what we needed after a long drive and an early wine tasting! Oh, and I almost forgot: we got to taste some kangaroo meat as well!
Our second winery is “McGuigans“, an award winning and family owned company. This winery is much bigger (and busier), but we gather in an area on the side and get a full explanation of the different wines. We even get a sheet of paper with all the wines on it, so we can order our favourites right away.
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
Cheese And Beer Tasting
After the tasting, we drive to a look-out point on top of a hill to have a good view over the valley. The weather isn’t that great, so our little cheese-tasting picnic is quick. There is Fromage Blanc, Brie, Vintage Cheddar, Goats Cheese and Blue Vein. The apples are there to cleanse the pallet.
There is some warmth though, as out of nowhere the driver pulls out a chocolate cake and everyone wishes me a happy birthday. What a surprise!
We don’t stay on the hill too long, as it is so windy. Instead, we drive to the Blue Tongue Brewery where we get some free time to either do another wine tasting, have a coffee or even do a little beer tasting. Some of us buy a paddle with 6 different beers to try. You can grab a sheet with explanations from the bar.
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| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
Normally on this tour, you get to wander around the Hunter Valley Village to explore the gardens or pick up some souvenirs. With the bad weather, our driver decides it will be more fun to make a few more stops at a smelly cheese and ice cream shop (it’s never too cold for ice cream, right?) and to have a few more tastings of wine and (pink) sparkling wine.
It is a bit of a rush at the end, but I’m happy to have seen as much as we could on the trip.
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Cheers to that!
Plan Your Trip To The Hunter Valley
Colourful Trips was founded in 1998 and has one of the widest range of day tours from Sydney including The Blue Mountains, Port Stephens, Canberra, The South Coast, Jervis Bay, The Royal National Park, Jenolan Caves and more. They aim at students and travellers, but also business people and groups of friends. I found their tour to be well organized and with an enthusiastic tour guide, they really bring something extra to your day out.
Their trips depart every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Colourful Trips pick up from Bondi Junction (7.10am), Kings Cross (7.20am), YHA Central (7.35am), Adina Apartment Hotel (7.40am), Wynyard (7.50am) and Circular Quay (7:55am) and return to Sydney around 6pm.
For more information and current prices, please have a look at the Colourful Trips website.
I had a great day with this Hunter Valley Wine Tasting Tour. There are hundreds more places in Australia to go wine tasting, though. Where have you already been?
Disclaimer: This tour was generously offered to me by Colourful Trips as a Travel Agent ‘Famil Trip’. All thoughts, opinions and wine preferences are my own.
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