Hunter Valley (or officially known as the Hunter Region) is just over a 3 hour drive north of Sydney. The main town of the Hunter Valley is actually called Pokolbin and this is where most of the winery, restaurants and accommodation are located; the Pokolbin town is quite small with the larger town Cessnock 15min away where there are amenities such an supermarket.
Hunter Valley GI (Geographical Indicator) is very large, in general it includes the sub regions of Upper Hunter Valley, Broke Fordwich and Pokolbin; with the Hunter Valley GI part of the “South Eastern Australia Super-Zone”.
- Climate: Hot Mediterranean Climate (there are many different climate classifications from different sources, but from my experience it is Mediterranean as the Hunter Valley has hot summers, whilst the winters can get quite cool2 but during the growing season it is consistently hot with a high diurnal range) with high humidity; however the Hunter Valley is protected by high cloud cover and ocean breezes that reduces the heat during the summer.
- Grapes: The Hunter Valley, like most Australian wine regions from a wine law perspective has fewer restrictions on what grapes are allowed to be grown (some of the old world grape varieties have done very well in the Hunter Valley which as Tempranillo and Sangiovese, well worth a try!); however there are some grape varieties that the Hunter Valley is well-known for, these include
- Semillion - Hunter Valley is famous for Semillon (the other location in the world is Bordeaux Sauternes for their sweet botryis “noble rot” wines) but not as a sweet wine but as a single varietal wine that is age worthy. The Semillon in the Hunter Valley is harvested extremely early where the resulting wine has an low a.b.v.; the characteristics of the young wine is usually a simple neutral wine, but with bottle maturation the tertiary characteristics of honey and toast are common
- Shiraz - The Hunter Valley Shiraz is not the typical full-body shiraz that Australian Shiraz has been known for (such as from the Barossa Valley), the Hunter Valley Shiraz tend to be more elegant with a medium body
- Chardonnay - The Hunter Valley is also known for it’s Chardonnay, usually with less oak and more fruit than other styles of Chardonnay found around the world
- Wine Style: Hunter Valley produces wines of various styles, but in general age worthy wines of 5-10 years are common
- Size and Yield: Hunter Valley has approximately 2,500 hectares under vine which yields about 30 hectolitres per hectare
Winery
As with most wine regions throughout Australia, most wineries will have a cellar door with tasting. There is usually a small fee for tasting (around $5 AUD to $15 AUD) per person (most places will allow you to share between two people as they know one of whom is the designated driver) with various rules such as based on tasting price you can select certain wines only, or selecting a set number of wines you can taste off their available tasting wine list etc; but pretty much all wineries will free the tasting fee per person for each bottle of wine you purchase.
Hunter Valley is the wine region on my door step, as a Sydney-sider; a have been many times and have a lot of fond memories of the region. I try always try to visit Hunter Valley whenever I am back in Sydney, so this makes the list of wineries very long and may not be much help in your travels unless you are staying in the Hunter for weeks! So I will try to put a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating per my own personal preference on which ones I would recommend to visit (these are ones that I will go back and back again! If there are no rating it does not mean that they are not good, just that if you have time or in the area these ones you should go to visit as well)
- Allandale Winery (map) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - I cannot remember the first time I visited this winery, but I do remember that I would visit them (and purchase) on each visit to the Hunter Valley. My favourite wine is the Matthew Shiraz, but you should do a tasting as their wines are quite amazing! The view from the car park is very nice too, looking back over the Hunter Valley.
Bimbadgen Cellar Door (map) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ -This is also a winery that I will visit pretty much each time I go to Hunter Valley. One of the larger wineries in the Hunter Valley but with some extraordinary wines, I usually taste their cellar door wines only. Also a great place to stop to have lunch too (with a wine pairing) with great views overlooking their vineyards.- Piggs Peake Winery (map) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - One of my newer favourite wineries in the Hunter Valley, actually they have been around for awhile and I have on-and-off been going to them whenever I visit the Hunter, but recently I have found their wines more to my palette, I am not sure if it is my palette has evolved or their wines have; but definitely a winery I will be going back to more and highlight recommended for you to try!
- Wine House Hunter Valley (map) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - A collection of local wine makers have their “cellar doors” here, like a cooperative, but for their cellar doors. So a great place if you want to go to try different wine makers styles in one place, and they have some big names too and premium wines; where most of them are available for tasting. The wine tasting is through a wine serving system where you purchase a card with credit and you can try different wines with different volumes.
- Mount Pleasant Wines (map) ⭐️⭐️⭐️ - One of the bigger wineries in Hunter Valley and they boost one of the oldest too (they claim their Pinot Noir vines can track their roots back to Burgundy and without phylloxera, their root stock is still using the original French vines). The wine tasting is performed in their restaurant, so a great relaxing atmosphere and you can supplement your wine tasting with food from their restaurant (I had the lobster roll), so highly recommended to do a wine tasting over lunch time as the experience is amazing!
- Tintilla Estate Wines (map) ⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Another winery that I have been going to on-and-off, besides the wines I really love their olives (I buy some on each visit!). The wine tasting is conducted on their deck outside over looking their vineyard where you can order some food (such as olives) to pair with your wine tasting. A great place to stop to have lunch or a snack and have a wine tasting whilst you are there too!
- Oakvale Wines (map) - A wide selection of wines and remembered to be a good experience.
- Audrey Wilkinson (map) - Winery with a great view, was there one morning for a wine tasting and there were lots of kangaroos in their vineyard!
- Pepper Tree Wines (map) - A winery I go on-and-off, a nice selection of wines.
Accommodation
There is a lot of accommodation in the Hunter Valley, even an hotel and golf course (which I have not stayed). There is a wide range of accommodation options but I always prefer a self-contained villa / apartment where I can cook / BBQ.
- Grapevines Boutique Accommodation (map) - They are very centrally located and with a few different types of accommodation option; I had stayed in their studio villa with it’s own kitchen but shared BBQ facility (first come, first serve). However they have a larger two bedroom villas too, one of which has a large deck with it’s own BBQ; will try that next time!
- The Stables Bracken Ridge Villas (map) - The owners of this property has changed hands many times, I have stayed here a number of times (was my go-to place to stay at one stage); they have individual detached villas with either two or three bedrooms, patio and BBQ. What I like about this is that they are a little further away and very quiet, the villas overlook their vineyard too!
Restaurant
There are many restaurants in the Hunter Valley, most of which are either part of an winery or a hotel; however I usually try to cook / BBQ dinner at night as you can enjoy a nice bottle of wine you had purchased without the worry of how to get back to your accommodation. The closest supermarket is back into Cessnock (map) which is around a 15min drive back (as you will pass through Cessnock on the way to the Hunter Valley - Pokobin).
- Esca Bimbadgen Restaurant (map) - Part of the Bimbadgen Winary, the restaurant overlooks their vineyards and they do a tasting menu and wine pairing, a very nice and relaxing restaurant to enjoy your lunch
- éRemo Restaurant & Bar (map) - Part of the Spicers Guesthouse in the Hunter Valley, the restaurant serves gourmet dishes overlooking the Hunter Valley due their elevation
- Hunter Valley Chocolate Company @ Twenty-3-Twenty (map) - Part of their chocolate factory shop, there is a small cafe and restaurant with a deck offering amazing views where you can relax over a coffee and snack
Additional Information
It is possible to do a “day-trip” to the Hunter Valley from Sydney, it is a long day with a 3+ hour drive each way (I have done a “day-trip” many times!). However you can explore any day-tours that are offered from Sydney as an alternative.
Hunter Valley also has a number of hot air ballon operators; I had booked with Balloon Alfot previously where I was unable to “fly” due to weather (friends in our group who booked for a flight the day before did go up). The experience is quite standard to my understanding, you meet the operator at their base quite early in the morning and then you go for your flight and upon landing you help to pack up the gear and have a light breakfast with some sparkling wines. Usually they will inform you the night before (or in my case in the morning) if the flight is “go or no-go” due to weather.