The Hunter Valley features myriad draws and is a popular short break destination for city dwellers living in the coastal regions of New South Wales. A major part of the valley’s attraction is its abundance of places to enjoy premium quality meals and wines. The majority of the vineyards are in the Pokolbin-Lovedale-Cessnock triangle and this is the best area to embark on a Hunter Valley wine tasting odyssey.
Hunter Valley wineries produce white wines such as chardonnay and semillon together with reds including merlot and Shiraz from grapes grown on their own estate vineyards.
These signature products are complemented by sparkling wines, rosés and a few varieties blended with grapes from other regions of Australia.
A significant proportion of the wineries operate cellar door outlets where visitors can sample and, if they so wish, purchase wines from the estates. Petersons Wines occupies a 40-acre vineyard at Mount View. The vineyard cultivates grapes such as chardonnay and verdelho.
Visitors can taste the finished product at the onsite cellar door. The Back Block Shiraz comes highly recommended.
Pepper Tree Wines and Kelman Vineyard are two other properties at Mount View which offer Hunter Valley Wine Tasting. Kelman’s moscato wine is another firm favourite for sipping. Most tipplers end up taking a bottle or two of it back with them.
Due to the elevated position of Mount View, samplers get lovely views of the Watagan range and Mt Sugarloaf.
Brokenwood Wines is right in the middle of Pokolbin and provides tasting on site at its original winery structure as well as at the luxury Cypress Lakes Resort. North out of Pokolbin, Travertine Wines has extensive vineyards.
The produce of these is turned into prime wines by the experts at partner firm First Creek Wines. Visitors can imbibe the end result at Travertine’s cellar door. Bimbadgen is an additional option in the same general area with a lodge, a café and a restaurant on the estate.
