AU2010 - Hunter Valley

Located in the state of New South Wales, the Hunter Valley is one of Australia's oldest and best known wine regions, famous for their Semillon and Shiraz, and more recently, Chardonnay and Verdelho.

 

 

With a whopping list of 108 wineries and cellar doors in the region, it was really a challenging task for us to decide on which to visit.

 

 

Our very first choice was Bimbadgen Estate, a tourism winery that has been inducted into the NSW Tourism Awards Hall of Fame.

 

 

Situated high on a hill and easily identifiable through its prominent Spanish bell tower, Bimbadgen is one of the Hunter Valley’s most picturesque wineries. Offering a 38-year old vineyard, …

 

 

… open plan winemaking facilities with public viewing platforms, …

 

 

… exceptional wines at the cellar door …

 

 

… and multi-award winning Esca Bimbadgen restaurant, each of the four distinct working areas provide visitors a different and unique experience. And, it was here that we received a free taste of a huge selection of whites and reds, …

 

 

… which consists of the regions’ famous Shiraz and Semillon.

 

 

Although not inducted in the Hall of Fame, another cellar door high on our list of must visit places was Tempus Two.

 

 

Catering for a very niche market of wine lovers who have an appreciation for the finer things in life, …

 

 

… this was where we had a taste of  their famous Tempus Two Pewter, also known as the 2005 Botrytis Semillon.

 

 

After all the tasting and shopping, …

 

 

… we decided to check out other food attractions Hunter Valley had to offer. So, our next stop was at the Hunter Valley Smelly Cheese Shop.

 

 

As we had just missed the scheduled cheese tasting session …

 

 

… guess what we went for instead? GELATO!!!

 

 

I think every visitor to the Hunter Valley should at least give Smelly Cheese a visit to try out their 47 flavours of hand made gelato, with wacky names such as Viagra Blueberry, White XMAS, Ho Ho Ho XMAS Pudding, and Horny Caramel.

 

 

Our very last stop for the day was at the Hunter Valley Cheese Factory.

 

 

After getting a preview of the Cheesemakers in action, …

 

 

… we head over to the Tasting Room to try their award winning cheeses, ranging from the Riley’s Marinated Fromage Blanc and Hunter Valley Marinated Feta to Pokolbin White Natural Rind and Branxton and Grape Vine Ashed Brie.

 

 

I guess the only thing missing from our trip was a visit to the famous Hunter Valley Chocolate Company and Fudge Factory. So, we will definitely make up for it in our next trip!!