Hunter Valley Trip - February 2000

The Hunter Valley is the nearest wine region to Sydney, and so is very popular with Sydneysiders as a weekend getaway. We decided to go for a bit longer so that we could relax and explore at our own pace. As you might imagine, it gets a bit busy at the weekend when hordes of city folk descend!

Technically, the region is made up of two areas - the Lower Hunter and Upper Hunter. The Lower Hunter has more wineries and is nearer to Sydney so that's where we (and most other people) went. The main towns of Cessnock and Pokolbin are about 2 hours drive north of Sydney. We hired a car and headed out of the city.

So, read on to find out where we stayed, what we ate and (more importantly), what we drank!

Where we stayed

Our accommodation was at the Hunter Valley Resort Country Estate. It's quite a large complex (by Hunter standards) with a nice cafe, a good restaurant and an on-site brewery and winery. In fact the brewery was one of the reasons why we'd chosen this place, but it turned out to be a bit of a disappointment - it isn't open to the public and only brews two beers, one of which is a bit bland. The alcoholic ginger beer was very nice though.

We stayed in a small cabin which was very comfortable. There was a little patio with views across the vineyards to the Brokenback Ranges, and we would often sit out in the afternoon or evening reading a book and sipping a glass of wine, or just watching nothing much happening! Very relaxing indeed. There are some pictures of our view here.

There was also a pool (where Anneliese went swimming several times) and a walking track which looped around the countryside near the complex, past a reservoir. Martin walked the track at least once a day and a couple of times was lucky enough to see some wild kangaroos bouncing off through the trees.

The on-site winery makes wine principally for the cafe and restaurant, although we suspect that it also makes some of the wines in the McGuigan range (perhaps Tempus Two). It's quite a large, modern winery and we had a very interesting tour. Our Guide, Brian, is a member of the owning family and he certainly knows his stuff. He told us that the Hunter is very much a borderline viticultural area - it's very hard to grow grapes there. The summers get a bit too hot, and the rain comes at the wrong time! The result is that yields are low, but this is balanced by high quality. After the tour we had a tutored tasting, which got each of us a certificate!

What we ate

We ate very well while we were in the Hunter Valley. Some of the places we ate at were:

Chez Pok, Peppers Guest House, Pokolbin

Chez Pok is a famous restaurant within the Hunter, and has won many awards. Rightly so! It is part of the Peppers Guest House resort, which is owned by the Peppers group. The group owns several luxury hotels around Australia, including the Anchorage at Port Stephens and one in the Blue Mountains. The food was excellent.

The Cellar, Hunter Valley Gardens, Pokolbin

This restaurant was very quiet when we ate there. This could be explained by the fact that the Hunter Valley Gardens Resort is undergoing major redevelopment, and the whole area resembles a building site! Despite this, the food was very good.

The Hermitage, Hunter Valley Resort, Pokolbin

This is the restaurant on-site at the resort where we were staying. We ate there twice, and on both occasions the food was excellent, but the second time the atmosphere was spoiled by a large conference party who were also eating in the restaurant. Still, we would recommend the restaurant.

Café Max, Pokolbin

We had lunch here a couple of times and both times it was excellent. A small cafe with a very friendly atmosphere and a great antipasto platter!

Murray Robson Wines, Pokolbin

Martin booked this as a kind of late Valentines Day present - it was a Dine In The Vines evening. There was a small group (8 people) eating with Murray Robson himself. Murray is one of the characters of the Hunter Valley wine scene and we had a great time. The meal was cooked by a chef from Chez Pok, and served on the terrace overlooking the vineyard. The only problem was that both Anneliese and Martin were bitten to bits by mosquitoes!

What we drank

Of course, the major activity on any trip to the Hunter Valley has to be wine tasting, and we certainly did plenty of it! There is a report here.