AmyHuang
Weekend at the Hunter
Link: www.winecountry.com.au/
While we wait for my lazy sister to actually do something about writing her experience, I thought I'd just interrupt with a piece about our weekend at the Hunter.Approximately 2 hours drive (depends on how much you abide by the law) from Sydney is the popular wine region of NSW, the Hunter Valley.
We camp there when we can't afford to go anywhere else, but this time, as a friend of ours is finally home for 2 weeks from working overseas for the past how many years, we decided that it would be nice to spend the weekend together outside Sydney.
We hired out a cottage in Lovedale, an area well known for its boutique wineries. The surroundings were absolutely beautiful and the cottage was well equipped. During the day, we drove around wine tasting from the surrounding wineries, trying out the cheese and dips from the Hunter Valley Cheese Factory and the Smelly Cheese Shop (which also has a wide range of gelato) and at night, we sat around the dinner table, took turns to cook dinner and drank our purchases for the day while catching up on some serious gossip.
Our cottage with Cottages on Lovedale
Our Cottage - Cottages on Lovedale - came wih gormet breakfast provisions for 2 mornings so that we could still enjoy a good home cooked breakfast. The three bedroom property came with air-con for summer and a fireplace for winter, and has a beautiful surrounding away from the general Hunter crowds.
There are plenty of these cottage stays around Hunter Valley, and some of the boutique wineries also has accommodation. One of which we visited I particularly liked (and will consider staying at when we go on a couple weekend getaway) - Emma's Cottage Vinyard - it was our second time visiting Emma's for wine tasting and we haven't been disappointed. As a small boutiqe winery, you won't see Emma's bottles in the general bottle shops. Unlike the major wineries in the region where they sometimes do shop grapes from other regions (such as Clare, Barrossa and the Yarra) to the Hunter, Emma's wines are made from grapes in their own 'backyard', and their wines can really rival the big brands. And while you are enjoying the tasting, you are also in a gallery surrounded by paintings of local artists, and if you are a keen art collector/appreciator or whatever you call it, all the painting are also for sale.
Hunter Valley is a beautiful place to go for a relaxing weekend
Speaking of the big brands - my friend particularly wanted to visit Tyrrell's wines because she regularly buy them for parties and dinners. To our disappointment, the wines available for tasting didn't really live up to our expectation from such an experienced winery that we didn't end up buying any. If you were wondering, some of my personal favourites were: McWilliams Mount Pleasant which also has a great restaurant, and the McGuigan Wines, which is attached to the Hunter Valley Cheese Company, has our favourite so far (which we bought a bottle to keep for special occasions) called 'Noon Harvest' - next time you visit you might want to try it out, it's a Merlot, soft and very smooth, even Will, who generally doesn't drink wines, made a point that he could drink that with no objections.
What wine drinking sessions could do without some beautiful, smelly cheese? There are two major cheese outlets you can visit in the Hunter and taste some of the creations they have come up with. The already mentioned Hunter Vally Cheese Company has cheese information times when you can learn the cheese making process and see some of the rooms they store the cheeses in progress. The Smelly Cheese Shop, (literally across the road) has less cheese, but more of the dips, coffee and gelato side of things. This is attached to the Tempus Two Cellars, which has a classy, modern wine bar decor I would guess could attract certain crowds, but was the reason we didn't end up going in.
Cheeses being made at the Hunter Valley Cheese Company
Oh - if you are after lunch, head to the village shops at Hunter Valley Gardens. There is a small little cafe called Taste of the Country, that serves a Ploughmens Platter big enough for 3-4 people for a light lunch, and is only $33. The restaurant next door - Oscars - has great atmosphere but is slightly overpriced, as you would expect in such locations.
More information: Hunter Valley Tourism
