Hunter Valley

Continuing on nicely from the past few blogs of my holidays in Queenstown, New Zealand, I feel that another place that would link in to the theme nicely is “Hunter Valley” in NSW, Australia. When I hear Hunter Valley, I think of only two things: cheese and wine. If you’re in Sydney or in NSW, Hunter Valley is one of the two or three other places outside of the city that I would recommend you visiting. 

Hunter Valley is well-known for its wines. There are plenty of vineyards and endless greeneries here. The air is fresh, and in terms of wine producing, the soil is rich and climate is ideal. Speaking of wine, an absolute must-do when in Hunter Valley is a wine tasting tour. We all love wine and there’s nothing better than trying local wines and being educated by the experts and the very people that take pride in making them. Not only will you take great pleasure in enjoying really amazing wines, you will also learn to appreciate them after hearing how much attention to details is put into your glass of wine. Hunter Valley is the name of a larger area, therefore you may need to look into a specific vineyard or wine-producer to visit for your wine tasting tour. The hotel will come in handy in assisting you with tours, as they usually have a connection or two and could even find the best deal for your dollars. I will later discuss a hotel that I stayed at for my trip, either further in the post or in a separate post - if I could refrain myself from going on and on as per usual. 

From Sydney, it was almost a three hour trip by bus. I would recommend that you visit Hunter Valley as one of the many destination of the trip. The voyage from Sydney to Hunter Valley will see you tag along the east coast past Newcastle and other stunning sea-side locations. The trip is about 150km from Sydney (north). If you’re with a few friends, renting a car and going on a small road trip could be a great idea. Otherwise, signing up for a tour would also do wonders for you since a local will always be there to assist and answer any questions.  

As I went to the region as a part of our school trip - I know, how cool right? - we were introduced to “Hunter Valley Cheese Co.” for a session of good cheese and wine. This is one of the many wine growing regions of Australia and you can bet that the wines we had tried were of super high calibre. They also made really good cheese here and this is what’s great about Hunter Valley. The locals here do a really good job with the produces they have in their backyard. They really take advantage of having such wonderful resources and most importantly, they succeed in making great wine and great cheese.

Just like the wines they make, the cheeses also go through a complicated process in which I could recall little of. After a few small bites with our toothpicks, we decided to just consume them rather than simply tasting them. It was a fantastic afternoon of wine and cheese indeed.

Just right next door to the outside terrace in which we were seated for our cheese and wine session, sits the very room in which they make their cheese. We couldn’t go in and actually survey the room due to hygiene purposes, but we were able to see a bit of the work from the display window. Next to the cheese making room, they have a huge shop with cheeses, wines and other produces you could purchase to bring back home. The selection of things you could buy in the shop is immense. There’s something for everyone and prices also vary so there should always be something to suit your budget.

Hunter Valley is a perfect getaway for those that want to escape from the city or those really into food and wine like I am. Other than tasting great cheese, beer and wine, you may also be interested to take up a cooking course and get your hands on the freshest local products. We did not get to do this since we were quite pressed in terms of time - and of course, the fact that we were on a school trip didn’t give us much freedom. What we did get to do though, that we thoroughly enjoyed, was playing golf. You will have various golf clubs and courses to choose from to enjoy your session. We actually did something quite different in hitting the golf balls out into a lake that has baskets floating. The goal was to hit them right into the basket just like basketball. It was extremely challenging to say the very least. I spent about half and hour just to hit the ball and another twenty minutes on top of that to hit the ball beyond five meters. Some of my friends were faster learners than me and a few of them did manage to knock in a few as well! Adidas is right, impossible is nothing. 

Moving on from our fantastic first glimpse of what Hunter Valley has to offer, we went for more beverage tasting. This time, we were at a brewery where we got to taste some really really awesome local beers. Unfortunately, I could neither remember the name of this brewery nor the where it’s located. To add on to my misery, I was probably too busy appreciating the good beers that I forgot to take any pictures. Luckily for you, you could always ask your hotel concierge or do a quick research online for a good spot. They also serve food here, in which I remember clearly. A huge portion of chicken schnitzel with lots of chips and gravy on top. That’s the picture I now in mind of a good bar food with some beer.  

This time of the year is one of the best periods to visit this great region. The vineyards are very dynamic during the summer months due to its mild climate that’s ideal for the wine-making process both in the morning and in the evening. For you, as a tourist, this is also super enjoyable since you could spend your morning wandering through greeneries and vineyards, take a swim in the hotel pool or play a round of golf in the afternoon, and of course, to bring your day in full circle, a mouth watering dinner with the use of only the best regional produces. Oh, if you ever get tired from all the good food and wine, you may also choose to find a spa to some relaxation and pampering. 

For more information about all the cool elements of Hunter Valley, as well as the things to do, what to eat, where to go and how you could go about doing these cool things, be sure to check out the link at the bottom.

If you like the content of this post, or just want to check out some pictures that I take on my adventure, feel free to like and/or follow me on instagram at oat93, cheers!

Hunter Valley - http://www.winecountry.com.au/