Hunter Valley

The Hunter Valley is well know as the birthplace of Australian wine as well as being home to Australia’s oldest continuously operating winery – the Wyndham Estate, established in 1828. The Lower Hunter Valley is best known for aged Semillon and Shiraz and is located to the west of Newcastle and is only 170 km (or a 2 hour drive) north-west of Sydney. The area is within easy reach of those looking to combine touring the vineyards with a wide range of other activities. Its most important wine related localities are Lovedale and Pokolbin while other towns include Wollombi, Morpeth, and the main centre, Maitland.

While vines have been planted in Australia since the arrival of the first fleet, the Hunter River area is the oldest continuously planted wine region in Australia. A look at the climate graph would seemingly show that the Hunter is too hot and wet for good wine, with the majority of rain falling between January and April, right through harvest time. Yet, the rain, the humidity, regular afternoon cloud cover and weak sea breezes all act to moderate the impact of heat that would otherwise make the production of quality table wine very difficult, if not impossible, in the region. Most of the Lower Hunter’s vineyards are positioned on the southern side of what is a broad, flat valley that stretches out from the Brokenback Ranges, hills that are in the main gentle with undemanding gradients.

The Lower Hunter can be divided into five areas; the Wollombi Valley area to the south west, the Mount View area north of this, the Cessnock area to the south east, the Pokolbin and Rothbury area in the north west, and the Lovedale and North Rothbury area to the north east. Branxton and Greta are popular for their markets and festivals, and Kurri Kurri hosts several heritage country pubs as well as a mining museum. Wollombi provides an historic atmosphere of the 1930's, the time in which it was settled, where you can go horse riding, or explore the nearby bushland.

Just a few kilometres from Maitland is the historic village of Morpeth. Classified by the National Trust, Morpeth was established in 1821 on the banks of the Hunter River. Morpeth was once a thriving river port for ships taking goods around Australia and the world. For museums and antique shops go to the old river port of Morpeth. Also, a short drive from central Maitland and close to the vineyards and wine tasting areas of Lovedale and Rothbury is Lochinvar, with a picturesque rural perspective and offering a wide range of accommodation, including cottages such as on the St. Helena Estate, built in 1869.

In addition to great wines, the region has Pokolbin’s handmade washed rind and white mould cheeses, smokehouse goods, olives and olive oil, beef, Binnorie dairy cheese, stone fruit, chocolate and gelato. Other local attractions are the beautiful Hunter Valley Gardens, Maitland Gaol, championship golf courses, art galleries, and award-winning restaurants. The well known Hunter Valley Gardens is a 300 hectares property that includes accommodation, BBQ and picnic areas, and a chapel for weddings or christenings. The Hunter Valley Gardens themselves are 60 acres of cultivated gardens set in the historic Pokolbin district. Another fascinating attraction is the Hunter Valley Cheese Company allows you to visit their factory and tasting room to sample a selection of specialty hand made cheeses. All cheeses are preservative free and manufactured on site to traditional cheese making recipes.

Although some wines can only be bought from certain wineries, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Semillon, Shiraz and Verdelho can be found in most of the vineyards. The Hunter Valley region is most famous for its aged Semillon and Shiraz and these wines display exceptional flavour. Hunter Semillon ages into a waxy, smooth, mouth filling unique taste. However, such a wine demands time in the bottle, 10 to 20 years of age, before arriving at its best. In addition, Shiraz since 2000 has had a run of delicious vintages and offers the traditional soft Hunter style and flavour in a medium bodied frame.

The main Lower Hunter wineries and vineyards are centered around Pokolbin, north-west of Cessnock with about 50 wineries, the majority open for wine tasting. Altogether there are well over 120 cellar doors in the region brought by such famous winemakers as McGuigan, Tyrrell, Tulloch and Drayton. Not to forget the Wyndham Estate, established in 1828, and Australia’s oldest continually operating winery and the birthplace of Australian Shiraz. Also, newer winemakers such as the Bimbadgen Estate, Tower Estate, Pooles Rock Wines and De Iulius Wines are well worth a look.

The Adina Vineyard and Olive Grove is a brand new cellar door offering traditional Hunter varieties such as Sangiovese and Pinot Grigio, as well as farm fresh olives from a grove of some 2,000 trees made up of 8 different varieties. Adina have recently begun pressing and bottling olive oil in an on site olive mill where visitors can watch the process.

Food and wine events include the Hunter Semillon and Seafood Festival and The Hunter Valley Gourmet Cheese Festival, both in April; Jazz in the Vines, in October; the Lovedale Long Lunch in May; the Feast of the Olives, in September and Opera in the Vineyards, also in October. For a change from wine, the Bitter & Twisted International Boutique Beer Festival is held in the picturesque village of Morpeth in November.

Hunter Valley wines are best described as food wines – flavoursome, medium bodied, lower alcohol wines, whose strong regional characteristics are a product of warm and dry growing conditions and rich red soils. Overall, the Lower Hunter Valley can not only claim to produce the finest Semillon in the world, it is also the home of the best Australian Shiraz and Chardonnay.