Sunday, January 06, 2008

Hunter Valley

After a few days in Sydney we took a trip up to the Hunter Valley for the weekend. We drove up after work on Friday and arrived at the Crowne Plaza at Lovedale around 6:30pm - just enough time to check in, unpack, change and head out for dinner. The Plaza is a fairly new addition to the Hunter and it has a nice feel to it. Spread out rather than built up give it a really spacious feel and the decor is modern and fresh.

We went to Harrigan's Pub for a glass of wine (surprisingly CRAP wine list for a pub in the middle of Hunter Valley wine country!) and a bite to eat. All in all, the pub was beyond average with Jo having to send back a very sorry for itself Moussaka.
Still, the waiter did apologise as he knew it was so crap and he gave us a complimentary bottle of wine to make up for it. I can't say I'll be back.

View from Tallavera Grove Winery

The following day we booked into a wine tour, we were picked up on a wet and breezy Saturday at 10am to be taken around to 6 wineries in the local area. We started off at Lucy's Run - a very boutique winery that only produces around 800 cases a year. The winery is named after the owner's dog and is a really small operation. We sat in a tin shed while he talked about the wine he produces along with olive oil and dukkah (a spice mix) and we got to sample all three. Mum enjoyed it so much should bought a great bottle of Merlot and some dukkah to go.

The "Lucy" from Lucy's Run

From there we headed to Ivanhoe, where we tried a few varieties I've not tried before including a great Gewurtztraminer and a very nice but unusual Chambourcin (looks like a red, tastes like a white and served chilled). Although, the Semillon is the variety that the Hunter is most known for it's not my favourite (I prefer a Semillon Sav Blanc) and we all agreed that the stand outs for the day were the dessert wines (or 'stickies' as they're sometimes called). Fantastic, all of them!

I sample some red at Ivanhoe Winery

From there we headed to Tallavera Grove and then onto a pub for some lunch. After lunch we did three more wineries, a chocolate place and a the cheese shop! To say that we were stuffed was an understatement!

1 comment:

Steven said...

Ooooh - very posh aren't we!!?? Getting quite the wine buff (grin) - I wonder if I could do the same for Orange Juice???