Hunter Valley...Here We ARE :o)
With Emma Bell, the wine expert (and regular drinker) in our midst, It was only deemed ACCEPTABLE to head off on a Hunter Valley Wine Tour...
An early start, We met our tour at 7.45am at Central Station, Adam was a good ol Aussie, bit of an environmentalist with a degree in Environmental Science he babbled on with nifty facts about trees and history and how things came to be, Very interesting...Oh and most importantly, He LOVED his wines!
With a full bus load of 19, It was a WORLD TOUR with a family from South Africa (And accents, YES PLEASE), three from England (one of which was an Ex Nurse who now teaches Nursing at Uni, We picked her brains about the nursing lifestyle and how she manages her frequent travels), a couple from Malaysia, two best buds from Japan, two from the USA, one sweet lady from Singapore and US, A rowdy bunch of Taswegian Nursing Students, LOOK OUT!
Went to the first Winery, IRON GATE, Owned by an Ex Chemist from the UK, Who uses his chemistry to make the BEST wine (Or so he liked to tell us)...Sat us own and taught us wine tasting technique (THANK GOODNESS, Im very VERY new to the stuff and didnt know a Chardonnay from a Shiraz from a Merlou, He he) After tasting about 5 I must admit, IM OFFICIALLY NOT A WINE DRINKER, Give me a vodka and red bull anyday, But hey, Im up for anything...A quick tour round the winery, explaining the ins n outs of how its made and we were off to the second destination...
PEPPERCREEK WINERY!
Very very flash, Its the location for the Jag Sports Car Annual Meeting and frequently visiting by porsches etc...A lovely setting though with an Antique store, gift shop, restaurant etc etc...And with 4 more tastings we were good to go...
Arrived at this lovely central place with LOTS of nifty shops and boutiques, sat down to our lunch (part of the tour - Gourmet Foccacia and Diet Coke) and then pottered around the lil places, GORGEOUS gift wares etc etc, MUM WOULD LOVE IT! Tried some Chilli Chocolate (Not all chocolate is good gals, My tongue is STILL burning) then went to our third winery - McGuigans, where on the breatho I blew .103 (He he, I still had mouth alcohol after testing, DONT WORRY)...Then to the Cheese Farm for more tastings, Then to Tempes Winery for more tastings, He he and back on the bus...
Last port of call before we headed home, A Chocolate Shop...Tssk, But I was very very very strong and only tested the Peppermint Fudge and resisted buying everything, Unlike all the other gals who munched on chocolate dots, fudge etc the whole way home, SIGH!
Arrived back to Sydney Central at 7pm exhausted, full and very happy with the experience and I now contain the knowledge, If Im FORCED a wine, It must be a McGuigans white dessert wine thats sweeter than the blanc range, YUMMO!
The First Winery - IRON GATE - One of the newest, 2001, gorgeous setting, Sat out in the courtyard in the 25 degree sun...I think Becs had one bottle too many already, He he!
Me n Emma with our tour guide, Adam, He was LOVING all the nurse attention!
Ive got my glass, Im ready to Go, Taste, Go!
Group Shot At Pepper Creek Winery
A lil shot of the scenery where the lil shops and boutiques were, GORGEOUS!
An early start, We met our tour at 7.45am at Central Station, Adam was a good ol Aussie, bit of an environmentalist with a degree in Environmental Science he babbled on with nifty facts about trees and history and how things came to be, Very interesting...Oh and most importantly, He LOVED his wines!
With a full bus load of 19, It was a WORLD TOUR with a family from South Africa (And accents, YES PLEASE), three from England (one of which was an Ex Nurse who now teaches Nursing at Uni, We picked her brains about the nursing lifestyle and how she manages her frequent travels), a couple from Malaysia, two best buds from Japan, two from the USA, one sweet lady from Singapore and US, A rowdy bunch of Taswegian Nursing Students, LOOK OUT!
Went to the first Winery, IRON GATE, Owned by an Ex Chemist from the UK, Who uses his chemistry to make the BEST wine (Or so he liked to tell us)...Sat us own and taught us wine tasting technique (THANK GOODNESS, Im very VERY new to the stuff and didnt know a Chardonnay from a Shiraz from a Merlou, He he) After tasting about 5 I must admit, IM OFFICIALLY NOT A WINE DRINKER, Give me a vodka and red bull anyday, But hey, Im up for anything...A quick tour round the winery, explaining the ins n outs of how its made and we were off to the second destination...
PEPPERCREEK WINERY!
Very very flash, Its the location for the Jag Sports Car Annual Meeting and frequently visiting by porsches etc...A lovely setting though with an Antique store, gift shop, restaurant etc etc...And with 4 more tastings we were good to go...
Arrived at this lovely central place with LOTS of nifty shops and boutiques, sat down to our lunch (part of the tour - Gourmet Foccacia and Diet Coke) and then pottered around the lil places, GORGEOUS gift wares etc etc, MUM WOULD LOVE IT! Tried some Chilli Chocolate (Not all chocolate is good gals, My tongue is STILL burning) then went to our third winery - McGuigans, where on the breatho I blew .103 (He he, I still had mouth alcohol after testing, DONT WORRY)...Then to the Cheese Farm for more tastings, Then to Tempes Winery for more tastings, He he and back on the bus...
Last port of call before we headed home, A Chocolate Shop...Tssk, But I was very very very strong and only tested the Peppermint Fudge and resisted buying everything, Unlike all the other gals who munched on chocolate dots, fudge etc the whole way home, SIGH!
Arrived back to Sydney Central at 7pm exhausted, full and very happy with the experience and I now contain the knowledge, If Im FORCED a wine, It must be a McGuigans white dessert wine thats sweeter than the blanc range, YUMMO!
The First Winery - IRON GATE - One of the newest, 2001, gorgeous setting, Sat out in the courtyard in the 25 degree sun...I think Becs had one bottle too many already, He he!
Me n Emma with our tour guide, Adam, He was LOVING all the nurse attention!
Ive got my glass, Im ready to Go, Taste, Go!
Group Shot At Pepper Creek Winery
A lil shot of the scenery where the lil shops and boutiques were, GORGEOUS!