This weekend, we were fortunate to visit the Hunter Valley, one of Australia’s most famous wine producing regions. About a two hour bus ride away, we got to enjoy tastings and the picturesque scenery of the vineyards at three wineries: Brokenwood, Ernest Hill, and Margan Wines!

Brokenwood Wines

Our first stop was Brokenwood Wines. Their cellar door had us situated at two large round bars with the sommelier standing in the middle. Our host was fantastic and made the experience extremely fun while also being educational. He taught us how to really look like you know what you’re doing when you receive a pour: swirl the glass to oxygenate, hold it up and stare at it for good measure, and smolder into the distance while you enjoy your sips. We got to taste eight pours, including three white, one pink, and three red varieties with a dessert sip to finish it off. My favorite of this tasting was the Semillon, a light, citrusy white wine that the Hunter Valley is known for. I purchased a bottle and I can’t wait to enjoy it soon! The Sticky Wicket dessert wine was a bonus glass that we were lucky to get to taste. It was a beautiful golden color and tasted like liquid honey. Okay, I suppose that was my actual favorite of the tasting but I don’t think you can really compare it with the other drier varieties that we had because it was so different. I also really enjoyed the Shiraz here, which is the red wine that the Hunter Valley specializes in. I was interested to learn that all of the flavor that ends up in the wine comes purely from the grape itself. It’s so cool how you can get notes of lemon or honey or peach out of the same fruit solely based on how long it stays on the vine, how much of the skin is left in, or what grape variety is used.

Ernest Hill Wines

The second winery we visited on Saturday was Ernest Hill Wines. This was more of a down-home boutique style venue and certainly less “commercialized” than Brokenwood because it’s family owned and operated. The cellar door experience was much more intimate as we were all seated together on stools in a small room that we later learned is just off the owner’s living room. Our sommelier was fantastic! She even took extra care to move the glass away from me when pouring the reds to avoid spilling on my all-white outfit which was so thoughtful. We started with a bubbly and then had a few whites, a red, and three dessert wines. I think my favorite pour of the whole weekend was their fortified wine, the 11 O’Clocker Muscat. It’s a beautiful deep golden brown color and tastes like caramel, best served room temperature in a heated glass. This was my second bottle purchase of the weekend and I’m really struggling to resist popping it open as I write this because it was so so good. I’m gonna try my best to save it to take home with me!

By the end of the two tastings, we were all exhausted! We spent the night in Newcastle. My roommates and I had dinner at The Kingfish on the wharf which was an amazing experience but I was fighting sleep the whole time. I found it hard to grasp the vibe of the town. I love coastal towns and marinas so I enjoyed the scenery but on our walk home, we were appalled when four or five different groups of people shouted at us out their car windows. Looking around, we were some of the only people out walking at night but it was still very odd and I can’t begin to understand why they did that. The next morning we were surprised to see so many families with small children given the events of the evening before. We also saw two large cockroaches. Very strange place indeed!

Margan Wines

On our way home on Sunday, we stopped at Margan Wines, the last vineyard of the weekend. The whole experience felt so elevated and classy, and the venue was truly beautiful. The sommelier stressed their commitment to sustainability and explained that the cellar door we were sat in was constructed of local earth, the walls being about a foot thick. It was absolutely beautiful! Similar selections to the day before, we got to try a Semillon, Chardonnay, and Shiraz, as well as a new-to-me red variety, the Ceres Hill Barbera. This was my favorite of the tasting because it was less harsh and acidic, explained to be due to the low tannin content. I was going to buy a bottle but decided it was not in the budget. We enjoyed the amazing views of the mountains and beautiful gardens surrounding the vineyard and took lots of photos! It was very hot but the heat felt different because it wasn’t very humid. The bus ride home felt like it took ten hours despite only being a little over two. This was one of my favorite weekends yet in Sydney! Looking forward to next weekend (our last one 😢) when Ariana and I take on Tasmania!!