Given that we had purchased a car, and hadn’t put a lot of miles (oops, kilometers!) on it, we decided to visit another of Australia’s wine regions — the Hunter Valley. This is one of Australia’s oldest wine producing regions, getting its irrigation from the Hunter River which traverses this very long valley area (over 100 miles long!). Because of its relatively cool climate, this valley turns out some of Australia’s better white wines, especially Semillon and Chardonnay. But of course, Shiraz still remains king, with a fair amount of Cabernet Sauvignon and an increasing amount of Pinot Noir. Sadly, the 2008 Shiraz harvest was devastating because of a 2-week constant rain just before harvest that rotted the grapes on the vine. Of course, given the lush landscape and its closeness to Sydney (around a 2-hour drive), the Hunter Valley has become a gastronomic getaway. In addition to the wines, there are lots of cheeses, meats, and olive oil produced here.
What really got us motivated, though, was an annual event — the Lovedale Long Lunch. The Long Lunch is just that — a progressive-style lunch where some of the valley’s leading chefs team up with seven of Lovedale’s finest wineries and local entertainment for a weekend of foodie fun! Now you have to understand, this is not a typical California genteel wine tasting — this is power tasting and, during the weekend, we saw several people careening around or passed out in vineyards. Just another weekend in Australia! Needless to say, we chose to take the shuttle bus between the wineries to avoid any disasters. Of course, we ventured beyond Lovedale during the weekend to visit a number of other wineries and enjoy the local hospitality. All in all, a great weekend jaunt out of Sydney!
I am a traveler and sometimes clay sculptor, following a long career working in consulting. My work allowed me to travel the world extensively and I was hooked. Today, I travel with my wife/best friend to explore new places, meet new people, and learn new things.
