Wine Along 4 Day

Travellers without their own car are picked up in the city by our lead vehicle at 7.30am, before we then meet our self-drive travellers at Wahroonga Train Station on the upper North Shore at 8.00am. With watches set, road names/handles assigned, and destination rendezvous agreed, we drive north on the M1 for an easy and picturesque drive north. Over the Hawkesbury River, through national parks and dramatic sandstone cuttings, then veering north west at Freemans Waterhole to Cessnock and Pokolbin. We arrive at our 4-star accommodation mid-morning, leave our cars, with everyone jumping onboard our lead vehicle for a day in the Hunter Valley.

The Hunter Valley

The Hunter Valley is a dynamic wine region with more than 150 premium wine producers, with a viticultural history dating back to the early 1800s. Today the Hunter Valley is home to some of Australia’s most distinctive and outstanding wines. The most recognised of these is Hunter Valley Semillon, a truly remarkable wine that has been called ‘Australia’s unique gift to the world’. The Hunter Valley is also known for producing outstanding Shiraz and for its development of innovative new varieties and styles such as Tempranillo.

De Iuliis

De Iuliis wines are known for their trademark Hunter regionality and commitment to showcasing the very best the Hunter Valley has to offer. The Australian Wine Companion by James Halliday has been rating De Iuliis Wines a 5 star winery since 2010. The family’s vision is to continue producing wines of excellence and outstanding quality from individual paddocks, wines of distinction which they are proud to have their name on. You’ll be taken on an exclusive ‘behind the scenes’ production tour then lead through selected wine tastings.

Experience: Production tour and selected wine tastings

Hunter Valley Resort

A Hunter Valley institution owned and managed by the Hele family, their cellar door offers an exclusive range of premium wines from small Hunter Valley winemakers – including Helé Family, Lisa McGuigan, Andrew Margan, Stormy Ridge, Domaine de Binet and Winmark. Wine tasting is paired with cheese from the local Binnorie Dairy, one of Australia’s premiere soft cheese producers, to create a delicious experience.

Lunch is a one course meal accompanied by a glass of wine or beer at the onsite Brew House Restaurant. You can also try a beer tasting paddle from Pokolbin’s first boutique brewhouse, where the Bluetongue Brewery story began in 2001.

Experience: Selected wine & cheese paired tastings, one course restaurant lunch + glass of wine/beer

Hunter Distillery

Located in the heart of Hunter Valley wine country at Pokolbin, Hunter Distillery is a locally owned and operated distillery, using premium quality organic raw ingredients to produce an exceptional range of top shelf spirits. You can select for tastings any six of the multi award winning spirits available including Gin, Vodka, Liqueurs and Schnapps.

Experience: Private group tastings of your own selection of spirits

Glandore Estate Wines

The aim of Glandore Estate wines has been to produce wines of great character, regionality and style from the traditional varieties known in the Hunter Valley. Their winemaking style is all hands on, from hand picking right through to the hand operated basket press, quality without compromise and a winery that is designed specifically for small batch production of the very best parcels of fruit.

This wonderful winery was recently recognised by receiving the 2020 Hunter Valley Cellar Door of the Year. You will taste amazing wines paired with hand crafted Adora chocolates for a decadent Hunter experience. Complete your day with a glass of wine on the deck looking over the vines.

Experience: Selected wine and chocolate paired tastings

Evening

We return to our accommodation late afternoon for your check in and some downtime. Next door is Harrigan’s, a favourite with locals and visitors being the only pub located among the vineyards. Our travellers are free to join together for a drink and dinner in the bistro or venture out to experience one of the many outstanding restaurants in the nearby vicinity. Our guide will drop you off and pick you so there’s no need to worry about driving or taking taxis.     

A la carte breakfast is included before our convoy begins the drive from Pokolbin to Mudgee. This is a beautiful journey along quiet back country roads passing picturesque farms, traversing low mountain ranges, native forests and national parks. A brief refreshment stop at a quiet village general store before arriving at our 4-star Mudgee accommodation at midday. Cars parked, it’s all aboard the lead vehicle for an afternoon visiting three leading wineries that showcase the very best of Mudgee’s increasingly popular cellar door scene.

Mudgee

Mudgee is one of Country NSW’s great wine towns, where wineries set on rolling hills serve award-winning drops and epicurean fare. Set on the banks of the pretty Cudgegong River, the town still possesses all the character of its 19th century past. The Mudgee region has a continental climate with warm days and cool nights, combined with excellent soil profiles, are some of the attributes that help Mudgee produce great wines with a distinct regional character.

Travellers joining us in Mudgee need to arrive by 11.45am to meet the group arriving from the Hunter Valley

Lowe Wines

On a gentle hill with beautiful views looking north east over the Mudgee Valley, you’ll find Lowe Wines, a certified organic vineyard and winery that specialises in small batch winemaking using innovative techniques. Their Mudgee vineyards are untrellised, unirrigated and certified organic. They produce lower yields of distinctively individual grapes; one of four flag ship varieties being Zinfandel. They lead the field with practical sustainable management in both their vineyards and farm, which you’ll learn as you are led through wine tasting while enjoying a delightful Charcuterie Board lunch in the peaceful surrounds.

Experience: Organic wine tasting accompanied by lunch boards of fresh local produce

Huntington Estate

In 1969 Bob Roberts shoved a few thousand sticks in the ground and hoped they would grow.  Choosing Mudgee, as it has a cool, dry climate, eminently suited to Cabernet Sauvignon, he firmly believed that wines should be affordable and above all, age well.

While the market often looks for young, fresh wines, Huntington believe that there are still more than a few people who love the more crafted, Estate grown, made and bottled styles of wine that stand the test of time. For them, it’s all about what’s inside the bottle that matters, substance over style.

Experience: Selected wine tasting focusing on red varietals

Robert Stein

Jacob Stein, a third-generation Mudgee winemaker, continues the family tradition of making wines started by his family in the 1800s. Jacob’s family vineyard makes a variety of fantastic wines with their Rieslings in particular being well decorated and fast becoming known as one of NSW’s best examples of this varietal. You’ll be taken through a choice of wines to taste, many of which are award winning and/or highly rated by wine industry professionals and has resulted in being rated Red 5 Stars by James Halliday.

You’ll have free time to visit the onsite Vintage Motorbike Museum as well as sitting on the dam bank with a glass of wine looking over the vines.

Experience: Selected wine tastings with a focus on white varietals including their outstanding Riesling, entry to Motorbike Museum

Evening

Late afternoon we check into our accommodation and again, our travellers are free to determine how best to pass the evening. We’ll book a table at The Ori Kitchen, at The Oriental, one of Mudgee’s most iconic pubs, for those who’d like to eat and drink as a group. However, there is a restaurant in house at our accommodation if you’d like to stay closer to home.

A la carte breakfast is included before our convoy of explorers then head north to Gulgong, a 19^th-century gold rush town, now famous for its craftspeople and preserved heritage. A brief stop for coffee, then west through more open farming countryside to Wellington and onto Orange. Once again we park up our vehicles to board the lead vehicle for an exceptional afternoon of premium wine, food and beer.

Orange

Famed for its fresh produce, cool climate wines, colourful foliage and snowy winters, Orange is a gorgeous getaway in Country NSW. The Orange region is ideal for grape growing and winemaking because of the combination of geology, soils, climate and temperature. Together these factors combine to produce grapes and wine of distinct flavour and colour, all set in the shadow of a striking ancient volcano.

Swinging Bridge

A formidable viticulturalist and winemaker, Tom Ward, has been the driving force behind the progress and development of Swinging Bridge, one of the best sites in Orange for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The estate is a benchmark producer and maker of premium-quality cool-climate wines that showcase the best of the Orange region. With gorgeous views looking south towards Mt Canobolis, you’ll be led through wine and food paired tasting, followed by a one course lunch.

Experience: Selected wine tastings with a focus on cool climate varietals

Nashdale Lane

Join Nashdale Lane Wines owners & vignerons on an informative ‘vine to wine’ experience. You’ll take a journey through a wine life cycle from the vineyard to production to bottle. Enjoy exclusive, unfiltered access to the vineyard, tasting a range of red and white wines in the vines and be treated to some rare back vintages from single vineyard wines receiving scores over 95 for James Halliday. Food and wine pairing are also covered off with wines carefully matched to a light amuse bouche style menu at two dedicated food stations set up amongst the vines.

Experience: Selected wine tastings with a focus on cool climate wines from single source vineyards

Pioneer Brewing

Driving through the beautiful rolling hills and open paddocks west of Orange, you arrive at our final destination for undoubtedly one of the best ‘cleansing sales’ you’ll ever have. Surrounded by pastures, crops and livestock, you’ll find the largest independently owned farm-based brewery on Australia’s eastern seaboard. Pioneer Brewing Co sow, grow and harvest their own malting quality barley, rye and wheat from the volcanic soils and turn it into award winning crafted lagers, ales and sessionable mid-strength beers.

You’ll take a ‘behind the scenes’ production tour to see how their beer is made then sample 10 superb hand-crafted local brews.

At the end of the day as the sun sets, we sit outside on the terrace with a fresh brew in your glass, looking west over the farming countryside, feeling the pure joy of the simple pleasures of life.

Experience: Beer production tour and beer sample tastings. 

Evening

An exceptional three days of the best of regional NSW food and drink culminates with our final night of celebration. Our 4-star accommodation is located in the heart of Orange and hatted restaurants such as Lolli Redini or the relaxed dining of Charred Kitchen & Bar are all close by. Our pre-dinner drinks and group meal option are at the nearby Lord Anson Hotel, offering a classic, laid back country pub atmosphere.

A sleep in is merited, allowing our travellers time also to check out one of Orange’s many great cafes for breakfast. For those travellers not returning to Sydney, we bid adieu, and our lead vehicle and accompanying travellers travel east to Bathurst for a slight change of tempo with a drive around the world famous Mt Panorama Race Track! At the top we stop for exceptional views over the town and surrounding district.

We then travel just 10 minutes into the countryside where we plant eucalyptus trees that will one day provide nourishment and shelter for the local koala population. This planting also offsets all the carbon emissions from all the vehicles that have undertaken our journey. A small, simple gesture but one we feel is important. After all, if the wonderful wine regions we’ve visited undergo severe weather patterns in future years, the wonderful local businesses we’ve visited may, like the koalas, disappear from view.

Back in Bathurst, we have spare time for a coffee and early lunch, before the lead vehicle returns to Sydney. Other vehicles may choose their own time and best route, as suits them best.

• Within 3 days (72 hours) of the departure time of travel
  100% of the booking value is retained. If a medical certificate is provided, then the trip can be postponed, and a $250 re-booking fee applies.
• 4-14 days out from the departure date of travel
  100% credit for use on future travel or bookings can be transferred to someone else. A $250 re-booking fee per booking applies.
• 15+ days out from of the departure date of travel
  100% refund less a $250 cancellation fee per booking.