Hunter
Valley Australia is a popular destination in New South Wales.
Established in the 1830s
- way before the Italian winemakers came to
Australia,
Hunter Valley is the oldest of Australian wine regions.
It used to
specialise in strong wines, but today it also produces red and white
table wines. With over 70 vineyards, lots of good restaurants and
accommodation, and a reasonable distance to Sydney, Hunter Valley wine
tours are popular with
both Australians and international travellers.
Cessnock Accommodation
Most of the Hunter Valley wineries are found east of Wine Country Drive
between Cessnock in south and Branxton in north. Cessnock is the most
common starting point to Hunter Valley wine tours.
Poster by AllPosters. Click on thubnail to buy
The Southern Hunter Valley Australia
If you want to visit some of the famous Hunter Valley wineries, it is
worth driving west from Cessnock
along Mount View Road which first
takes you to Petersons Winery that specialises
in champagne-style wines. North from here is McWilliams
Mount Pleasant Winery, which produces Mount Pleasant Elizabeth
Semillon, one of the best wines in Australia. North from here is
Lindemans – a name probably already familiar to you because it is one
of the
largest wine producers in Australia. North from Lindemans, turn left
onto Broke Road and you come to Tyrell’s Vineyards. Generations of
Tyrell’s family have been producing wine here since 1858 and there is a
nice wine tasting area outdoors with views over the vineyards.
Poster by
AllPosters. Click on thubnail to buy
South Eastern Hunter Valley
Australia
Further west is Broke
– a
small town surrounded by lots of
accommodation and wineries. South of it are the Glen Eden Cottages,
Cants Cottage, Aviation House & Cottage, Kinkewood Vineyard and
Cockfighter’s Creek Vineyard Cottage. North of Broke are Pickled and
Pitted Gourmet Products, Monkey Place Country House and
Hunter Olive House. West of Bourke are Dairy
at Tinonee Vineyard, Nightingale Wines, Whispering
Brook, Elsmore’s Caprora Grove, Starline Alpaca Resort, Serenity Grove,
Elysium Vineyard & Cottage and Cockfighter’s
Ghost Vineyard and Cottage. Places to stay include Nightingale
Wines Luxury Villas and Starline
Alpacas Farmstay Resort.
Poster by
AllPosters. Click on thubnail to buy
Central Hunter Valley
Australia
Back towards the crossroad where you first turned off to the Broke Road
you can turn turn left to the MacDonalds Road where there is the world
famous Rothbury Estate which even has music concerts. Back on Broke
Road, further east is Lakes Folly, a younger winery from
the 1960s which produces Cabernet Sauvignon. Across the road is Hunter
Valley Wine Society, which organises tastings of wines from many local
small vineyards and gives tips for beginners.
Poster by
AllPosters. Click on thubnail to buy
Northern Hunter Valley
Australia
After the wine society you’ll come to Wine
Country Drive. If you turn
right, you’ll get back to Cessnock. If you turn left, you’ll drive
north towards Branxton.
Further north is Talga Road – if you turn right
you’ll come to Wandin Valley Estate which has wine
tastings (of course), but also a cafe, an art gallery, a swimming pool,
a tennis court and a cricket ground.
Poster by AllPosters. Click on thubnail to buy
Singleton Accommodation
Further north is Branxton
– a
small town with some historical
buildings; and west of Branxton, New England Hwy takes you to Singleton
and the Upper Hunter Valley. Singleton is a sizeable town with a
visitor information centre, shops, cafes and restaurants.
There is also
the new Hunter Valley Gardens, Singleton Historical Society and Museum,
Royal Australian Infantry Corps Museum, and a few family businesses
that you can visit: Hillsdale Citrus Orchard, Carr's Macadamia Farm
Country Tea House & Gifts, and Gartelmann Hunter Estate. A
place to
stay in Singleton is Quest.
Poster by
AllPosters. Click on thubnail to buy
Upper Hunter Valley Wineries
Further north are the Upper Hunter
Valley wineries like Arrowfield Estate near Jerrys
Plains, Pukara Estate north of Denman, Rosemount Estate
west of Denman, and Yarraman Estate north of Sandy
Hollow. A bigger town up here is Muswellbrook,
where there is a tourist
information centre, and you
can stay at Muswellbrook
Motor Inn.
Poster by
AllPosters. Click on thubnail to buy
There are some great tours
that take you here from Sydney so you don't have to worry
about
driving while sampling wines. Below is a map of Hunter
Valley,
where I have tagged
the places that I mentioned on this web page. You can click on the tags
to see what places they are, and double-click anywhere on the map to
zoom it in and see the places closer. Drag the map to move around, and
if you want to see the satellite image with Google Earth, click on
"Sat" in the top right hand corner.
We all love to read about other travellers' experiences - good or bad!
Tell us where you went and what you enjoyed. Or if there was anything you didn't enjoy.
Living there? Enjoying it? Why?
You will create YOUR own page on Gondwananet!
Make it nice - you can also submit up to four photos :-)
What Other Visitors Have Said
Click below to see contributions from other visitors to this page...
Avoid Elysium Vineyard Cottage Not rated yet The positive is that the general area and vineyards are lovely, within a beautiful country setting.
The negative, however, is that the property, and …
Note:
This site uses
British English, which is the English we use in Australia. You will
find words like "traveller", "harbour" and "realise", and they are all
correct in the language used in Australia.
Disclaimer: Although
best efforts have been made to ensure
that all the information on this site is correct,
gondwananet.com is not to be blamed should there be a mistake.
Copyright notice:
All contents of this website are strictly protected
by the Law of Copyright. What
does that mean?