Established in 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. Here is information on Hunter Valley wineries, Cessnock accommodation, Singleton accommodation and in the end of the page is a map of Hunter Valley.
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. The town has many shops, cafes, restaurants and many kinds of accommodation. Hotels (pubs) include Australia Hotel, Cessnock Hotel and Royal Oak Hotel to name a few. Bed and Breakfasts include Cessnock Heritage Inn Bed & Breakfast, Colliery House Bed & Breakfast and Danica House Bed & Breakfast; and the town’s caravan parks are Cessnock Wine Country Caravan Park and Valley View Cessnock Caravan Park.
The Southern Hunter Valley Wineries 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.
South Eastern Hunter Valley Wineries 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.
Central Hunter Valley Wineries 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 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.
Northern Hunter Valley Wineries 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, and on the way you have Hunter Valley Accommodation Centre. 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. And it also has accommodation in self-contained Italian style villas.
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. Some of the many places to stay in Singleton are Kurrindah B&B, Singleton Parkland Motel, Benjamin Singleton Motel and Mid City Motor Inn.
Upper Hunter Valley Wineries North of Singleton are a few more places to stay, such as Glen Nev’s B&B and Hambledon Hill House. 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 Brighton Cottage, Baybrook Motor Inn & Apartments, Centabrook Motor Inn, Eatons Hotel, Hermitage Motel, Golden Chain Wayfarer Motel, Kerry’s Place B&B, Muswellbrook Hotel, Muswellbrook Motor Inn and many more.
Here 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.
NOTE: This website is written in 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.
