November 3 and 4 Hunter Valley Wine Tour

We awoke to a wet morning, but quickly ate and ran downstairs to meet our driver who was taking us on a wine tour in Hunter Valley, which is 150km north of Sydney. We were picked up by a lovely woman who was the driver and tour guide. We chose a company called Sydney Wilderness Tours as they had a mini bus and just took 14 people at a time on the tour. We were the second couple to be picked up and it was only 7.15am. Once were had made all the stops we found that we, along with Don, who also works with Lincoln, were the oldest on this adventure. The balance was made up of young men and women in their mid twenties. One group had to be woken up by their friends on the cell phone, they then had to hop a taxi and meet us at our next stop. The driver was great and teased the younger group the whole day.

We left Sydney at 8.00am and drove through the country and along the coast, arriving at our destination at 10.30am. Our first stop was a little boutique vineyard called Mistletoe, and you could just buy their wine from them. We were all invited to step up to the bar and sample different wines. I would say there were at least 10 or 12 different types. We purchased a bottle of port, which was lovely, it disappeared in a hurry. We also bought a bottle of The Rose, it was described as a bouquet of cushed flowers and spicy Turkish delight. Excellent as an aperitif and a perfect accompaniment for modern Australian and Mediterr-asian cuisine. The gentleman telling us about the wines was most helpful and answered all questions that were asked. They also sold olives that were prepared by themselves. Did not buy any although Don did and never asked if they were good or not.

We left there and headed down the road to our second vineyard which was to be Tempus Two, but on arriving found that it was closed in preparation for a Beach Boys Concert. So off we went to the drivers second choice and unfortunately I do not remember the name of it. It was a fairly new vineyard, with a lovely new building for the wine tasting, but unfortunately a not so impressive young man who basically just said here you go taste this. We did have the option of again trying 10 or 12 different types of wine, but because there was not a great deal of explanation did not enjoy it nearly as much as the first spot. The vineyard had 30 acres cultivated which does not sound very large even to me. It is not a hilly area and the vines are just planted in what appears to be cleared areas much like you would clear a field for planting strawberries. There are scrub trees along the sides of the field. I guess I was expecting large rolling hills with massive plantings of vines. We did not purchase anything at this vineyard.

We then were off to lunch and the next vineyard, which also housed a brewery. We had a 5 course lunch, which was included in the price of the fare, and each course was served with a different wine. This gave us the opportunity to talk with our fellow travellers, they were from South Africa, USA, Germany and of course Canada. By now the young lads were anxious to get to the brewery where you could buy a paddle of beer (5 different types in small water size glasses), once you finished this you took your paddle back and could then get a full size beer of your choosing. We all sat outside in the sun, which I forgot to mention came out as we entered the Valley and recuperated from our many samples of wine and beer.

We then headed into town to sample the cheeses and chocolates at the local establishments. Chesses looked great, but due to warm weather we did not buy any. I did buy some fudge at the chocolate shop, it was not nearly as good as the fudge my Mother used to make us when we were young. There was also an ice cream shop, where they sold non fattening ice cream, can't remember what the main components were, but of course, I bought one and it was great. There was also a stand which was selling local oils. Our friend Don, purchased cheese, bread and oil as he wanted to try everything out.

We now all climbed back on the bus and headed for the last vineyard, just a short distance down the road. This one specialized in flavoured wines, like strawberry and passionfruit. Did not appeal to me at all, so I just looked around the room which they had set up with old pieces of wine making equipment. These places rent out their gardens for weddings and one was being held as we left. This last place was very picturesque and when you look at the vineyard you could see some hills in the distance.

Unfortunately none of these places that we visited processed their own wine on the premises, which was a little disappointing to us. They send it out to a local plant.

We then boarded our bus for the long, quiet trip home. The younger generation having enjoyed the wine and beer were now ready for a nap in preparation for Saturday night out on the town.

The guide, Don, Lincoln and I chatted on the way home and just generally took in the lovely scenery. Since the weather was wet the roadway was not as crowded as it usually was on a weekend so made good time arriving back in Sydney arriving at our door around 5.45pm.

Sunday awoke with a very sore leg and back, must have been sitting on the bus for long periods of time. We had a slow morning and enjoyed talking with my sister, Mary Ann and her husband Phil on SKYPE. SKYPE is a great invention you can talk to each other thru your computers, sounds just like the phone, and best of all it is free.

We took the train over to Bondi Junction, just to get out of the apartment and did a little shopping and then came home to a quiet evening.