Tyrell's was one of the wineries where we tasted, but did not purchase.  This winery, unlike the wineries we visited in California, was little more than a simple shed with bottles and glasses for tasting.

A typical scene of a Hunter Valley winery in the winter.

This was the first winery we visited, as well as the first (and most delicious!) pinot noir we tasted.

The Hungerford Hills winery used to be a church.  Architecturally, it was the most interesting winery we visited.  It also has the coolest bottle labels!

We had lunch at the Wyndham Estate Winery.   The drive to this remote winery was worthwhile just for itself.  We saw herds of kangaroos and flocks of exotic birds all along the way.

We stayed overnight at the Lochinvar House.  The house itself was beautiful, if slightly isolated (we had to close the cow gate behind us to keep the herd from wandering).

Wine Country

Having spent a large portion of our honeymoon in the Napa and Sonoma Valleys wine region in California, we were excited to visit the Hunter Valley north of Sydney to visit Australian wineries and try some new wines.

The first thing we noticed about the Hunter Valley was how much more spread out it is than the California wine region.  Most of the wineries are separated by several miles, as opposed to several wineries per mile in the Napa Valley.

The Hunter Valley also isn't nearly as commercialized as California.   With only a few exceptions, the wineries are much simpler, and I think only one place we stopped had separate bus parking.  The entire region isn't as "resorty," and gave us the impression of being more functional than touristy.

Amazingly, even I found wines in the Hunter Valley which I like.   The area is more known for its whites than for its reds, with the exception of Shiraz (also called Sirrah in the US).  We brought several bottles back with us (customs regulations.....?), and are still saving a couple for some special occasion down the road.

In seemingly customary Australian style, the architecture in the Hunter Valley is simple, if not Spartan.  Where Napa and Sonoma are sprinkled with lavish and sometimes huge wineries on manicured gardens, the Australian wineries generally looked more like working buildings than millionaire's summer homes.  This did nothing to diminish the Hunter Valley's charms, however.  Even arriving late at night, our inn-keepers were as friendly as all the Australians we met. 

The B&B where we stayed was really a very interesting place.   The building was a former farmhouse which had been built in three sections over about 100 years, so the architecture of each section was a little different.  Many of the bricks making up the walls and some floors still bear inscriptions from the British convicts who made them.  The inside of the house was very Victorian.  Robin, our B&B host, was quite a character.  We hadn't even unpacked before he was taking us for a guided tour of the grounds, with his two dogs in tow.  This turned out to be quite a surprise, since the 70 acres we read about in the brochure turned out to be cattle pasture, complete with cows (close the gate behind you...).  And breakfast...? He might have called it a B&B&L. 

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