Hunter Valley - The Wine Country
Saturday, December 26, 2015
Perth has her Swan Valley and Sydney has her Hunter Valley. Hunter Valley is Australia's oldest wine region and is home to lots of good wine and good food. It's a three hours drive from Sydney and there's a straight highway that leads you there. 
I visited Pokolbin, a quaint little town in Hunter Valley. Unfortunately, I did not manage to get an accommodation there as I booked my holiday only a month before. Also, as I visited Hunter Valley in Winter, most of the vineyards were barren and I was definitely missing out on the hot air balloons - a common sight in Hunter Valley. 
I made a booking a day in advance over at Cafe Enzo for lunch after reading the rave reviews on TripAdvisior. Cafe Enzo was also situated right next to the wine cellars I wanted to visit. We were a little late on our schedule because we were stuck in a slow traffic while bypassing another town in Hunter Valley. I phoned in to make changes to my reservation and the staff was courteous. 
I'm a budget traveler but I could not miss out on tasting some of the best foods in Hunter Valley. Cafe Enzo is set in a Tuscan inspired village, picturesque from every angle. It overlooks a vine yard and a pond. Even though it was winter, the weather was a perfect 25 degree Celsius, which made it perfect for al fresco dining. 
I had the linguine with tiger prawns while my partner had the smoked lamb with mushroom risotto. Both were truly amazing and the ingredients used were really fresh. We both agreed that we would definitely return to Cafe Enzo the next time we visit Australia.
We began our wine tasting tour after the sumptuous lunch. I handpicked wine cellars from reviews across the Internet and narrowed it down to three, Tyrell's Wine, Scarborough Wine Co, and McGuigan Wines.
My favourite was Scarborough Wine Co. The service was excellent and I had a really fun time tasting the wine and the staff was knowledgeable and approachable. We ended up spending most of our travel baggage wine limit from there. Do note that there is a wine limit that you can bring back to Singapore. Out of all three wine cellars, only Tyrell sold travel bags for the wine. 
Here I'm tasting a Shiraz from Tyrell. However, Hunter Valley is well-known for her Semillon. Semillon is a dry and sweet white wine made of golden skinned grapes. We ended up opening a bottle during one of our dinners at Byron Bay and it was so good. 
Scarborough Wine Co has the perfect backdrop for photo taking. It would have been much better if it wasn't winter, but I'm not complaining because the weather on that day was perfect. I never had to put on my jacket throughout the entire day. 
Some of the wine cellars do charge for wine tasting. I do know that Tyrell and McGuigan don't but I can't be sure for Scarbourough because we ended up buying lots of wine from them. Also, Hunter Valley is home to chocolate and cheese tasting. We did not make it in time for the chocolate but the cheese tasting do charge. 
Next stop: Byron Bay!
I visited Pokolbin, a quaint little town in Hunter Valley. Unfortunately, I did not manage to get an accommodation there as I booked my holiday only a month before. Also, as I visited Hunter Valley in Winter, most of the vineyards were barren and I was definitely missing out on the hot air balloons - a common sight in Hunter Valley. I made a booking a day in advance over at Cafe Enzo for lunch after reading the rave reviews on TripAdvisior. Cafe Enzo was also situated right next to the wine cellars I wanted to visit. We were a little late on our schedule because we were stuck in a slow traffic while bypassing another town in Hunter Valley. I phoned in to make changes to my reservation and the staff was courteous. I'm a budget traveler but I could not miss out on tasting some of the best foods in Hunter Valley. Cafe Enzo is set in a Tuscan inspired village, picturesque from every angle. It overlooks a vine yard and a pond. Even though it was winter, the weather was a perfect 25 degree Celsius, which made it perfect for al fresco dining. I had the linguine with tiger prawns while my partner had the smoked lamb with mushroom risotto. Both were truly amazing and the ingredients used were really fresh. We both agreed that we would definitely return to Cafe Enzo the next time we visit Australia.We began our wine tasting tour after the sumptuous lunch. I handpicked wine cellars from reviews across the Internet and narrowed it down to three, Tyrell's Wine, Scarborough Wine Co, and McGuigan Wines.
My favourite was Scarborough Wine Co. The service was excellent and I had a really fun time tasting the wine and the staff was knowledgeable and approachable. We ended up spending most of our travel baggage wine limit from there. Do note that there is a wine limit that you can bring back to Singapore. Out of all three wine cellars, only Tyrell sold travel bags for the wine. Here I'm tasting a Shiraz from Tyrell. However, Hunter Valley is well-known for her Semillon. Semillon is a dry and sweet white wine made of golden skinned grapes. We ended up opening a bottle during one of our dinners at Byron Bay and it was so good. Scarborough Wine Co has the perfect backdrop for photo taking. It would have been much better if it wasn't winter, but I'm not complaining because the weather on that day was perfect. I never had to put on my jacket throughout the entire day. Some of the wine cellars do charge for wine tasting. I do know that Tyrell and McGuigan don't but I can't be sure for Scarbourough because we ended up buying lots of wine from them. Also, Hunter Valley is home to chocolate and cheese tasting. We did not make it in time for the chocolate but the cheese tasting do charge. Next stop: Byron Bay!