JUST SOME OF OUR FAVOURITE CELLAR DOORS


Ballabourneen Wine Co.
www.ballabourneen.com.au
Winemaker Daniel Binet is one of the Hunter Valley's "young guns" - an enthusiastic winemaker with a passion and dedication to producing unique Hunter Valley wines sourced from quality local vineyards, including ours! The new cellar door on Broke Road reflects Daniel's "joie de vivre" and its superb setting is complemented by the outdoor area, ideal for enjoying light snacks to keep you going.

De Bortoli Hunter Valley
www.debortoli.com.au
The De Bortoli winery is at the gateway to the Hunter on Wine Country Drive directly opposite Broke Road. The 34-hectare property includes an 800 tonne capacity winery where the 100% hand picked fruit is processed. The company also has another vineyard in nearby Rothbury which has plantings of mature Semillon vines planted nearly half a century ago. As of 2009, as part of the winery's membership to the Biological Farmers of Australia, the vineyard is now in transition to full organic production. Read more The cellar door, open daily from 10am-5pm, is a welcoming place where you can taste superb Hunter Valley vintages including single vineyard wines.

Noonji Estate
www.noonji.com.au
James Halliday has rated Noonji Estate as a 5-star winery in his 2011 Wine Companion. 5 of the 6 wines tested rated 90 and above. The sixth rated 89. He also put Noonji in the top 10 new wineries, the only one from NSW. Find them on 386 Wilderness Road!

Gartelmann Wines
www.gartelmann.com.au
Jorg and Jan Gartelmann are two of Lovedale's much loved characters. Their dedication to producing quality wines from local grapes has resulted in a number of important awards. We love the charm of their cellar door, with brick floors, lovely deck for outdoor sipping and real wood fire in winter.

Scarborough Wine Co.
www.scarboroughwine.com.au
Great view! One of the best in the Hunter Valley and we love Ian Scarborough's chardonnays which we discovered at the Blackwattle Boat House Restaurant in Glebe years ago (mm..must have been fate!)

Mount Pleasant Wines
www.mountpleasantwines.com.au
Established in 1921 by Maurice O'Shea - a pioneer of Australian winemaking - the historic Mount Pleasant winery nestles on the slopes of the Brokenback range in the Mount View area.
Maurice O'Shea's natural ability and incredible palate all went into his pioneering of the Australian winemaking scene. He was also a master at recognising the qualities of young table wines which he obtained from Mount Pleasant and various Hunter Valley vineyards, as well as other major winemaking regions. The general trend of the day in winemaking in Australia was towards fortified wines, but with his influence, the whole industry gradually changed and table wines were to predominate. His wines were known for their tremendous flavour, intensity and longevity.

Today, more than fifty years on, Maurice O'Shea's wines from the 1940s and early 1950s still exhibit the characters that made him famous. The McWilliam family bought Mount Pleasant in 1941and kept Maurice O'Shea on as Chief Winemaker. The new ownership, with O'Shea at the winemaking helm, steered a course that would place them in the highest category of Australian wine producers.

Subsequent winemakers, following in the giant footsteps of Maurice O'Shea, have gone on to keep the standard well represented. Brian Walsh (1956-1978) and Phil Ryan the present winemaker, both legends in the Hunter Valley, have ensured that the great name of McWilliam's Mount Pleasant Estate is still regarded as on of the great wineries of Australia.

The Lovedale semillon has to be one of the most extraordinary wines available ( and it's not just us who thinks so...). Aging to perfection, the Lovedale and Elizabeth semillons show why the Hunter Valley is synonymous with the best semillon in the world. And the reds are pretty fab too! Anyone who visits the Mount Pleasant vineyard must then read one of the books about it's founder, Maurice O'Shea, who put Australia on the wine map.


Tour de Lovedale
Spend time during your stay joining on the "tour de Lovedale" Follow the food and wine trail where wine, olives and food come together with passion. Visit unique cellar doors and taste quality wines that are not readily available in Sydney. Visit and purchase wine from any four Lovedale wineries and be placed in the draw to win a year’s supply of Lovedale wine. A mixed dozen specially selected by the Lovedale vignerons will be delivered to your door quarterly for the year. Australian residents only. For further information go to www.lovedalehuntervalley.com.au


And there are lots, lots more that we love....please visit wine country website for more