A Weekend in the Hunter

The Hunter is the closest serious wine country to Sydney. Two hours north, a fast freeway, then the sudden left turn into Pokolbin where the road narrows and the soil turns red. The valley has been making wine since the 1830s, and Semillon since before half the famous European varieties had names. The kitchens have caught up with the cellar doors. The accommodation has caught up with the kitchens.

Spring and autumn are the proper seasons. Summer crowds out the cellar doors with bus tours; winter shortens the days and the views with them. April through May, and August through October, the valley operates at the pace it should: long lunches, golden light by four in the afternoon, the producers themselves in the tasting rooms.

The trip below is what we would do for a couple's weekend. Two nights in a private vineyard property, a morning at one historic cellar door, an afternoon at another, a long lunch at the on-site restaurant with the best estate kitchen, and a second night with a private chef cooking in the rental. We have skipped the obvious destination wineries the bus tours fill; the four below are the producers a Hunter person actually visits.