Day 22: Hunter Valley

Yay! tasting day! We (well Cait actually) have worked out where we're going and we set off at the leisurely time of 10am (which a coffee stop turned into 11). First stop McGuigans for the tour, which turned out to be a non-starter because they didn't take kids under 10 - doh! Good wines though so we hang around and glug for a while. There's s cheese place next-door which Cait reluctantly enters (being a hater of the stuff). The 1st words out of her mouth "it's not stinky enough!" (there's no pleasing some people).












Sarah is getting a taste for reds...








Then to Audrey Wilkinson. Nice views and friendly taster staff mean we drink a lot and buy some sparkling red (it's actually quite good before you scoff and will open it around Axel and Sarah's in Sydney next week).

Then on to Tyrrells. An Australian family owned winery since 1858. Bruce Tyrrell, the head of the operation is behind the counter serving customers. More tasting and a long-ish tour. The tour guide is very informative and its a lot of information to take in. Some facts we did remember, Hunter Valley only produces about 2% of ozzie wine. The majority of the grapes used in Australian wine production are grown in western Australia under irrigation.The domesticated vine originated in Georgia and my poor brain can't remember much more. The kids are exceptionally well behaved given the heat and subject matter, although there is a promise of a visit to a chocolate factory later in the day if they behave. The most amusing part of the tour was when the guide asked the group if we've ever heard of T-bagging. This got my attention and I boomed a "yes!" Cait jabbed me in the ribs before I could go on. The guide was talking about putting bags of wood chip into the wine to flavour it (during the Chardonnay boom in the 80's) I still think the image I had of people flavouring the wine is a lot more amusing!

Sarah at the tasting waiting for more...

















Lunch - not great. (I took a few bites of my chicken wrap and had to put it the bin /C.)

Chocolate factory - not great either. Think more 'expensive shop' than factory, but there's plenty to sample and the kids are happy. They practically bounced around the whole place from the moment we entered the carpark!

They basically do 4 things around here; wine, cheese, chocolate and gourmet food. If I could have swapped the kids and Cait McCan for Paul McCan then it wouldn't have taken me more than a couple of days to build up a good layer of 'insulation' ready for the less than welcoming return climate.




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Location:Hunter Valley