Hunter Valley
Wine Country · Relaxed · Good for couples
The Hunter Valley is Australia's oldest wine region, about two hours' drive north of Sydney. Vines have grown here since the 1820s, and some of the country's best-known winemaking families have worked this soil for generations. Spend your days drifting between cellar doors, tasting the valley's signature semillon and a shiraz made from some of the oldest vines in the world. Most cellar doors are happy for you to walk straight in. Pack a picnic for a hilltop cellar door with views across the vines, or float over the vineyards at sunrise in a hot-air balloon. With well over a hundred wineries spread across the valley, it's worth booking a tour or choosing a designated driver, so everyone can enjoy the day.
Highlights
- Muse Restaurant - The Hunter's benchmark, and the region's go-to for a special occasion since 2009. Troy Rhoades-Brown has held two chef's hats here for a dozen years running, cooking contemporary Australian that leans on his own garden and growers he knows, with technique and restraint rather than trickery. The room is all glass walls, high ceilings and a fireplace, with the kitchen visible from the tables and a sommelier to walk you through the wine, including plenty from Hungerford Hill next door. Book well ahead.
- Hunters Quarter - Elegant but unstuffy dining at the Pooles Rock vineyard on De Beyers Road, with a glass-walled room and a terrace looking over the vines. Brian Duncan cooked at the Dorchester and Claridge's in London before moving his family here in 2016, and his kitchen keeps things simple: first-class local produce, bright flavours, precise technique. The à la carte runs to three courses with a degustation option, and there are dedicated vegan and children's menus. Tables are generously spaced and the room is built to stay quiet, so you can actually hear each other. Wine is mostly local.