Good life guide to the Hunter

Hunter Region - Good life guide to the Hunter

If you could package the best from the major wine-growing regions of the world, then drop it just a couple of hour's drive from Sydney, you would have the Hunter Valley.

The Aboriginal people, generally known as Kooris in NSW, are believed to have inhabited parts of the Hunter at least 20,000 years ago. European history of the Hunter Valley began early and Newcastle was founded in 1797, the Great North Road eventually linking Sydney Cove with the Hunter. The Hunter Valley stretches 160 kilometres inland from Newcastle, the wine country tending to be drier than the coast and cooler at night. As one of Australia's premier winegrowing regions, renowned for the quality of its wines, there are dozens of wineries, large and small, scattered throughout the region. You need to schedule a long stay or several shorter visits to adequately check them all out - because that also means sampling the wines.

Wine goes well with celebrations, so it's inevitable that wine growing regions are great party places. Concerts, fairs and festivals fill the Hunter's calendar of events and are as welcomed by the locals as visitors. People who work so hard, they reason, need ways to unwind. The Hunter Valley Harvest Festival in April celebrates the end of the heaviest work. The region's wine show is held in August, and the many small winemakers have their own show in October which is also the time for jazz concerts and opera recitals in the vineyards.

Although the Hunter is close enough to Sydney to make a day trip possible, there is hardly any need to rush the experience as now there is a full range of accommodation in the area, everything from bed and breakfasts to five-star resorts, backed by great places to eat ranging from cafes to fine dining.

The Hunter Valley Cheese Company located next to McGuigan Bros at Pokolbin, or Harry's Picnic Shop at the Small Winemaker's Centre, are ideal spots to pick up some cheese, bread and an antipasto tray - and some wine of course - and head for the hills.

The Hunter is the oldest, and one of the best known wine-producing regions in Australia. The 85 plus wineries are noted for rich full-bodied wines - primarily semillon, shiraz and chardonnay wines with some verdelho, traminer and merlot. There are currently 4,000 hectares under vine in The Hunter, an increase of 33 per cent since 1989. The retail value of wine produced in 1998 was $200 million with 33 per cent exported. Chardonnay now accounts for 43 per cent of the Hunter wine grape production. The latest details of all wineries in the area are available from the Cessnock Visitor Information Centre.

As you travel around the area, you will feel like you are driving through someone's cellar, as names such as Tyrrells, Wyndham Estate (established in 1828), Scarborough, Tamburlaine, and Lindemans, McGuigan Bros, Rothbury Estate or Rosemount Estate keep popping up. If time is a problem, the Small Winemakers Centre, also in Pokolbin, is ideal for those who prefer tasting prestige wines from the smaller hidden wineries, without extensive travelling. Visitors can compare the varieties from the pick of each winery.

Once your tastings are finished there is still more, Campbell's Store at Morpeth, near Maitland, is an old brick store and warehouse built in 1850. Today it continues much as always with the addition of arts and crafts, a broom factory and an historic display of old photographs and paintings.

Many wineries have small cafes attached, some have full restaurants. Casuarina Restaurant and Country Inn, Chez Pok at Peppers Guest House or Roberts at Pepper Tree are close to the action in Pokolbin. A little further afield there are bed and breakfasts such as The Table, at Greta, or the Old George and Dragon at East Maitland, which also serve top-class full dinners. The local Tourist Information Centres have full information.

A place for all seasons, the Hunter Valley keeps people coming back time and again. Like a good wine, as the region matures, it becomes even more delightful.