Enjoying his wine, Steve has long wanted to visit some vineyards in Australia so with Hunter Valley just a couple of hours from Sydney, he had his chance and pre-booked a tour for us to enjoy.

Picked up from the Rydges Hotel above Circular Quay at 7:45am, we joined a group numbering thirteen people in total and set off for the day.  Steve’s photos show that we were enjoying our first glass of Sauvignon Blanc at 10:37am and by 11:18am had finished our sixth, a smooth and quite full bodied Bluegrass Shiraz – on an all but empty stomachs after the smallest of small breakfasts en route!  Each glass was only a taster, but quite a generous one and the wine was far too good to spit out!

This was at Saddler’s Creek Wines, from where we went to the McLeish Estate and another tasting of six glasses that included a very special Cabernet.  Steve was expecting to purchase a bottle of Shiraz at some point to enjoy with a steak for his 60th birthday next year but was so bowled over with this Cabernet that this is what he purchased.

By now 12:30pm, we drove the short distance to Cypress Lakes Golf Resort for a tasty lunch and plenty of natter getting to know each other.  Few inhibitions at this point!

Eagle eyes from one of the group spotted kangaroo as we were leaving, so after a short stop to watch them we went to our next stop; The Cheese Factory on the premises of the internationally known McGuigan Wines.  Five lovely cheeses were on offer to sample – the four in the photo and a bowl of soft cream cheese – but strangely no wine so Steve ordered a glass to enjoy the pairing.

From here we went to our final stop of Ernest Hill wines and yet another six glasses – and more kangaroo as we left.  It could not have been more stereotypically Australian, actually!

Our lovely day was rounded off – just in time for last orders – with dinner in The Meat and Wine Company as described previously.  What a joyful time.

Rennie