EVENTS

HERE’S TO MOMENTS THAT BECOME MEMORIES

Enjoy more of what we do best, at one-of-a-kind wine and food events, festivals with real regional flavour, live performances in vineyard ambiance, markets you’ll delight in foraging, and fun with a wow-factor for kids.

WITH BUDBURST COMES CONCERT SEASON IN SPRING

– Thrill to the air of anticipation that arrives with Spring sunshine, grape vines bursting to life, and the return of the concert season. Think beer and blues, gin and jazz, seeing rock legends under starlit skies, and symphonies alfresco with a signature Hunter Valley Semillon in hand. THE VINTAGE BUZZ BRINGS SUMMER ALIVE – Arguably the most exciting time to immerse yourself in intimate events hosted by local vineyards in the throws of vintage, you’ll be spoilt for choice in Summer. Our holiday season highlight is the Southern Hemisphere’s most extravagant display of Christmas lights. EXHILARATING OUTDOOR AUTUMN EVENTS – As the vine leaves turn, a time of celebrating starts, with harvest lunches, must-do masterclasses and cooking workshops that will have you hungering for Hunter-grown produce. WE’RE IN OUR ELEMENT OVER WINTER – That chill in the air is a sure sign it’s time for epicurean adventures in Hunter Valley Wine Country! Through May and June, the allure of a crackling woodfire and iconic Shiraz is made all the more irresistible by the Hunter Valley Wine & Food Festival, with many more events you’ll warm to, all Winter. LOCAL MARKETS ARE A MUST – Who doesn’t love a country market? They are the heartbeat of Hunter Valley villages like Wollombi, Branxton, Broke and Singleton, where you’ll get to know local growers and artisans while browsing well-stocked stalls. You’ll even find some cellar doors among locations for weekly or monthly markets.

DISCOVER OUR CALENDAR OF EVENTS AT WINECOUNTRY.COM.AU/EVENTS

HERE’S TO FAMILY ADVENTURES

Treat the children to a weekend full of fun and new experiences. OUTDOOR FUN AND GAMES – 60 acres of space to run around in the show-stopping Hunter Valley Gardens. Visit the Storybook Garden, jump on the ‘train’ and enjoy the playgrounds at the Shopping Village. Check the calendar for school holiday events. GET ACTIVE – On your bike! Explore the vine-fringed path of Hermitage Road, on a 10km bike friendly pathway. Bring your own or hire an electric bike. SWEET SPOT – Eat your body weight in treats at one of Hunter Valley’s sweet spots – Cocoa Nib Chocolates, Sabor Dessert Bar, Hunter Valley Chocolates and Hunter Valley Cheese Co. CHILD-FRIENDLY CELLAR DOORS – You’ll be happy to know that wine-tasting can be fun for the whole family. Try the Junior Tasting Experience at Tulloch Wines or visit child-friendly cellar doors to keep the little ones occupied. COOKING SCHOOLS – Junior MasterChefs will not be disappointed. Learn how to make pizza, pasta and cheese or discover the provenance of local produce with educational garden tours. DAY ON THE GREEN – Tee off with 18 holes of putt-putt on the miniature greens or whack a few floating golf balls into the lake.

GIDDY UP – Saddle up and soak in the views with a gentle horse ride between the vineyards and the bush. Or hit the region’s biggest go-kart racetrack or take a Segway tour.

GET UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH WILDLIFE –

Daily shows and animal encounters await at the handson Hunter Valley Wildlife Park. BALLOONING – A magical experience high above the vines for the whole family!

Let time stand still. Enjoy an escape to our slice of paradise at the end of Sweetwater Road. Taste our award winning wines in the cellar door, savour a meal in our restaurant, or relax in one of our luxury cottages. Our Passion. Your Reward. -The Scott Family

Wines - Restaurant - Cottages - Weddings - Functions

www.ridgeview.com.au (02) 6574 7332 273 Sweetwater Rd, Pokolbin 2320 @RidgeView.Hunter RidgeView Restaurant Restaurant: dine@ridgeview.com.au Cottages: sleep@ridgeview.com.au

HERE’S TO THE BIRTHPLACE AND THE FUTURE OF AUSTRALIAN WINE

The Hunter Valley’s enviable heritage of trailblazing viticulturists, winemaking dynasties and iconic wines, is where great Australian grape growing and winemaking all began. The valley’s first small vineyard plots of about 20 acres were planted on the Northern banks of the Hunter River trade route in the early 1820’s. Australia’s first families of wine soon branched out into the surrounding hill country with more than 500 acres of vines and by the roaring ‘20s, had become the bastion of premium wine production.

Nearly 200 years down that winding country road and the pioneering spirit of Hunter Valley Wine Country lives on in an unrivalled class of skilled viticulturists and their winemaking counterparts who are unafraid of pushing boundaries to achieve distinctive wines that are rich in character and regional authenticity, vintage after vintage. To this day, a handful of Hunter Valley estates are privileged to still produce sublime wines from 11 historic blocks of the original plantings, on ancient European root stocks that came over with the First Fleet. These vineyards are all the more rare for having remained unscathed by an outbreak of phylloxera in the late 1800’s which decimated 70% of Europe’s vineyards, making the vines some of the oldest in the world. You can find these prized Shiraz, Semillion and Chardonnay vineyards across the Valley.

The more you discover about Hunter Valley wine, the more you’ll appreciate our torchbearers’ legacy of great Australian winemaking, in every satisfying glass of Hunter Valley wine.

HERE’S TO LEGENDARY DROPS

Here in the Hunter Valley, we don’t make wines en masse. We value quality and character over volume and it shines through in the many extraordinary wines unique to our region. Awarded by the world’s top wine judges and enjoyed by wine lovers across the world, our iconic Semillon is the world’s best. There’s no denying our highly prized old-vine Shiraz has set an enduring benchmark for quality Australian wines and we lay claim to being the birthplace of classy Chardonnay. The trailblazer of Australia’s grape growing and winemaking industry for almost 200 years, Hunter Valley Wine Country has cultivated its own, distinctive pedigree of hand-crafted wine styles, and thanks to the rise of a dynamic new generation of producers, the region’s heart continues to beat for adventurous winemaking that inspires and delights.

Wine tasting in the Hunter Valley is a voyage of personal discovery. With as many as 30 different varietals to be explored, at more than 150 cellar doors in Pokolbin, Lovedale, Mount View, Hermitage Road, Broke Fordwich and Upper Hunter, the real fun is finding out what’s gone into making the wine that peaks your interest. Local vineyards tend to be small to medium producers, so when you can’t decide what you like most about a wine, you’ll have the opportunity to ask the winemaker first-hand, at many of the cellar doors.

Is a wild yeast ferment the secret to that Chardonnay you’re crazy about? Is that French or American oak tickling your palate? Has a particular patch of soil had a bearing on the heavenly aroma emanating from that glass you’re swirling? Expect to feel inspired by wonderfully individual winemaking methods and our absolute passion for provenance. On the hunt for a wine to get dinner conversation going? Choose from dozens of character-laden Mediterranean reds, like Tempranillo, Barbera or Sangiovese, zesty whites like Vermentino or Albariño, or a clean Verdelho.

Looking to cellar some wines? Classic Hunter Semillon, Shiraz and Chardonnay styles are impeccably made to age well and be enjoyed as fully matured wines.

Intrigued by the new wave of wines? Track down our young talent for the magic of boundary-pushing blends, spritz-like wildcards, unfined textures and unbridled creativity.

You’re sure to be surprised and guaranteed to be inspired.

THE HUNTER’S NEW GROOVE

WE TALK TO WINE SELECTORS’ ADAM WALLS AND WILL FIGUEIRA ABOUT HOW THE HUNTER VALLEY IS KEEPING THINGS FRESH.

After almost 200 years of grapegrowing and winemaking, you’d be forgiven for thinking you’d tasted everything that Australia’s original wine country has to offer discerning drinkers. We all know the Hunter Valley classics, after all. Big, bold Chardonnay, medium-bodied Shiraz, and, of course, Semillon you just can’t find anywhere else.

However, a quick chat with Adam Walls – Tasting Panel Co-Chair, and Will Figueira – Tasting Panellist, of Australia’s largest family-owned wine retailer, Wine Selectors, will soon set you straight on why the Hunter Valley is thriving in the contemporary landscape with a fresh and future-focussed perspective. “The Hunter Valley has always been a site of immense innovation,” says Adam (or Wallsy, to his friends). “In fact, the region has diversified itself more than possibly any other region in the country.”

And Adam certainly knows what he’s talking about. Besides heading up the Wine Selectors Tasting Panel

with celebrated winemaker PJ Charteris, he’s a Len Evans Tutorial Dux, wine show judge and wine educator on such popular programmes as My Market Kitchen. He’s been with Wine Selectors the better part of a decade now, whilst Will, a wine show judge and Hunter Valley wine expert, has been with them for five years. The company –a family-owned and operated business overseen by Hunter Valley Living Legend Greg Walls – has been hand-selecting the very best wines from our region for almost 50 years.

PROMISE AND POTENTIAL

Far from being stuck in its old ways, the Hunter is more dynamic than ever and is seeing an emerging generation of winemakers striding forward with confidence. “The Hunter still has young producers being drawn to the region – its prestige and unique character are appealing.” says Will. “And then there’s the younger generation of established Hunter Valley names who we are seeing flourish – the likes of

Chris and Jane Tyrrell, Alessa and Ollie Margan, Sally and Jerome Scarborough, and Usher Tinkler.”

Adam emphasises that it’s a place that boasts an unrivalled fusion of tradition and experimentation, with both historic names and smaller, eccentric labels turning out exciting wines that are turning heads in the industry – and winning awards around the world.

“There’s been a very smooth changing of the guard here, and the younger generation has become better at telling the stories of the region,” says Adam. “The classic varieties are still revered and respected, but there’s a greater willingness to evolve and experiment with old favourites, to meet the demands of changing consumer tastes.”

One such example is Shiraz Pinot, an older-style blend made legendary in the 1950s and 1960s by Hunter Valley winemakers like the inimitable Maurice O’Shea of Mount Pleasant. It is back in a big way, according to

Adam, embraced once again by Australian drinkers looking for a classic dry red.

PRODUCING THE GOODS

New wave wines are also making a big splash in the Hunter. “Newer varieties like Vermentino and Sangiovese are being planted and are proving perfect for the region’s climate – and a massive hit with wine lovers,” Adam says. “It’s part of a broader movement which is highlighting the many great vineyard sites here and what grows best in them.”

Exciting new trends and innovations aside, the classics haven’t been forgotten and continue to make their mark. “Tyrrell’s 2013 VAT 1 Semillon won both Best Wine of Show and Best White at the Sydney Royal Wine Show in 2021,” explains Will. “This demonstrates how relevant the Hunter continues to be – not only finishing a step above all White wines in show, but also all Red, Sparkling and Rosé.”

For a region that produces such impressive wines, the Hunter Valley has had its fair share of challenges in recent years, with the 2020 bushfires, 2021 floods and an unseasonably wet 2022. Will points to the region’s resilience in the face of adversity, evidencing three strong years of winemaking in 2017, 2018 and 2019, despite experiencing very dry conditions, proving its ability to come back bigger and better.

With so much happening in Hunter wine, it can be hard to experience everything it has to offer. That’s what makes Wine Selectors’ Hunter Valley wine subscriptions so fantastic – each dozen you get showcases the sheer diversity and quality of the Hunter’s great varieties, vineyards and winemakers, making it easy to explore both the heritage and innovation of the wine scene that continues to thrive along the Brokenback Range. There’s no better way to discover anew the charm of Hunter wines than with Wine Selectors. After all, the business sprang from these blessed soils.

In fact, a fresh box from Wine Selectors has just landed on our doorstep, so you’ll have to excuse us… we have some research to catch up on!