Hunter Valley wine days: cellar doors and vineyard lunches

The Hunter Valley sits about an hour west of Newcastle, which makes it one of the easiest wine days you can plan from the coast. It's also Australia's oldest wine region. According to the region's history, James Busby arrived in 1832 with European grape cuttings, and by 1840 there were vineyards on more than 500 acres. Semillon and Shiraz are the varieties the valley is best known for, and some pre-phylloxera vines planted in the 1840s are still producing today.

Most visitors start with the cellar doors, and the choice is wide. Audrey Wilkinson sits on a hill along the Brokenback ridge, with 360-degree views over the vineyards. The seated tasting lasts about an hour, and you can wander through the winemaking museum in the original cellar, where old open cement vats still stand. Tyrrell's is known for some of the oldest vines in production and its Vat 1 Semillon. If you prefer a historic setting, Mount Pleasant pours in the original house, which was reimagined by architect Luchetti Krelle, and Gundog Estate runs its cellar door out of the old Pokolbin School House. Families with a Scottish connection might like Saltire Estate, where you can take a picnic out onto the lawn.

For lunch, the valley offers quite different styles. 4 Pines at The Farm serves food outdoors under a pavilion with panoramic views, and there's a 12-tap bar if beer is more your thing, or you can have a Semillon on the terrace. Circa 1876, a Hatted restaurant at 64 Halls Road in Pokolbin, is housed in a historic cottage on the grounds of Roscrea Estate. It's open for lunch on Friday and Saturday from 12pm to 2pm, and for dinner from Tuesday to Saturday from 5.30pm to 8.30pm, so Mondays are a no-go. Reservations are essential. According to the Australian Good Food Guide, it earned a Chef's Hat with 12 points in both 2024 and 2025. Further out in the Broke-Fordwich subregion, Margan Wines & Restaurant builds its menu around a one-hectare organic orchard, olive groves and free-range chickens, and its cellar door has been named Cellar Door of the Year in the Hunter Valley. At Bistro Molines, high above Mount View, the French cooking comes with vineyard views and white tablecloths.

If you'd rather not plan the day yourself, Newy Tour Co runs a public Hunter Valley wine tour from Newcastle for A$229 per person. It includes three seated cellar door tastings, an artisanal spirits tasting, a paired product tasting with cheese, chocolate or snacks, and a stop for lunch at 4 Pines, paid separately. The group is capped at 11 people, and non-alcoholic options are available at no extra cost. The company also offers a private version for A$209 per person, where the group chooses the wineries. The tour runs about eight hours, with pickups between 8am and 9am and a return to Newcastle around 5pm.