Weekend Escape to the Hunter Valley

John and Katie escape Sydney for the weekend on a long-awaited trip to the wineries of Hunter Valley, the local vineyard region.

Hunter Valley – a wine lover’s dream

A couple of expats we once knew spent a year in Paris without ever going up the Eiffel Tower. Well, we’ve been living just a few hours away from one of Australia’s major wine regions since we moved to Sydney two years ago. In fact, the proximity of Hunter Valley made us even more excited for the move. However, until recently, we never actually made the effort to go.

The Cellar Door tour

That changed a couple of months ago, right after the Christmas holidays. The kids had just left and the house was feeling a bit empty. To beat the blues, Katie suggested we get the map and start planning a holiday, just the two of us. I suggested we open a bottle of wine – one of the last remaining bottles from our frequent trips to the Yarra Valley wineries. In light of our dwindling supply, and because we somewhat fancied ourselves as wine enthusiasts, the focus of our getaway became clear. And that’s how the Hunter Valley Cellar Door tour came to be.

Having pinpointed the wineries we most wanted to visit, we needed a place to stay, preferably one that accepted our Accor Plus card. Katie easily found one that met all her requirements – the Mercure Resort Hunter Valley Gardens A quick call to the reservations service turned into a lengthy discussion on what to do and where to dine in the Hunter Valley region. I simply requested that we leave ourselves some spare time to make the most of the hotel gardens and swimming pool between wine tastings.

A wine-packed weekend

We set off from Sydney in the morning, arriving in time for a leisurely lunch at Elements the hotel restaurant, where we used our dining discount. After settling into our room and taking in the beautiful garden views from our balcony, we set off to visit our first winery, a family-run cellar door a 10-minute drive from the hotel.

The next couple days were a whirlwind of fine wines, gourmet cuisine and rekindled romance. The hotel’s close proximity to the best vineyards in the Hunter Valley region meant multiple visits per day. As the car filled up with cases of wine, we filled our phones with photos of superb Australian landscapes (many taken during a hot air balloon ride arranged by the hotel) and silly selfies (usually taken after many wine tastings).

Each day, as promised, we had at least three hours of spare time to do as we pleased. We spent most of them lounging by the pool, strolling through the Hunter Valley Gardens or getting pampered in the spa. We politely declined an invitation to play doubles on the hotel’s tennis court. We’d already seen the other couple in action and they were far too competitive for us!

Before checking out, we enjoyed one last hour by the pool. We realised we had forgotten to buy postcards – a tradition we like to maintain. No worries, our car could only handle so much extra weight. I’m sure we’ll be back soon for more wine and relaxation in Hunter Valley.