Suggestions for NZ (pre cruise) & AU (post cruise) wine regions/wineries?

[OzKiwiJJ]

There are some great wineries around Canberra too, although some of them can be a bit tricky to find especially the ones around Murrumbateman.

[vinonme2]

16 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

There are some great wineries around Canberra too, although some of them can be a bit tricky to find especially the ones around Murrumbateman.

So many, many wonderful Australian wines; thank you for the suggestion.  Unfortunately I will not be in the Canberra area. 

[lucymorgan]

On 4/24/2022 at 6:40 AM, vinonme2 said:

So many, many wonderful Australian wines; thank you for the suggestion.  Unfortunately I will not be in the Canberra area. 

That is a shame - as it is becoming a big foodie/wine destination (and only three hours from Sydney) or 30 minutes on the plane 🙂   But I am biaised 🙂 We live in Canberra and have a little farmlet in Murrumbateman - lots of great wineries and cellar doors there.  https://www.visitnsw.com/destinations/country-nsw/yass-area/food-and-wine  

[OzKiwiJJ]

On 4/26/2022 at 12:17 AM, lucymorgan said:

That is a shame - as it is becoming a big foodie/wine destination (and only three hours from Sydney) or 30 minutes on the plane 🙂   But I am biaised 🙂 We live in Canberra and have a little farmlet in Murrumbateman - lots of great wineries and cellar doors there.  https://www.visitnsw.com/destinations/country-nsw/yass-area/food-and-wine  

Is the Murrumbateman pub as good as it used to be? We have a friend that lives down that way but haven't been there for a few years.

[lucymorgan]

19 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Is the Murrumbateman pub as good as it used to be? We have a friend that lives down that way but haven't been there for a few years.

It seems to be.  Still popular with the locals.  There are also quite a few good restaurants attached to wineries and a thriving and growing village community.  Canberra is creeping/galloping closer with lots of new (large) housing blocks attracting people to build 'in the country' only 25 minutes from the centre of Canberra (where we live).  We bought a few acres with an old but cute little house a few years ago because my daughter is horse mad and it will be cheaper to pay the extra mortgage than to agist her horses nearby on full board.   But due to the rental crisis and the virus driven exodus from cities to the regions and because we have great tenants, they will be staying there for a few more years.    

Edited April 29, 2022 by lucymorgan

[vinonme2]

On 4/25/2022 at 10:17 AM, lucymorgan said:

That is a shame - as it is becoming a big foodie/wine destination (and only three hours from Sydney) or 30 minutes on the plane 🙂   But I am biaised 🙂 We live in Canberra and have a little farmlet in Murrumbateman - lots of great wineries and cellar doors there.  https://www.visitnsw.com/destinations/country-nsw/yass-area/food-and-wine  

Did a quick look at the website you mentioned.  I'm almost afraid to read further.

You are breaking my heart!

I know it's mad, but...maybe I'll check into flights. Traveling solo, I am very hesitant doing a 3 hr. drive in an area/country that I am not familiar with. 

[arxcards]

On 4/23/2022 at 12:13 AM, vinonme2 said:

I'll be in Sydney overnight on a cruise in early Feb. 2023 and am considering doing an overnight tour to a wine area. Have been to Hunter Valley about 12 years ago on a private wine tour and honestly was not impressed with the wines, they just seemed too "new" and not quite ready to enjoy. It was a pretty area and we did enjoy the scenery. 

Is the Mudgee area more established? How do the wines/wineries compare with those in Hunter Valley?  

 

 

It would be a shame if you missed Tyrrell's when you last visited. They first planted vines there in 1858, and it has remained in the family the whole time. As with his ancestors, Bruce Tyrrell is as knowledgeable as anyone about Australian wine, and does some masterclasses on some of our local food & wine cruises. Their specialties are Semillon & Shiraz. https://tyrrells.com.au/

 

Free & cheap tastings in most of the cellars tend to offer the cheap & cheerful wines. Some will sell tastings of their better stuff, others don't. As an example, https://www.tempustwo.com.au/ does a $5 tasting session and a $20 one. Much of their range is on the young side, but they do have some more complex ones as well.

 

There is a balance between visiting on a weekend when all the cellar doors are open vs midweek having time to get your questions answered, but most don't have tastings on every day of the week.

 

If all else fails in the Hunter Valley, you could try  https://draytonswines.com.au/collections/fortified/products/dr-jurds-jungle-juice 

if you don't like it, you can also use it as a paint stripper. Seriously though, Drayton's make decent ports.

 

Then again, maybe time to try something new. Lots of other great suggestions already posted.

[lucymorgan]

On 4/30/2022 at 1:38 AM, vinonme2 said:

Did a quick look at the website you mentioned.  I'm almost afraid to read further.

You are breaking my heart!

I know it's mad, but...maybe I'll check into flights. Traveling solo, I am very hesitant doing a 3 hr. drive in an area/country that I am not familiar with. 

Flights are very frequent and only take about 25 minutes but by the time you get to the airport, through security etc it is just about as quick to drive.  It is a great road too - literally three turns and four lane highway all the way from the centre of Sydney to the centre of Canberra.  There are also hourly buses that lots of people take to get down to Sydney for cruises and back and take 3.5 hours (e.g. https://www.murrays.com.au/express-services/canberra-sydney-timetable/)  and the train (which is less reliable but still nice).  Let me know if you do decide to come to Canberra and I can provide more advice.  🙂     

Edited May 4, 2022 by lucymorgan

[vinonme2]

3 hours ago, lucymorgan said:

Flights are very frequent and only take about 25 minutes but by the time you get to the airport, through security etc it is just about as quick to drive.  It is a great road too - literally three turns and four lane highway all the way from the centre of Sydney to the centre of Canberra.  There are also hourly buses that lots of people take to get down to Sydney for cruises and back and take 3.5 hours (e.g. https://www.murrays.com.au/express-services/canberra-sydney-timetable/)  and the train (which is less reliable but still nice).  Let me know if you do decide to come to Canberra and I can provide more advice.  🙂     

Thank you for this information. It's very tempting.......