Aussie Wine Tour - Hunter Valley 03/06

[camduncan]

Last week Jen and I flew down south to Newcastle (approx 200 miles north of Sydney) for a friends wedding.
We arrived a couple of days early and toured some of the wineries in the nearby Hunter Valley. Whilst not a great wine lover, I do enjoy a dessert wine, Muscat or Port... A great time was had by all - we were joined by Jen's brother Ian and we all plan to head back sometime in the near future. Several ports, including a 'white port' were discovered and purchased, as were a few each of different varieties of muscat and dessert wine. Jen being the wine buff that she is, also picked up a few bottles of wine - so many, that we couldn't bring it all home on the plane and had to leave a case of 12 wines with her Mum & Dad)

Oh, and the wedding was a blast as well - a great time was had by all.

Here's a few pictures from/of the wineries for those that may have tasted the wines....

The first is Tower Winery

[camduncan]

Tempus Two winery - we didn't have time to stop here, but the site & building was impressive.

[camduncan]

McGuigan Wines - a long time favourite of Jen's!!!

[camduncan]

Lindemans wines

[camduncan]

Jen and her brother Ian start an early morning tasting at 9am - Scarborough Wines

[camduncan]

Jen at the entrance to Reg Drayton Wines - a small botique winery that had some of the best ports and dessert wines I've ever tasted

[camduncan]

And finally, my product find of the trip - Butterscotch Schnapps with Chilli and Rosemary - simply stunning after-dinner drink....

[camduncan]

The staff thought I'd enjoyed the Chilli Schnapps just a little too much and challenged me to taste their special "chilli paste"
It turned out to be a pure habanero paste - the picture shows me madly gulping down water. It wasn't that it was so hot, but that it caught in the back of my throat as I was trying to talk
Jen cracked up laughing - it's the first time she's seen me affected by chilli...took me about 10 minutes to come good again
Of course, I bought a jar

[jeff]

Thanks for the pictures Cam! Leslie and I are making another trip to the California wine country this summer and your winery shots really got me excited again

We just love Australian wine. The QPR just can't be beat anywhere else in the world IMHO. Jacobs Creek and Lindmans are two of our favorite low-cost everyday wines

[JeffRenner]

We just love Australian wine. The QPR just can't be beat anywhere else in the world IMHO.

I was fortunate to visit several of South Africa's Cape Town wine regions, guided by a South African friend, 18 months ago. It is a stunningly beautiful part of the world.

IMO, the South Africans have even the Ozzies beat on QPR. Because of the aparthied-era trade sanctions, they got a late start on international trade, but some of their wines are making it into the world market. If they ever get up to speed, they will give the rest of the world a run for its money.

Not only are many of the wines of world class quality, in South Africa they are remarkably inexpensive.

Jeff