What's Happening 09-10 July

Even though it's the middle of a cold windy winter, there is always something happening in the Hunter Valley.

If you are visiting this weekend, a highlights of what's on which may pique your interest:

Indulge Your Senses - 9-10 July
During this exclusive Wine & Chocolate tasting you will be guided through a selection of the finest wines from Wyndham Estate, which will be matched with the new premium chocolate range from Nestle.

Unfortunately we won't be able to attend, due to family commitments, however it is on our 'must-do' list for 2012!

Over the past few wintery weekends, we have visited a few local establishments for a warm lunch:

• Blaxlands Inn - always worth a visit, open fire, great food & service
• Harrigans Irish Pub - can be extremely busy, but if you get a seat near the fire, away from the door, it's a good spot
• Oscars @ Hunter Valley Gardens - good food & service, a bit chilly outside, but great music, a regular haunt for us

Lovedale Long Lunch - this weekend - 14-15 May

Back on 4 March we blogged about the Lovedale Long Lunch. Time has flown, and the LLL is on this weekend, 14-15 May!

We are attending the LLL on Sunday, going by mini-bus with a group of locals, we're very much looking forward to it.

The LLL takes in 7 Lovedale vineyards, and we will be visiting them all, taking notes and photos of what's happening.

Over the coming weeks we will blog about the day in general, and individually on each of the vineyards, so stay tuned!

Lovedale Long Lunch

We are paying to attend the LLL, so there will be no holds barred!

Lovedale Long Lunch

Since we moved to the Hunter Valley in 2007 we have not been able to attend one of the features of the HV Calendar - The Lovedale Long Lunch - due to family births, then birthdays. However in 2011, we will be attending, with bells on!

If you have been to Pokolbin, Lovedale is what Pokolbin probably was 10 years ago, not as full of tourists, and not as many vineyards, but a gorgeous spot, with alot of boutique producers of wine, craft, food, etc. Eventually we want to end up living in Lovedale, on a small farm, lovely!

Lovedale Long Lunch

A bit of background info:

HISTORY

The Lovedale Long Lunch was launched in 1994 to market Lovedale as a premium wine producing area and tourist attraction. Now in its 18th year, it includes seven wineries and vineyards to visit over the Long Lunch weekend.

The Lovedale Long Lunch is a progressive-type lunch where visitors wine and dine their way around the seven participating wineries over the weekend enjoying a glass of wine, gourmet food, fabulous music and art.

WINERIES

The seven wineries participating are:

• Gartelmann Hunter Estate - we have not yet been to Gartelmann, so are looking forward to trying their wines and seeing their vineyard
• Wandin Valley Estate - recently sold, we have been to their lovely restaurant for dinner about 18 months ago, again looking forward to trying their wines, the estate is gorgeous, and a popular venue for weddings
• Sandalyn Wilderness Estate - again we haven't tried their wines, however have had their Shiraz recommended.
• Swish Wine @ Warraroong Estate - on a new estate, which includes a lovely old homestead, looking forward to trying their Sauvignon Blanc
• Emma's Cottage Vineyard - we only recently discovered Emma's Cottage, we received a brochure in the mail for a pizza cafe, and went to check it out, and are so glad we did, the vineyard is lovely, and their dessert wine Perfect, is just that. Katie who is there most days manning the cafe & tastings is lovely. And the art gallery including some gorgeous art by owner Megan Barrass is inspiring.
• Allandale Winery - another on our first time taste list, especially their Verdelho.
• Tatler Wines - we have been to Tatler Tapas for dinner, highly recommended if you can afford a night out at the higher end of the budget, but the food was delicious with great service.

Each vineyard either has their own restaurant, or have paired with a local restaurant, to provide food to complement their wines, either entree/main or desserts.

The cost of the 'LLL Meal and Glass Package' is $42, for that you receive:

• 1 x Lovedale Long Lunch Commermorative Glass
• 1 x Meal Ticket
• 1 x Dessert/Cheese Ticket

The tickets can be used at any venue to exchange for a plate of gourmet cuisine.  If you're still a bit peckish you can buy additional Meal tickets for $25, or Dessert/Cheese ticket for $10 at any venue.

There are several transport options, incuding bus packages from Sydney, and shuttle bus packages from Lovedale/Pokolbin.

For more info on the Lovedale Long Lunch visit http://www.lovedalelonglunch.com.au or feel free to contact us at the Hunter Valley Grapevine, as we will be attending and are happy to try and answer your queries or point you in the right direction.

Family & Wedding Pages added to Grapevine

We have just added another couple of pages:

Family Visits to the Hunter Valley
We will list information relevant for families interested in visiting the Hunter Valley, events that are on and attractions that would be suited to families and kids in particular!

Weddings in the Hunter
With weddings in the Hunter Valley being a very popular choice for many, we thought it would be fitting to add some information on weddings in the Hunter.

If you have heard of something happening and it's not listed don't hesitate to let us know hvgrapevine@hotmail.com and we will add it to the list.

We will be attending as many attractions/events/happenings as possible, and will be reporting back, stay tuned!

If you are a local business interested in advertising your event with the Hunter Valley Grapevine, please get in touch.

Cheers,