What's Happening 19-21 August

The chill has come off the Hunter air somewhat over the past week, which means Spring is just round the corner, yay!

If you're heading to the Hunter this weekend, here are a few things to add to your 'to-do' list!

Saturday 20 August - Winter Indulgence, a 5 course degustation @ Margan, Broke (http://www.margan.com.au/restaurant/)

Saturday 20 August - Dine with the Godfather of Australian cuisine, Tony Bilson, @ Tower Estate (http://www.towerestate.com/)

Saturday 21 August - Vertical Aged Shiraz Private Tasting @ Waverley Estate (http://www.waverleyestate.com.au)

Now Cam and I just need to see if we can clone ourselves so we can go to both the Margan & Tower dinners on Saturday night!

What's Happening 16-17 July

As you may have noticed the Hunter Valley Grapevine has been a bit quiet of late, Cam and I are organising our engagement party to be held in Pokolbin next weekend, so we have been a bit strapped for time.  For the next couple of weeks we will list some info each Friday re what's on in the Hunter.  We look forward to getting things back to normal around the middle of August, when we will get back into the swing of our regular reviews and information. Thanks for your patience!

What's on this coming weekend, 16-17 July in the Valley:

1 July - 31 July
Christmas In July at Esca Bimbadgen

Embrace the frosty weather at Esca Bimbadgen restaurant during July for a mid-winter festive feast celebrating Christmas in July.
Executive Chef Ebonnie Newby has created a Christmas inspired menu with a distinct local style.

Entrée
Prawn cocktail of Manning River prawns, verjuice dressing and lemon aioli
Matched with 2010 Estate Semillon

Main
Five spice roasted pork belly, caramelised apple, micro turnips
Matched with 2009 Estate Shiraz

Dessert
Treacle pudding, gingerbread soil, vanilla bean ice-cream, brandy anglaise
Matched with 2006 Botrytis Semillon
$55 per person or $70 with wine match

Christmas in July Menu available for lunch or dinner throughout July in addition to Esca’s regular menu. Bookings essential by contacting Esca Bimbadgen on 02 4998 4666 or email esca@bimbadgen.com.au

So if you're coming up to Pokolbin, be sure to head out to Bimbadgen Estate, the views are amazing!

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

Flavourfest @ Hunter Valley Gardens - 11-13 June

This coming long weekend the Hunter Valley Gardens are hosting FlavourFest, we attended the inaugral FlavourFest in 2010, and it was a great day out, over 6,000 people attended over the 3 days.

From the HVG Website - The festival features fine food, exquisite wines, exotic tastes, deluxe merchandise and inspiring music - showcasing the flavours, luxuries and sounds of the Hunter and beyond....

Also featuring Celebrity Guests, cooking demonstrations, seminar sessions, entertainment, wineries and restaurants, cocktail flaring showcases, Kids in the Kitchen and exhibits packed with tasty offerings, fresh produce and specialty merchandise.

Come ready for a weekend of culinary, wine, taste and music delights, all set inside Australia's Largest Display Garden. 

The Celebrity Chef's are a big attraction, last year we sat in the 2nd row of a couple of celebrity chef 'shows' and really enjoyed them.

This year the chefs include:

Peter Everett - not a chef, but host of Ready Steady Cook
Alvin Quah - 2010 Masterchef favourite
Callum Hann - 2010 Masterchef favourite
Janelle Bloom - Ready Steady Cook

Alvin Quah (photo source)

Callum Hann (photo source)

Other attactions include cocktail making shows, a Marketplace showcasing local produce, Beer Wine & Cocktail Hall, Eat Street and Flavours of the World, Eat to the Beat Concert Stage, Bar-Be-School Seminar, Art Exhibition, Kidspace, Kids Show with Miss Fruitcake, Kids In The Kitchen.

The bonus is not only do you get all the above Foodie attractions, you can explore the amazing Hunter Valley Gardens, entry price for FlavourFest is $23.50, which is the same price as entry for the gardens, crazy value, 2 for 1!

Last year Mel and I spent around 4-5 hours at FlavourFest then another hour or so wandering the gardens, a great day out.

So if you're coming to the Hunter Valley for the June Long Weekend, be sure to checkout FlavourFest!

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.

What's On In the Hunter

We have just added a new page, where we will list what's happening in the Hunter Valley over the coming months 

What's On In the Hunter Valley - updated 2nd March 2011

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 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,

The Hunter Valley Grapevine Sprouts....

Welcome to the Hunter Valley Grapevine. 

What is the Grapevine? We're hoping it will be somewhere people can visit to access information on the Hunter Valley region, real information, not just the glossy tourist guide type information.

We have recently setup home in the Hunter Valley, after living in Sydney & Melbourne, and we love the Valley. We moved here for work commitments and we have been were pleasantly surprised by our new home.

We have spent most weekends traipsing around the Valley, on our own, or with friends & family who have come to visit. We have soaked up alot of what the Valley has to offer, and will continue do so.

Which brings us to our blog, we thought there was a bit of a gap in the market. That gap being an honest, unbiased site that gives visitors a true feel for the Valley.

And that's what we're hoping to do. We will be blogging about places we have been, restaurants we have tried, vineyards we have tasted at. And we will be blogging warts and all. We will also list what's happening in the Valley.

So we hope you will stop by now and then, and that will get some worthwhile information from us.

If you're thinking of coming to the Valley, and have any questions, get in contact with us, we'll try our best to help you out.

Or if you're a local business interested in listing information or advertising with us, please get in touch.

Our email is hvgrapevine@hotmail.com

Cheers,