We stayed at Hermitage Lodge, our balcony overlooking the small vineyard from which they produce their own Shiraz, served in the mini bar and restaurants.
The Hunter Valley is hot. Too hot to grow much Sauvignon Blanc or Cabernet Sauvignon so the most popular grapes are Semillon and Shiraz. While we've been here the temperature has reached 39 in the shade, 45 on the road. Even the locals are struggling.
So the only way to sample the wines on offer is a guided tour. The Vineyard Shuttle Service and they picked us up at 1030, on Tuesday and we saw a total of five wineries.
Hunters Dream has only been open three months in this name having been taken over by a health care company. All their wine is grown and produced on the estate but it is not yet available in shops. Our favourite was the 2016 Trend Semillon, younger than the others, quite green in colour and off dry.
Next stop was Peacock Hill, a boutique winery. Owner Silvie and her husband George raced through their range backed up by some ripe Aussie banter - our favourites were a 70 percent Chardonnay blend called Absent Friends which was all pear drops, Fond Memories, a Shiraz which tasted like coffee and chocolate, and a lovely sparkling Moscato called Stolen Moments.
We stopped at the Hope Estate for lunch. A very impressive place which holds concerts on the lawns, big concerts like Bruce Springsteen. They also have a micro brewery on site and an impressive barrel room but they didn't seem that bothered about their wines.
After lunch Macleishs, a small winery run by a family who left Kilmarnock about thirty years ago. And last stop was a big name, McGuigans. McGuigan crush ten per cent of Australian grapes, but not much of it at their Hunter Valley winery. This where they set up the business in 1992, but most of their wines seen on British shelves come from a huge winery in South Australia. That said, most of the wines we tasted are made in the Hunter Valley, and only on sale there: a non traditional sparkling semillon blanc, Pinot Gris, Shiraz, late harvest Merlot. In all honesty it was hard to differentiate by now, but it was clear they are proud of winning the IWSC winemakers of the year award again in 2016.
Yesterday we took to our own car to head for the hills and soak up some views before racing for the aircon again.
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