Pokolbin Favorites

Favorite thing: Wine tasting,.. ha...the best bit. We had our own private room and I learnt lots. The most amazing thing I learnt was how to bring the aroma out in wines. You know how you see the poshy wine conasours smelling the wine and swirling it around in the glass etc... Well I learnt that if you take a red and put a bit in the glass then smell it. Well that's ok... (big deal you say!!) Then swirl it around in the glass for a bit and smell it again. And guess what? The aroma is so much more stronger! Well I was amazed!! Yep, give it a try! I think you'll be as pleasently surprised as I was. Here is the wine tasting room. (I think Jesse was more amazed at the lights than the wine...haha)

Favorite thing: The Hunter Valley countryside is really pretty. Apart from the vines everywhere, there is pockets of natural Australian bush and lots of nice dams. Here is the view looking down from The Mill, a nice restaurant we went to across the road from our accommodation.

Favorite thing: We did a wine school at the Hunter Valley Resort where we stayed for the week.
Here is a pic of a big vat in which white wine is kept. Young whites are matured for about 6 weeks. Reds take much longer and they do them in oak casks.

Favorite thing: Here are the vines, just pruned. It's June, winter time and we learnt that the vines bud in September. Then the vines are individually looked after, making sure they trail over the wire so that the grapes hang down. Picking season is in February/March.

Favorite thing: Here is a map of the Hunter Valley - 3hrs north of Sydney. You can do the wineries here on a day trip from Sydney or do what we did, stay for a week and savour the great wines, cheeses, food, gardens and countryside in the area. I have lots of lovely memories of the Hunter Valley to share with you and I hope my tips are helpful.

Favorite thing: This is a shot of Tempus II, at the time of writing the latest in a now long line of new wineries in Australia's most popular wine tasting area. While others have evoked the traditional or rural styles, this one has opted for a different direction and stands in contrast to some of the others nearby.
It is linked to a famous wine family called McGuigan. The daughter had been dragged back to Pokolbin after a successful career in catering and starting pushing a particular wine brand. Unlucky. The French to offence to the fact that it was one of their traditional names and slapped a writ on her thus condemning 2 years of work. Almost, but not quite daunted, she carried on and thus was born Tempus Two (second time, get it?).

Fondest memory: I can still vividly remember when Pokolbin Estate was built back in the late 60's. Thinking how modernistic it looked and what a dramatic bit of architecture it was.
In the new millenium it doesn't even rate a sideways glance, such has been the development of Pokolbin. With each passing month some new edifice arises to entice the eye, soon to be outdone by another just down the road.
From corrugated iron roofs supported by wooden posts to the type of building you see today has all happened in the space of 40 years. From a backyard industry to a thriving, internationally renowned business, this has been the story of Australian wine and has changed its drinking habits irrevocably.

Favorite thing: The vineyards are where people come to relax and enjoy cuisine and wine. Some also choose to take the relaxing even further and jump in a hot air balloon, ride a bike or get in a cart behind a horse.
If you want to do the balloons then balloons@balloonsaloft.com would be the quickest way to get your info.

Fondest memory: Every time I go up there I see one of these liveries trotting around and you can't get anything much more serene than a good ole draught horse towing you around the vineyards on a balmy spring day.
This is what the drivers and horses do while the passengers are in buying wine. It's a hard life, but some one has to do it!

Favorite thing: There's lot of chances to get some good shots off around Pokolbin, either the background of the Broken Back Range, the lovely variety of architecture or the floral highlights.

Fondest memory: Since the Hunter Valley Gardens have opened, they have really put all other horticultral efforts into second place. This particular shot is taken in the shopping area adjacent to the gardens, also owned by Roche. It is a particular favourite of mine as the lily pad seem suspended in mid air.