Wine in Regional New South Wales

Not just the Hunter Valley...

Lowe Wines, Mudgee. Image courtesy of visitnsw.com.

New South Wales has fourteen official wine regions, including the world famous Hunter Valley. The other thirteen however are less well-known -- from New England in the north, to Tumbarumba near the Victorian border.  Some such as Orange and Mudgee produce excellent wines, and while they are further away from Sydney than the Hunter, provide a worthwhile visit for those who wish to explore the New South Wales Wineries.  In fact, there are 351 cellar doors open in New South Wales, that’s a lot of road trips!

Anything BUT Chardonnay...

Organic Chambourcin from Tamburlaine Wines. Image courtesy of crackawines.com.au.

The main commercial growers promote a relatively limited range of grape varieties, such as the ones above. Hence the comment by Piggs Peake winemaker, and former chemical engineer Steve Langham, who said to me during my last visit while I tried his rare Wiggly Tail Marsanne  “ABC… Anything But Chardonnay.” Indeed he is right, chardonnay is boring. There are so many different varieties of wine available, most of which are not made commercially. In fact, there are according to the website vinodiversity.com, 150 types of wine grapes are grown in Australia. Wine grapes such as chambourcin, marsanne, zibibbo, and durif are relatively unknown to most Australians. Do go out and try these new varieties. A good place to start would be the Capercaillie Winery in the Hunter Valley, which makes a spectacular chambourcin.  No, its not available at Beer, Wine & Spirits, you have to go there!

Why New South Wales?

New South Wales vineyard. Image courtesy of organicwine.info.

Firstly, the market has not been commercialised to the extent that other states have, in that 75% of all wines made in New South Wales are made by family businesses according to nswwine.com.au, compared to only 33% of the total national production that comes from family businesses. This means more individual, crafted, wines with unique varieties and styles, not wines designed to catch the biggest chunk of the market. New South Wales also has many regions, which are ideal for growing wine, particularly cool climate wines. The Orange Region Vignerons Association notes, for example, that Orange is blessed with ideal grape growing conditions, with cool summers and a dry autumn.  

How do I get there?

Wining & Dining, Hunter Valley style. Image courtesy of  Experience NSW.

The Hunter Valley is a day trip from Sydney, and as an introduction to New South Wales wineries, it is a great way to start.  If you do not have a car, you can cycle through the vineyards, but don’t forget you can still be booked for drink driving. A better alternative would be to join Colourful Trips, which does Hunter Valley Tours for $125 for a day trip. For a longer stay, perhaps a romantic getaway, or to find more information on New South Wales’ wine regions look at visitnsw.com. 

Thanks for reading this blog. Future posts will cover the wines, winemakers, and wine industry of NSW. However, if I stumble across anything wine-related in my blogging adventures that I can't resist, I will blog that too.