Australia…where to go in wine country?
Australia…it’s the other side of the world and a day away. Far from our normal life. A place where they drive on the other side of the road and sit on the other side of the car to drive. Where the signs on the road tell you to watch for kangaroos and wombats. But…the language is the same, well, mostly. The slang can be a bit of a hang up to translate.
In October, we got on a plane for the short (that’s sarcasm) flight to Sydney. Our destination was the Wine Media Conference in the Hunter Valley which is north of Sydney, but we flew in early to visit a bit more. Mind you Australia is a large country, almost as large as the US, so we focused on the region of New South Wales which surrounds Sydney and of course, primarily, we were looking at the wines of this region.
We visited 5 of the 14 wine regions in New South Wales: Shoalhaven Coast, Southern Highlands, Mudgee, Hunter Valley and Orange. These are the regions closest to Sydney. A little further north on the coast takes you to Hastings River, then even further north and inland you find New England. Inland to the West of Sydney (and mostly to the south) you find the regions of Cowra, Hilltops, Gundagai, Canberra District, Tumbarumba, the tiny Perricoota and the really large Riverina. We would have needed far more than 2 weeks to explore all these regions.
Mudgee Region
Mudgee is a wine region in New South Wales. It sits inland from the Blue Mountains and on the West side of the Great Dividing Range. The city is the 2nd oldest settlement West of the Blue Mountains, established in 1838.
In the 1870’s two gold rushes swelled the areas population. The downtown area is picturesque with plenty of heritage listed buildings. It is a great place to stroll and enjoy the shops and food, but don’t miss getting out of town to the surrounding vineyards.
The name Mudgee means “nest in the hills” in the aboriginal tongue. The name comes from the perimeter of hills that create a “nest”. Grapevines were first planted here back in 1858 by German settlers. Most vineyards are found on the gentle slopes, where you get beautiful vistas. This nest does have it’s downfalls as it can have frost prone pockets.
We drove through the Great Dividing Range from the Hunter Valley to get here and the climate here is very different. There is no maritime influence and bud burst is later here due to the cold nights.
Rainfall is lower here. If you are aware of the bush fires and the current severe drought being felt across New South Wales, you realize how much of an issue that is. Irrigation is essential here, and with the drought they are running low on water to irrigate with.
Mudgee Region
New South Wales
- Big Rivers
- Murray Darling
- Perricoota
- Riverina
- Swan Hill
- Central Ranges
- Cowra
- Mudgee
- Orange
New South Wales
- Hunter Valley
- Hunter
- Broke Fordwich
- Pokolbin
- Upper Hunter Valley
- Hunter
- Northern Rivers
- Hastings River
- Northern Slopes
- New England Australia
New South Wales
- Southcoast
- Shoalhaven Coast
- Southern Highlands
- Southern New South wales
- Canberra District
- Gundagai
- Hilltops
- Tumbarumba
- Western Plains
Western Australia
- Greater Perth
- Swan District
- Swan Valley
- Peel
- Perth Hills
- Great Southern
- Albany
- Denmark
- Frankland River
- Mount Barker
- Porongurup
- Southwest Australia
- Blackwood Valley
- Manjimup
- Margareet River
- Pemberton
Southern Australia
- Adelaide
- Barossa
- Barossa Valley
- Eden Valley
- High Eden
- Fleurieu
- Currency Creek
- Kangaroo Island
- Langhorne Creek
- McLaren Vale
- Southern Fleurieu
- Mount lofty Ranges
- Adelaide Hills
- Lenswood
- Piccadilly
- Adelaide plains
- Claire Valley
- Adelaide Hills
- Far North
- Southern Flinders Ranges
- Limestone Coast
- Coonawarra
- Mount Benson
- Mount Gambier
- Padthaway
- Robe
- Wrattonbully
- Lower Murray
- Riverland
- The Peninsulas
Victoria
- Central Victoria
- Bendigo
- Goulburn Valley
- Nagambie Lakes
- Heathcote
- Strathbogie Ranges
- Upper Goulburn
- North East Victoria
- Alpine Valleys
- Beechworth
- Glenrowan
- King Valley
- Rutherglen
- Northwest Victoria
- Murray Darling
- Swan Hill
- Port Phillip
- Geelong
- Macedon ranges
- Morninton Pennisula
- Sunbury
- Yarra Valley
- Western Victoria
- Grampians
- Great Western
- Henly
- Pyrenees
Queensland
- Granite Belt
- South Burnett
Tasmania
Tasmania
Australia Wine Stories
A Stunning Sunset View at First Ridge Vineyard
It was sunset of our only full day in Mudgee New South Wales. We headed out to meet Col Millot, the Viticulturist at First Ridge Vineyard on the south east side of the Mudgee Valley. While viewing the sunset from their cellar door, we discussed Mudgee, the First Ridge Vineyard site, their wines and soils, […]
Nostalgia in a Wine and Food Pairing with Chardonnay
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Lowe Wine – Drought, Biodynamics and Soil
The drought in Australia fueled the fires we saw the beginning of this year. We talked with David Lowe at Lowe Wine about the drought and about bio-dynamics, a subject you know we are very interested in. The drought in Australia David says that the drought has been very damaging for people who were not […]
An Australian Semillon and Malaysian Noodles
While following our #stayathome orders, we are grateful that there are meal kit delivery services out there, so that we can prepare a delicious fresh meal. We give thanks to those people picking the produce and gathering ingredients to put these kits together and the people who are out there delivering them to us. We […]
Lowe Wine – 2015 Nullo Mountain Riesling
While visiting with David Lowe at Lowe Wine in Mudgee NSW Australia, David poured us a glass of his 2015 Riesling from Nullo Mountain. In addition to the Tinja vineyard where the winery is located and where we were sitting, David gets fruit from Orange as well as from a unique vineyard outside of Rylstone. […]
Lowe Wine – a brief history with David Lowe
Mudgee, it’s a fun name to say. The name of this region in Australia’s New South Wales is derived from the word “moothie” for “nest in the hills” in the Wiradjuri tongue. We drove from the Hunter Valley over the mountains and into this region to speak with David Lowe of Lowe Wine. I asked […]
Exploring New South Wales – Hunter Valley
The Hunter Valley is a large region and holds the lions share of wineries when you look at New South Wales. In this region which covers more than 30,000 square kilometres (that’s over 18,000 square miles) you will find more than 150 wineries and cellar doors. This is the oldest wine growing region in Australia. […]
On Australia – fires and wine
First things first. Many of the wineries and vineyards in Australia have been severely affected by the drought and the bush fires. The best way to help? Get out and drink Australian wine. Some of these vineyards may not have a vintage this year, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have wine. Most have their […]
Mudgee Region with Cara George
While visiting Australia in October of 2019 to attend the Wine Media Conference, we had the opportunity to meet and speak with Cara George the CEO of Mudgee Region Tourism. We visited Mudgee before the conference and soaked in the feel of this wonderful inland town where they are growing so many different varieties of […]
Exploring New South Wales – Mudgee #ouraussiewineadventure
During #ouraussiewineadventure in October we traveled to the Mudgee Region of New South Wales to spend a day exploring the town and the wineries that surround it. Mudgee, through the fires and the drought, is still open for business! From the beginning, I want to acknowledge that they are having a tough year, as is […]
How to measure a year – 2019, specifically..
Years….they used to take forever! No longer. Now they often seem to speed by in a blur. The coming of the New Year makes me nostalgic. I sit warm, happy with a full belly and I remember that this is not to be taken for granted. Time for a little reflection and gratitude. I head […]
National Zinfandel Day with an Aussie Zin from Lowe
Hmm…is that allowed? National Zinfandel Day is celebrated in the US and is supported by ZAP (Zinfandel Advocates and Producers). While the majority of Zinfandel is grown in California, where it arrived around 1850, it can be found around the world. You’ll hear about Primitivo in Italy. Is it the same as Zinfandel? Well, they […]
Speed dating for wine – Red Wine Social at the Wine Media Conference
Red Wine Social. It’s organized chaos. Go ahead, look at the video first and see what we are up against! 10 wineries, 5 minutes each. For them: 5 minutes to give us the elevator schpiel on their winery and wine and pour for a table of 5 to 10 people. For us: 5 minutes to […]
Exploring New South Wales – Shoalhaven Coast & Southern Highlands #ouraussiewineadventure
Australia…it’s the other side of the world and a day away. Far from our normal life. A place where they drive on the other side of the road and sit on the other side of the car to drive. Where the signs on the road tell you to watch for kangaroos and wombats. But…the language […]
Dean – CGC Wine reporter at Large – from McLaren Vale Australia
I had a brief remote trip to McLaren Vale wine country the other day via my wine drinker in the field Dean! I was sitting at work when fantastic photos started popping up in messenger. Dean is in Australia touring with Cirque du Soleil and had a little time off. He is not a “wine […]