Pokolbin Wine Tours from Lovedale
An enticing area, the rambling vineyards and pastures are full of huge mobs of kangaroos and wallabies. The Lovedale Wine District is one of seven that make up the Lower Hunter Valley Wine Region. A great place to combine a relaxing getaway with a Wine tour.
Discover the allure of Lovedale in the beautiful Hunter Valley, a relaxed neighbourhood east of Pokolbin.
Situated only two hours’ drive north from Sydney allowing you to exit the Hunter Expressway at Lovedale Road, and 40 minutes from Newcastle Airport, Lovedale’s winding country roads are lined with tasty eateries (13 at last count) and small, boutique cellar doors, where you can meet the owners and enjoy a more personal experience.
Amazing Things to Do, Places to See.
HUNTER VALLEY GOLF AND COUNTRY CLUB
Set amongst a spectacular backdrop of vineyards and rugged mountain ranges, the Hunter Valley Golf and Country Club located at Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley, is a stunning 18 hole championship course. The fully accredited course measures 5170 metres in length and is suited to golfers of all levels. The impressive layout of the course features a variety of challenging holes that will exceed expectations.
Ubika Spa
Fresh country air, a tranquil ambience and an extensive range of spa treatments make Ubika Spa an unforgettable experience. With our team of professional therapists catering to your every need, your spa retreat at Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley will be an indulgent experience you’ll never forget.
Hunter Valley Reflections Day Spa
Set in the vines at Adina Vineyards, offering an opportunity to enjoy your spa treatments in a peaceful and tranquil setting, ensuring total relaxation.
Hot Air Ballooning
An amazing start to your day is to experiences a glorious sunrise in a balloon high above the vineyards, with several companies to choose from.
Beyond Ballooning
Offering daily hot air balloon rides over the beautiful Hunter Valley whilst providing a superior level of service in order to provide you with the experience of a lifetime. Beyond Ballooning caters for small groups to ensure that every passenger gets the most out of the experience. They offer more space per passenger than any other operator to ensure a comfortable and enjoyable flight.
Wine Country Ballooning
Wine Country Ballooning is the Hunter Valley’s only Boutique balloon rides company. Simple goal to provide the best value flights in the Hunter. Fun, safe and with the most experienced team looking after you.
ART GALLERY – Emma’s Cottage Vineyard
Presented in the gallery is a collection of regular exhibitions of art and handmade treasures from various Australian artists and artisans from the Hunter Valley and, sometimes, further afield.
Cooking Classes
The Major Lanes Cooking School
Want to hone your Asian cooking skills and eat the splendid feast you create? The Major Lanes Cooking School specialises in Asian cookery.
Shopping
Lovedale Smokehouse Gourmet Pantry
For mouth-watering smoked and cured meats, visit Lovedale Smokehouse Gourmet Pantry, which has a cafe and courtyard with sweeping vineyard views.
Hunter Valley Chocolate Company.
You can treat your sweet tooth, too. Lovers of the finest Belgian chocolate will find tempting treats at the Hunter Valley Chocolate Company.
Special Events
LOVEDALE LONG LUNCH
The Lovedale Long Lunch is a progressive style lunch where food and wine lovers are invited to discover the wonders of Lovedale. Each May, a decadent line up of the Hunter Valley’s leading chefs team up with seven of Lovedale’s finest wineries and local entertainment for a weekend of foodie fun.
CRIME SOLVER
Favourite childhood game Cluedo?
Gather friends and family (minimum age 13) , and best investigative minds and submerge yourselves into a problem solving dinner. See who can capture the perpetrator. Use family friendly social media to unravel the clues.
To find out the story: https://www.crowneplazahuntervalley.com.au/hunter-valley/Crowne-Plaza-Crime-Solver
GRAPEST 5K RUN… SIP HAPPENS! HUNTER VALLEY
Enjoy the outdoors? A running enthusiast? Just a fine wine lover?
You can enjoy a 5km or 10 km sunset run followed by a One km wine tasting walk. The “Grapest Fun Run” is for you. With a trail through vineyards who could ask for a more enticing reason to take some exercise?
Held in May, participants will enjoy 4 wine tasting stations with 8 different wines, and live music to boot.
For more information: http://www.centauroutdoorevents.com.au/grapest5krun
Dining Options
Food and wine lovers will be amazed with the gourmet delights in Lovedale. Enjoy vineyard restaurants, smoked delicacies, tempting chocolates and divine desserts served with matching sweet wines.
Lovedale is home to great cafés, home cooking, wood fired pizzas, tapas, seafood, gourmet smoked produce, fine dining and the sweet things of life!
To see exactly the dining experiences on offer check out Lovedale’s own website.
https://www.lovedalehuntervalley.com.au/hunter-valley-restaurants/
Too many to choose from, follow this link to Tripadvisor to read how other diners found what’s on offer.
Some unique dining experiences.
Sabor in the Hunter
Want to combine your dessert with a sticky wine? Then visit Sabor in the Hunter where desserts are matched with sweet wines in a heavenly combination.
Accommodation
Whether you are looking for a romantic escape complete with open fires, pools, spas and stunning mountain views, or a personal touch in a B&B with fabulous home-cooked meals and country hospitality, Lovedale offers a wide selection of luxury cottages, and boutique resorts. They even cater for your family pooch.
For bookings refer to Visit NSW
https://www.visitnsw.com/destinations/hunter/hunter-valley/lovedale/accommodation
Vineyards and Wine Tasting
Now home to some of Hunter Wine Country’s finest winemakers and wineries, many of whom have received 5-star James Halliday ratings, Lovedale was home to some of the earliest vines in the area.
You will experience wines sold straight from the vineyard to you in boutique and family-owned wineries all with a warm welcome. Many cellar doors are open 7 days, other just on weekends, while also offering olive and olive oil tastings along the way.
Open 7 days
Adina Vineyard – wine and olive product tastings. Alongside the vineyard grow rows and rows of olive trees: the fruit is used to produce a wide range of providore; oils, table olives, tapenades, condiments and skin care products. Onsite is Emersons Restaurant, a Day Spa and self-contained accommodation.
Allandale Winery – producers of hundreds of award-winning wines. Wines, produced on-site using state-of-the-art winemaking equipment, are renowned for their distinctive varietal characters and superb balance of flavours. View a working winery encompassing the receival bin, grape crusher, stainless steel tanks and the oak barrel room.
Capercaillie Wines – established in the Hunter Valley by Alasdair Sutherland in late 1995 when he built a small, modern winery on an excellent 20-year-old vineyard. Known for the Gaelic name given to the black woodlands grouse, native to the pine forests of Scotland, the winery has built a firm customer base in domestic and export markets and has gained a reputation as a quality producer with many award-winning wines.
De Bortoli – at the gateway to the Hunter on Wine Country Drive directly opposite Broke Road, the 34-hectare property includes an on-site winery and barrel where the 100% estate grown fruit is processed.
Binet Family Wines – Encompassing Domaine de Binet, a label which embodies the family winemaker’s creative expressions for new world wines, and a traditional hunter label, Ballabourneen by Binet Family Wines. The winery experience is combined with a taste sensation created by Claude’s Gourmet Kitchen, with The Chilli Hunter the hottest place to visit in the Hunter Valley where you can sample the latest range of gourmet chilli products.
Gartelmann Wines – a true family owned and operated winery, producing fine, handcrafted wines with grapes sourced from the Mudgee, Rylstone, Lower and Upper Hunter regions of NSW. Gartelmanns is known for its elegant, quality wines at a reasonable price.
Open weekends
Emma’s Cottage Vineyard – a family owned boutique vineyards in the Hunter Valley, with wines produced using premium handpicked grapes from 2 ½ hectares of vines, nurtured at every step from soil to cellar door. Emma’s Cottage Vineyard, one of the smallest vineyards in the Hunter Valley includes a lovely garden an Art Gallery and delightful cottage accommodation.
Lucy’s Run – with vines siting on the bottom slope of the property, adjacent to Black Creek, Lucy’s is a small vineyard, but considered to be “punching way above their weight”. Fortunate to have three of Hunter wine country’s best-known winemakers working their magic to take their grapes to the bottle, they take great pride in our award-winning Shiraz, Merlot and Verdelho the vineyard is also home to Woof wines, created to support PetRescue.
Midnight’s Promise Estate – Each vintage small quantities of wine are produced under contract by the talented winemakers, and while the cellar door is only open for tasting on public holiday weekends and by appointment, the Estate includes three self-contained accommodation options, all offering luxury, relaxation and seclusion.
Molly Morgan Vineyard – a boutique Hunter Valley vineyard producing hand crafted wines in the heart of Lovedale. Be swept away by the gorgeous views and the friendly homestyle accommodation. Drink in the peace and serenity while tantalising your tastebuds at our cosy Vineyard.
Saltire Estate – Providing a unique glimpse into the world of winemaking, situated inside this industrial winery the Cellar Door allows you to see the very press, tanks and equipment used to make the wine you taste. Head along the lengthy driveway to the winery building and follow the signs to find the Cellar Door inside!
St Clements of Red Hill – a relatively new vineyard with all wines bearing the St Clements Estate Wines label, made from grapes grown on the estate. The home of Lillino’s Trattoria & Bar enjoy the marvellous Italian food and hospitality.
Stomp! Wines – a family owned and operated boutique wine company. At Stomp! Wines, they stomp to the sound of a different drum. Their two stunning contemporary brands, stomp! and Pssst ‘n’ Broke, say it all – relaxed, casual, maybe a little irreverent, but always authentic! Join Stomp for a relaxed, friendly tasting, to share the tastes, sights and people that make their stomping ground unique.
Tatler Wines – a boutique winery located in the heart of Lovedale. With the Brokenback Ranges as a backdrop, Tatler makes a picturesque location for both private and corporate events in the Hunter Valley. The property is a 100 acre working vineyard with 25 acres planted to vines. They have planted the Hunter’s best varieties and can cater for a banquet-style function, or a cocktail-style function in the Tapas Cafe and Alfresco Courtyard. Opened Wednesday to Saturday
Thirsty Palette – a vineyard and cellar door, with excellent vibrancy and health of their vines, This reinvigorated vineyard has views over the vineyards to the Brokenback Ranges which are breathtaking and there is plenty of space for alfresco lunching. So why not bring a picnic and stay a while?
Wandin Valley Estate – this highly regarded Hunter Valley cellar door has a comprehensive tasting of a wide range of wines. The cellar door is housed in the original Wandin winery still complete with gangways and plumbing, A visit to the Estate enables you to be immersed in the art and science of wine and enjoy the sensory experience of the Hunter. Including Wandin Café, Wandin has a reputation for hosting Weddings all year round.
Wirral Grange Vineyard – a small boutique vineyard growing top quality, award-winning pure Hunter Valley Shiraz and delicious Verdelho. Wines can be purchased online only.
A great way to enjoy the views and of course the sensational tastes of what the region offers is to book a wine tour with:
With pick-ups and drop-offs from your accommodation
Whether it’s for a corporate or social event, our Hunter Valley wine tasting tours are the perfect way to experience what the famous wine region has to offer.
Our tours are designed with our guest in mind, keeping it simple so that all you need to do is enjoy the day.
Since 2001, we’ve specialized in guiding small group wine tours through the Hunter Valley. We’re family owned and operated and are passionate about showcasing the beautiful Hunter Valley region and its wines, providing our guest with the ultimate wine tasting experience.
