January Wine Weekend | FindPenguins

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Trip start
January 25, 2023
January Wine Weekend Naomi Pasilow
Chillin on Australia Day
January 26, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C
We had an easy walk down to breakfast with a view (tough life I know) and it was a similar layout and choice of food to the breakfasts we had in the hotel in London.

This morning the Valley was misty then it cleared to change to heat with sunshine 🌞 then storms are predicted for this evening. A familiar summer's day that I am used to.

The resort has a pool however I may wait until later once the sun starts to lower down.

We visited the following places today: Hunter Belle Cheese, De Iulius Wines (pronounced de ooolius), Hunter Distillery, Hunter Valley Gardens shopping centre including Small Mouth Vodka, British Lolly Shop, Gigi Chix French patisserie (David's icecream) and lastly the Hunter Valley Chocolate Company then The Fat Cow fo more cheese tasting for David.

My thanks for David being the designated driver and it will be my turn on Saturday. We survived the 38° C heat better than we thought.Read more
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January Wine Weekend Naomi Pasilow
Fancy Dinner for Two
January 26, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C
A lovely meal at the resort whilst the sun goes down. The fine dining food was lovely however not enough because we failed to have lunch.

We are now at the bar/bistro (separate to fine dining) having an entree and dessert to "fill the void". The good news was the garlic bread turned up after 50 mins and we gave up waiting for the creme brulee after 60 mins. We voiced our displeasure to the staff in the open kitchen and at reception on the way out. We didn't care what happened after that and we went back to our room.Read more
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January Wine Weekend Naomi Pasilow
Chauffeured Wine Tour
January 27, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
De Iuliis Winery was our first stop with a behind the scenes visit and the dog with a grape addiction. We were fortunate to see the pallets of just picked grapes arrive and the beginnings of the processing.

Lunch was had at the 4 Pines Brewing Company with a deconstructed taco however I enjoyed the Hunter Farm Mosacto better.

Last stop at the Hunter Distillery and this time I will try the liqueurs. Hubby will try the gins.

Today's tour was run by Hunter Valley Signature Wine Tours and most of the bus passengers came up from Sydney this morning. Thanks for a lovely day.Read more
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January Wine Weekend Naomi Pasilow
Brokenwood Tour
January 28, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
David will be tasting today and I will be the designated driver. It is nice to repay the favour after he drove us around Mudgee.

Brokenwood was founded in the 1970s by three solicitors who couldn't find a decent drop of vino in Sydney so they started their own vineyard in the Hunter Valley. It is named after the land was cleared and all that was left was broken wood.

A lovely tasting with accompanying canapes which added to the flavours of the wines. I was just smelling them, not imbibing.

Our guide, Ash was very knowledgeable and a pleasure to meet. We had a chance to see the winery and even eat some Shiraz grapes straight off the vine. One of the ladies in our group unfortunately stepped into some deep mud on the way to the shiraz vines and ruined her lovely sandal however she eventually saw the funny side of her mishap later, before the group went their separate ways.Read more
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January Wine Weekend Naomi Pasilow
Picnic among the Vines
January 28, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C
Our next tour is at Audrey Wilkinson Vineyard and we made the mistake of thinking Audrey was a female.

David enjoyed the tasting and we agreed we liked more than one of the same wine (I was just smelling the wine again). I was surprised to like their Cab Sav and David enjoyed the sweet wine. Our group included a newly minted engagement for two lovely gents and I was genuinely happy for them.

After our tasting we were given our picnic blanket, basket of food and a bottle of our favourite wine from the tasting. David didn't want to open the Cab Sav we chose because his head was swimming a little by then. Despite the peak heat of the day we enjoyed the view.Read more
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January Wine Weekend Naomi Pasilow
Oishi Restaurant at the Roche Estate
January 28, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C
Dinner for two outside the resort complex and dining inside to escape the heat. This restaurant offers Japanese and Thai cuisine.

David had sashimi and I had a sushi plate. The fish was so fresh and it felt like biting into butter because it was so soft. The main for Hubby was teriyaki chicken with steamed rice and miso soup. Miso and Hubby do not agree with eachother so he gave that a miss.

For me it was sesame beef with steamed vegetables and rice. I hadn't eaten so many vegetables this week so it was a treat and the meat was once again tender and juicy.

At the end of the meal I took some pics however our energy levels were starting to wind down despite the food injection. It has been a long, very hot day and we are drinking so much water. I am glad it is not raining and it feels like a summer that I recognise. Next time we visit we may visit again towards the end of February.Read more
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January Wine Weekend Naomi Pasilow
Homeward Bound
January 29, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C
A quick purchase stop at Brokenwood and De Iuliis wineries and we now have enough until the October long weekend. We wanted to visit Bimbadgen Winery however it didn't open until 11am. Instead I took a picture of the great view and retreated back to our car's aircon.

Some pics and videos from the drive home and we safely arrived to a much lower temperature than what we left behind.Read more
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Trip end
January 29, 2023