Hunter Valley wine tour - 2nd Jan 2026

We had an early alarm call at 6am to get ourselves ready and sorted for our day trip to the Hunter Valley, the oldest wine region in Australia.

We set out and caught a bus into the CBD and then had time for a quick breakfast and coffee before meeting our tour bus for a 7:45 departure to the Hunter Valley. The first part of the drive took us back over the harbour bridge and through the suburbs of North Sydney.

After just over an hour we stopped for a 'comfort break' at a motorway service station before carrying on or journey. After about half an hour we left the motorway and started going through the countryside, including a town named Aberdare!

Another 30 minutes later and we were stopping off at our first winery, Sobels. This is a small winery which only sells getting the seller door and after a short tour of the facilities we settled in for the tasting. In all we tried 7 different wines here, from a sparkling white, dry white, reds and a rose.

Having finished there, we moved on to our second stop at 4 Pines brewery. Here we had lunch and then a tasting of 4 wines paired with cheese.

Our third stop was at a place that sold flavoured spirits. We were able to choose 8 (very small) samples of a range of gin, vodka and liqueur, most of which had a shimmering substance added.

Our final stop of the day was to another winery, Polkobins. At this tasting we tried 6 (small) samples of white, red and rose wines with 5 of them paired with chocolates.

This was our last stop so after this it was back on the bus for the return journey to Sydney.

We caught a bus back to the apartment for a shower and then turned back to the CBD for a couple of Friday night drinks although we didn't stay out late.Read more