Sky Thornton_Hunter Valley_Attractions_Sydney Short Term Rentals

3 images

- Hunter Valley

Hunter Valley, located about 160km (roughly 2 hours drive) from Sydney CBD, is New South Wales' largest valley and Australia's most renowned wine region. It's famous for producing notable wines including the crisp Hunter Valley Semillon and rich Hunter Valley Shiraz. With over 120 wineries, it's become locals' favorite leisure destination after the beaches.

Late January marks the beginning of the summer grape harvest season, when the entire valley is enveloped in the aroma of wine. Many wineries offer free tastings to visitors, and you can purchase bottles to take home as gifts for friends and family.

Transportation
Self-driving: Cross the Harbour Bridge and follow signs north to the Pacific Highway. Once on the Pacific Highway, continue to the F3 entrance - National Highway 1, and exit at Cessnock. Follow signs to Hunter Valley Wine Country/Vineyards.

Admission
Free entry to the region
Individual winery visits may require fees

Opening Hours
24 hours (January 1 - December 31, Monday-Sunday)

Tips:
Individual wineries have specific operating hours. Please check their official websites for details.

Sky Thornton Mar 25,2025

We also booked tickets to the Hunter Valley Gardens. The gardens were beautiful, not crowded, with a wide variety of plants - very pleasant.

Hunter Valley: While I'm not much of a wine expert myself, the men in our group really enjoyed it. We visited two wineries and tasted many different red and white wines whose names I can't remember. Still, I found it to be a unique and interesting experience. The winery staff would explain each wine's vintage and food pairing suggestions - there's so much to learn about wine! Plus, the vast vineyards were a feast for the eyes. We heard that in Australia, wines costing just 15-20 dollars can be quite good, so we bought two bottles to drink with our meals. They turned out to be quite nice, and very affordable too.