voyages to antiquity - Parallels Plesk Panel

THE WYNDHAM ESTATE is the oldest working winery in Hunter Valley, and its historical
structures will be restored in coming years.
wyndhamestate.com) is the
Valley’s oldest working winery,
dating to 1831. It offers several
notable vintages as well as some
nice historical aspects. (The
ruins of George Wyndham’s old
house are at once beautiful and
heartbreaking, but Operations
Manager Stephen Guilbaud-
Oulton said that funds are
being raised for a restoration.)
The Estate is also working to
repair the Hunter River, which
has been severely damaged by
deforestation and other environ-
WHERE TO STAY
During our visit to the wineries in the area, we
also toured Tower Lodge (www.tower lodge.
com.au), a 12-room Relais & Chateaux property
that must be seen to be believed.
General Manager Andreas Breitfuss
took us down to the hotel’s subterranean
restaurant, Nine, which is only
open on weekends, for a dedicated
degustation menu. Nice Touch: While
the restaurant is open to locals, several
seats are set aside for last-minute guest
dining. Breitfuss said that the hotel will
be doubling in size in the next few years
but will stop at 24 rooms (guaranteeing
that there are never more than 50
guests who need his attention).
12 LUXURY TRAVEL ADVISOR | OCTOBER 2011
mental problems. The hillside
leading down to the mostly dry
river is dotted with new saplings
that, with luck, will bring the
water back to its former state—
in about 100 years or so. The
Estate is a popular choice for
outdoor weddings—we saw
chairs all set up overlooking the
Valley, and it’s hard to imagine
a prettier spot for tying the
knot. Be sure to sample the Bin
555 Shiraz—one of the vineyard’s
most popular options,
and rightly so, we say. (Note:
Bin 555 is also one of the few
Hunter Valley wines we tried
that is available for purchase in
U.S. stores.)
We stayed at the Estate for
lunch and sampled Chef Andy
Wright’s cuisine at Olive Tree
Restaurant (www.theolive
treerestaurant.com.au). The
menu is deceptively simple, with
no more than three ingredients
per dish, but the food is fresh,
locally sourced where possible
and absolutely delicious. (The
steak, served rare with herbed
Luxury travel advisors can reach out to
Breitfuss at andreas@towerestate.com;
011-612-4998-7022.
TOWER LODGE
suites are at
once elegant
and homey.
butter, was especially rich, but
the chicken and chorizo is also a
wonderful option.)
Taking a break from wine,
we spent a nice hour wandering
around the Hunter Valley
Gardens (www.hvg.com.au),
a collection of themed gardens
that are ideal for weddings or
for family outings. While the
elaborate Victorian rose garden
was gorgeous and the Formal
Garden was very impressive,
we were utterly charmed by the
Storybook Garden, which has
sculptures of fairy tale characters
for children to examine. This is
a great option for families and a
good way to take a break from
wine for a few hours.
For dinner, we went for
tapas at Verandah Restaurant
(www.verandahrestaurant.com.
au), where groups can pick
out several options and sample
each. (There were many seafood
options, and the pork belly was
decadent). Be sure to save room
for dessert: The chocolate-andchili
soufflé was divine—the
perfect mix of sweet and spicy.
A stop at Brokenwood
Wines (www.brokenwood.com.
au) gave us the chance to tour
its bottling operations and to
enjoy a private wine tasting with
Operations Manager Grant Radford.
If you are truly dedicated
oenophile, we encourage you to
shell out for the 2007 Graveyard
Vineyard Shiraz—it’s not light
on the wallet, but it was one
of the best wines we tried all
weekend.
Our final stop brought us
to the Tuscany Wine Estate
Resort, a newer property with
great views over the neighboring
vineyards and a casual pet
policy. We lunched at the hotel’s
Mill Restaurant, with some
wonderful seafood creations and
a delicious Sangiovese.
It was a marathon of wining
and dining, but for oenophiles
and gourmands, the Hunter Valley
is a must-visit. �