Day 24 - Wine O'Clock

Whilst in the country that produced some of Clackeys favourite new world wines, it seemed too good an opportunity to miss. So we jumped in Bruno and headed north of Sydney to the Hunter Valley.
We decided that given we didn't have much time we'd pop into the info centre for some advice. After a quick chat, some pointing at/circling places on a map and picking up a handful of leaflets we had a plan. As we headed to the main road, which boasted several cellar doors, Clarkey spotted De Bortoli. De Bortoli make 2 or 3 bottles of wine that we are guilty of drinking in the UK, mainly Willowglen, a fav of Jules and Bev on their trips to Prima, and Deen, and favourite of Vix and Dave.
The De Bortoli cellar was quite expansive, a mix of bottles and barrels of wine made in both the Hunter Valley from the crops we could see ripening in the surrounding fields and the Yarra Valley region further south in Victoria.
A quick discussion ensued around who would be driving back.....Clarkey won!
We sampled 3-4 wines at De Bortoli before purchasing a bottle of Vat 184 and setting off for the next winery. We pulled in at McGuigan, a very well known and award winning winery. It was busy and too commercial so after a quick once around we made our way to Pokolbin, 1/2 a mile down the road. This was a smaller company and very much more 'wine maker' rather then 'mass export business'.
The bar man at Pokolbin was probably please to have someone to talk to so was very attentive and full of information as we sampled their produce. The cellar door bar was all polished and shiny with marble and granite and the wine was much the same. Very clean, deep and complex flavours with a delicate finish. We bought a bottle of Bela Rosa, a light red that should be chilled to serve.
Our final shop was at Draytons. The Draytons have a big dynasty in the region with 5 generations in the main winery and several cousins and obscure relatives in the neighbouring vineyards.
A very helpful student was able to educate us around the produce Draytons had to offer. Being originally from Birmingham he chatted to us about home too. Clarkey LOVED the sound of his job!
Once we'd drunk as much as we could (Holly's legal driving limit) we made our way back to Manly. We changed and decided on a Moroccan eatery and house special meats to finish the day.