I thought to take my parents on a winery tour with my partner. First time for all of us. A great trip and wine experience overall! Ian, our driver, was considerate, clear and on schedule. Without Ian, I believe the tour would not have been as amazing. It was an early start from Potts Point, picked up others along the way to start the tour by 10am at McGuigans Wineries. We were the first there and had a more personal tasting experience with Gale there before all the loud clatter from all the Hens and stag parties came through. The organic family owned Macquaries Winery is our personal best! So picturesque as well. All of them were very good coming from a Wine virgin. Chocolate and Cheese shop, Ian was charmingly able to get us a soft cheese tasting on a busy afternoon. We wouldn't have bought any Smelly Cheese if we didn't. Absolutely tasty! Definetly recommend! Big thanks to Ian for a smooth ride and a generous experience overall! Cheers.

We had an early morning pick up from a nearby hotel at 6.55am for our Hunter Valley Winery Tour. A small group of 14, we hit the highway in a comfortable minibus arriving at Lambloch Winery for a brief lesson on wine tasting. The Pinot Grigio was our pick. A short stop for chocolate tasting which mixed it up a bit then on to our only commercial winery visit, McGuigan Winery, with another informative wine tasting and a purchase of the Tawny. Our driver Bill arranged for Cheese Tasting at Smelly Cheese which was well worth the visit with Sharon being very informative. Briar's Ridge Winery was informative but we were probably not as impressed with their wines. Last but not least was Matthews Winery who had a couple of lovely wines including the Cerise but unfortunately by this time we were aware of luggage weight to fly home. We had lunch at Epicure Café and chose the Fish & Chips which was nice but like many others on the trip we thought we had a choice between here and the Matilda Bay Brewery Café which read better. It was a lovely day, not as picturesque as the Yarra Valley out of Melbourne but lack of rain in the area would not have helped. We are spoilt as it is hard to beat the Clare Valley & Barossa Valley Wineries close to our home in SA. Unfortunately my husband got ill through the night thinking he had appendicitis and was unable to take the tour ending up at St Vincent's Hospital on a drip and pain relief for severe gastro. Not sure what "special circumstances" means to get a refund as per their policy. I still had to pay for him on the day. Would they rather he came along and give it to everyone on the bus?

Not that much of a wine drinker but this tour was really exceptional as you get to taste some great wines and learn a lot about the history of Australia's wine country. I really recommend this tour for everyone.