The long weekend is never long enough

Another year goes by and all the sudden the Easter long weekend pops up on us. Nothing beats a short week, I just wish they made weekends into three days instead of two. This year we decided to head to Hunter Valley with a few mates. I’ve been here for a few day trips but never stayed over night before. To be on the safe side, we booked a few months in advance at a self contained ‘country home’ in Pokolbin. We wanted something close to all the Wineries, cafes and restaurants and this place was a good fit. 

We stayed for two nights, and I reckon if I stayed any longer I would have got bored. Perhaps if we drove outside the main tourist area we would have had more things to do, maybe next time.

Verona Vineyard

Just a 10 second walk outside our house lies a never ending crop of vineyards. It was quite refreshing to go for a walk in the morning pretending I was a wine connoisseur checking up on my crops.

We cooked our own breakfast on both mornings with supplies from home. Nothing beats a hearty dose of snags, bacon, chorizo and bread. To keep the girls happy, the token presence of vegetables were required. We wrapped up cherry tomatoes in foil and drizzled them with olive oil, sea salt and cracked pepper. Pop them under the grill for a few minutes and they taste awesome. With the mushrooms, we just sauteed them in a pot with butter and garlic.  

You’d think with a massive four bedroom house they could atleast have a bigger TV! But I guess we didn’t come here to sit on the couch all day. We managed to watch a few movies, some of them were shocking. Ping Pong Playa was a highlight, quite a funny movie about an aspiring table tennis player living in his brother’s shadow. I didn’t have high expectations for Zac & Mimi make a Porno, so I wasn’t surprised when it let me down. Bride Wars was equally as bad, but the girls loved it (Anne Hethaway and Kate Hudson are an odd combination). Midnight Meat Train was pretty average but it had some gory scenes, not the type of movie to watch before dinner and finally we started watching Doubt, but fell asleep 20 minutes into it. 

Verona Vinyard Country house
4 bedrooms
Walking distance to Tempus Two and other wineries
Web : http://www.veronavineyard.com.au 

Esca Bimbadgen Restaurant

The Esca Bimbadgen restaurant is located on the actual Bimbadgen Estate winery. The food was nice albeit a bit pricey. But I guess it is expected that you pay a bit more in this neck of the woods. Presentation was top notch and the restaurant was still packed at 3:30pm.

From left to right : 

Wood char-grilled Lamb loin with a chick pea, fennel and parsley salad, yoghurt and harissa

With a tasting of Bimbadgen Estate Sangiovese ‘05

Wood spit-roasted Duck with a beetroot puree, watercress and walnut salad and a burnt orange vinaigrette
With a tasting of Bimbadgen Estate MCA Shiraz Viognier `06

Wood char-grilled Sirloin of Beef with a ragout of mushrooms, horseradish and a spinach cream

With a tasting of Bimbadgen Estate Shiraz `06  

 The pate was amazing, and made even better with the fig jam as it was quite overpowering if had on it’s own. The olive sourdough was  crunchy despite being a bit burnt, but it wouldn’t of hurt if they gave us a few more pieces. I finished off the bread and I wasn’t even halfway through the pate, so I had to use the hot chips which I ordered as a substitute.

The views, food and service at Esca is excellent. Apparently, it is recommended to book ahead, especially on long weekends and weekends. We were quite lucky to get a table because it was quite late in the day. Make sure you ask for a table outside if you want to enjoy your meal while looking out at the beautiful Hunter Valley country side.

Esca Bimbadgen
Seven days for lunch only
Weddings and Functions seven nights 
Ph :  02 4998 4666
Web : http://www.bimbadgen.com.au

Vintage Growers market

After visiting this market I think it’s fair to say we are spoilt for choice in Sydney. There were only a handful of stalls, but in saying that the variety was great. There was a friendly family like atmosphere, with alot of people sipping on coffees and trying local (and not so local) produce.

I bought a jar of this after trying nearly all of the honey on display. There’s not much to say apart from describing it as creamy honey. The stall owner was quite accomodating with my requests and he loves his honey talk.

I’ve seen these in Cabramatta before and was quite surprised to see them in the Hunter! Has anyone tried these before ? 

Chocolatesuze’s company The Biscuit Tree proved to be quite popular at the market. I bought 3 packs myself (shortbread and 2 biscotti). My favourite would probably be Coffee and ginger almond biscotti, om nom nom nom. 

Wine sampling, cheese and a view for free

We also stopped off for some wine testing at a few vineyards. My favourites would be Scarbourough and McGuigan wines. Scarbourough was fantastic as you could sit down at a table and sample atleast 10 types of wine with cheese and crackers, all for free. Anything free is good if you ask me.

Scarbourough Wines
Web : http://www.scarboroughwine.com.au

I think this guy should have no problem with lane changing on the F3 freeway.

It’s always good to take some time off to get away from the hustle and bustle of the Sydney. Hunter Valley has a bit of everything but most people would come here for the wine and cheese. After copious amounts of wine, cheese (no photos :/) and cheese movies it was time to make our way back to Sydney before the traffic got too hectic.  

Before I forget, is anyone else dissapointed we don’t get Anzac Day as a public holiday ? We got jipped compared to the other states! 

Hunter Valley
Web : http://www.winecountry.com.au