Best white wine I have ever tasted! Only wish it was sold in the UNITED STATES…read more Great tasting and beautiful grounds. Staff was knowledgeable and very friendly as well. Highly recommended.

We visited Scarborough at midday on a Wednesday and it was nice and quiet with only a couple other…read moresmall groups wandering in. They offer a few different tastings, we went with the $5 13 wine and cheese tasting. Perfect timing between a big breakfast and a planned fancy dinner that night (yup, cheese and wine for lunch). It was really relaxed low pressure tasting while seated in air con. We really liked all the semillon and chardonnay, the cheese plate was basic but tasty. A cute thing is that they have postcard size cards with a recipe pairing for each of their wines, make sure to grab one if you buy a bottle. Also, the bathrooms were immaculate.

Went on a road trip from Sydney to the "Napa Valley" of New South Wales Australia. This winery was…read moreour first stop. Tasting was only 10$ per person and we went through a wide selection of whites, reds and sweeter wine. I realized that the experience could have been a bit better had we arrived there before the day was almost ending. The tasting felt a bit rushed but our sommelier was nice and helpful nonetheless. I liked the sparkling Shiraz and ended up picking up a bottle to go back home.

We had a perfect wine tasting experience here! And let me tell you, they have some great wines,…read moreespecially reds. Our guy was super friendly and accomodating and explained so much about every wine and what made it unique and special... we each bought 1 - 3 bottles (we were party of 5). I would put this on your "must-visit" list of wineries on any Hunter trip for sure.

My wife and I had such a wonderful time here on our honeymoon. We sat outside on a beautiful day…read morewhile the winemaker and another nice lady served us tastings of their entire wine list. Generous pours, excellent cheese/meat/cracker/nut/olive/and more platter. To die for blueberry gelato made on site. The staff is passionate and knowledgeable and I think genuinely enjoys everything they do there! Would be back in a heartbeat.

Suuper megadelicious wine. Beautiful, rustic winery. Strategic food pairings. Unique varietals. RUN!read more

If you want to know what is wrong with the Hunter Valley wines, that is: mass intoxication of of…read morehen's parties, birthday parties and romantic getaway couples! A quick introduction to how to make champagne that wasn't even correct, a noisy environment, no time to focus on what you are drinking, too much wines to taste with an order form in front of you to push you to buy: what are they trying to sell exactly? The satisfaction of the customer is obviously secondary. There is no regard whatsoever for patrons like us who are seeking enlightenment in wine matters, not darkness in alcohol contents. We were ushered out as soon as the last glass was done and thank God this wasn't the last winery of the day, or the aftertaste of it would have been as flat and bitter as the last Shiraz that got pushed down my throat!! I'm almost upset I have to put a star against it, but the wine presenter did bring out some different samples to a woman in the group who wanted sweeter stuff: one star is recognition enough for it.

Fantastic wine tasting, very extensive (though we did opt for the VIP tasting) and very…read moreknowledgeable server. Followed this with a styled picnic which ordinarily would have been amongst the vines, but given the weather they seated us upstairs in the restaurant. More than enough food for three people, and we had a bottle from our tasting - a perk of the VIP tasting! Would return to Calais Estate anytime, lovely staff and always ready to go above and beyond and assist where needed. Thank you for a great visit!

Spectacular property, beautiful restaurant, lovely staff... lacklustre breakfast. Truly…read more The presentation is amazing. When your plate arrives, your breakfast looks like everything you could ever want for breakfast. The eggs were perfectly poached. The bacon was bland, the sausage was a Bunnings sausage sizzle sausage and... we ordered a side of mushrooms. Big mistake. They were completely tasteless, like chewy, spongey cardboard. I'm pretty certain they came out of a can. Coffee was good (thank God!). So yeah, over all... high expectations and lots of polish, but pretty "meh".

Great chocolate selection. Something for everyone get. Chili chocolate gets my vote.read more

One of our favourite wineries on our Cheers wine tour. They served tastings in Riedel glasses and…read morethe woman in charge of our private tasting was awesome. Didn't catch her name but she had long dark hair with purple highlights. She made our experience a wonderful one. Didn't feel rushed through the tasting and also didn't feel pressured to buy (but of course we did). The 2012 sparkling Verdelho was our favourite. Even got a tour discount which some of the other wineries did not offer. Overall great experience and beautiful location.

Tried this place out on the weekend with a group of friends and It was perfect! Food was yummy,…read moreservings were generous and service was perfect! It was nice to see the head chef come out and have a chat and get some feedback! The menu was inventive, and tasty.. Far from the same old traditional Spanish tapas restaurant. It's worth the drive to from anywhere in the hunter. And reasonably priced.

The atmosphere was fantastic. We didn't have reservations…read morebut they accommodated us for a wine tasting Rick was fabulous, he took his time to explain about the wine and where and about the grapes came from, pretty amazing experience. The wine is great, no doubt the red wine was fantastic compared to many other wines from the region. I ended up buying six bottles of wine to take back home.

This place is the best…read more Like us, you are probably sorting out which places in Hunter Valley to visit. Let me make this easy on you - go here first. Dave and Dean are great hosts. The vault tour was informative and a lot of fun. And, the more causal tours / sitting in the garden is perfect for a couple or a small family. My wife and I are wine experts and have had tastings all over Europe and the US. This ranks up there with the best of them. The wines were sophisticated but approachable, and Dean walked us through the tasting in a way that allowed us to understand the grapes, the valley, and Pepper Tree. But, at the same time Pepper Tree caters to casual visitors who just want a bottle or two in a nice setting and maybe some knowledge about wine. The Bar and outdoor seating are a perfect place for a picnic or to share a bottle. Can't say enough about Pepper Tree.

I cannot possible recommend this cellar door more! Their Sweet Mandala is great and easy to drink,…read moretheir cab sav is just awesome and smooth! Uses more traditional method to make wine, with the owner being a chemist himself basically constantly trying new mixes, you just constantly get new surprises from them! Honestly, know you won't believe me just by reading. Go try it yourself! Love it that they will walk through all wine when you go for the free tasting/sampling at their estate!

I visited a total of three wineries on my day trip to Hunter Valley, and this one was probably my…read morefavorite. The space is beautiful, with an open and airy tasting room overlooking the vast vineyard (one of the few wineries in the area that grows its own grapes). There's a little something different about the wines here--the flavors are something of their own. I brought back a bottle of their oaked semillon, which was light and refreshing and stored in California Oak barrels (I'd get the same thing back here in CA if I could, but you certainly don't see a lot of semillon around here), as well as a bottle of their shiraz, which had a peppery kick to it. The lady who led us through the tastings (we had come with a tour group) was very sweet and seemed to love her job. We ended our visit with a tour of the wine cellar and the lovely outdoor area of the building, which reminded me of being in Tuscany but is apparently modeled after Southern Spain. I loved all the little details of the decor. Definitely worth stopping at!