Home - Live Like a Local

Exclusive Gourmet Escapes

Seasoned with Adventure

Live Like a Local; Cook Like a Pro!

Indulge your senses, discover new delights and meet new friends along the way. We're bringing together some of the best things in life, all set in the backdrop of the picturesque Hunter Valley. We'll give you access to behind the scenes agriculture, brewing, blending, distilling, fermenting and cooking techniques. Rub shoulders and share a meal and stories with award winning chefs, vignerons and winemakers.

We have curated a suite of unbookable experiences for the ultimate gourmet wine and food lover.

Experiences

Our 4 night, 5 day tour includes:

Disgorge Methode Traditionelle Champagne

'Picnic in the Sky' at privately owned Kawal Rock followed by spirits tasting

Edible walking tour and lunch at the Darkside Providore farm

Barrel, new release and just bottled wine tastings.

Private chocolate tasting

Rub shoulders with wine makers and locals alike at The Deck Cafe degustation dinner

Onsite, customised 'Jac and Jones' tasting

River Flat's River Flats olive and handmade soaps experience

McCafferys wine tasting and blending

Lavender farm tour

Mozzarella making class

Italian cooking demonstration and dinner

Hands on Vigneron experience - grape harvesting, trimming or tying the vines - as seasonal experience!

Be a winemaker for a day - blend your own bottle of wine to take home

Charcuterie tasting at the hottest butchery in town!

Hands on Classes

You won't just taste and observe, you'll have a chance to get your hands dirty creating gourmet delights. We'll be making our own mozzerella with Jenny, discovering the secret to authentic Italian pasta, and even being a part of traditional champagne production.

You'll also have a chance to tend the vines in a working vineyard and blend, bottle and label your own wine to take home.

If you'd ever dreamed of throwing in the corporate rat race and becoming a wine maker - this is your chance to taste the dream!

The Hunter Valley

Pokolbin, Belford, Branxton, Broke & Beyond

Nestled between the Great Dividing range and the ocean, the Hunter Valley is the oldest wine growing region in Australia! The first vines in the Hunter were planted in the early 1820s. A unique mix of temperatures and wide varieties in soil produce some fantastic, quality wines that the region is famous for.

It's not just the wine that shines though. A new generation of environmentally conscious growers and producers are making a name for the Hunter Valley as a gourmet mecca only 2 hours from Sydney.

Based in Pokolbin, we'll be exploring the best of Broke, visiting the secluded rolling hills of Lambs Valley and reaching new heights of gourmet experiences atop Mount Kawal!

Tour Inclusions

Tour includes 4 nights' accommodation at the beautiful Thistle Hill Guesthouse, a French Provincial boutique hotel on a working vineyard in the heart of Pokolbin. Beautiful gardens, sandstone firepit, swimming pools, gourmet kitchen and pavilion make this a fantastic base to explore the Hunter Valley from!

2024 Tour Dates

May 5th to the 9th Waitlist

June 16th to the 20th (5 rooms left)

August 11th to the 15th (Completely Booked Out)

October 13th to the 17th (8 rooms left)

November 10th to the 14th (8 rooms left)

Cost

$2,500 per person

Single supplement $600

Transport

Four nights' accommodation

All meals

Wine with lunch and dinner

Tasting fees

Workshops & classes

Entry Fees

Barista coffees

BOOK

Transfer options available from Sydney and Newcastle airports at additional cost.

Meet your foodies!

Your hostess, Jo Bowskill is a chef, vigneron and foodie. Jo is excited to introduce you to some fantastic, passionate producers, winemakers and artisans, who also happen to be her friends here in Hunter Valley Wine Country. Jo will be serving you and ensuring you have an unforgettable experience!

Award winning chef, Matt Dillow, owner of the much loved Deck Cafe, Gartelmann Wines, & International Produce Tours, Matt loves introducing people to new foods and ways of preparing them. He's a mentor who loves nothing more than sharing a laugh and a meal together with his guests.

Wine maker and vigneron, Peter Went (Pierre's Wines), has a passion for wine making in his blood, with the tradition spanning 13 generations in his family!

Owner of Classes in the Kitchen, Jenni is generous with knowledge and a passion for cheese making, yoghurt and preserves.

Declan McCaffrey, owner of McCaffrey's Estate, will share oenological passion and guide you through the creative process of blending your very own bottle of red wine to take home and enjoy.

Nathan and Leonie from Hunter Wine Lab introduce us to some fascinating science behind brewing the perfect craft beers, and encouraging specific tastes in the wine making process. Taste wine straight from their Hungarian Oak barrels.