Food & Drinks

Hunter Valley food and wine experiences go well past a pour at the cellar door. Wines come matched with cheese, chocolate and charcuterie, lunches run to two or four courses, and picnics and brunch boards are laid out among the vines. For the tasting-first options, see wine tasting and winery tours.

Wine matched with cheese, chocolate and charcuterie

Audrey Wilkinson works with local producers on its pairings. The fortified wine and cheese tasting pours three fortified wines straight from the barrel, each with a local cheese, and the dessert wine and chocolate pairing matches six dessert wines to six handmade chocolates and sends you home with a chocolate gift and an etched glass.

Tulloch Wines has two sit-down options. Its wine and chocolate pairing matches five wines to five handmade chocolates in about 45 minutes, and the Hunter Heroes Tasting and Grazing Board adds a local cheese and charcuterie board to a tasting of six wines. At Pooles Rock, the Premier Tasting Experience pairs seven wines with local cheeses and chocolates in a small cellar door.

Lunch with a tasting

Tulloch Wines Wine Tasting with Lunch puts a private seated tasting together with a two-course a la carte lunch at Hunters Quarter Restaurant, and kids and teenagers have options of their own. Brokenwood's VIP Soil to Cellar Winery Tour goes bigger: a private tour for up to six guests, oysters matched with wine, barrel tasting and a four-course degustation lunch with paired wines.

Tyrrell's Sacred Sites experience is a private three-hour tasting with a charcuterie board of locally sourced produce, and the Boutique Hunter Valley Wine Tasting Tour stops for a light cafe lunch with a glass of wine between wineries.

Picnics and brunch in the vineyard

The Picnic Among the Vines at Audrey Wilkinson sends two people off with a gourmet hamper, a bottle of estate wine and etched glasses to settle anywhere across 270 acres, and the premium version adds a sparkling welcome and a signed bottle. The Vineyard Brunch and Wine Tasting for two opens with a glass of sparkling each, then a shared brunch board, four premium wines and a bottle to take away.

Learn to cook Southern BBQ

The Low and Slow Southern BBQ Masterclass at BBQ School is hands-on. A qualified chef teaches for three hours, you get a beer on arrival, an apron and an e-book of recipes, and the class ends with the BBQ feast you cooked.

Frequently asked questions

Where can you have lunch with a wine tasting in the Hunter Valley?

Tulloch Wines serves a two-course lunch at Hunters Quarter Restaurant with its tasting, and Brokenwood's VIP Soil to Cellar experience includes a four-course degustation lunch with matched wines.

Are there family-friendly food experiences in the Hunter Valley?

Yes. Tulloch Wines has a Junior Tasting for kids and a Kombucha Tasting for teenagers, booked alongside an adult tasting, at both its lunch experience and its Hunter Heroes Tasting and Grazing Board.

Can I book a Hunter Valley food experience with dietary requirements?

Yes, but tell the operator when you book. Brokenwood and Tulloch Wines both ask for dietary requirements at the time of booking.

Do Hunter Valley picnics go ahead in the rain?

Yes. The Audrey Wilkinson Picnic Among the Vines runs in all weather, and the premium picnic moves onto the deck if the weather turns.

Local tip: Tulloch's wine and chocolate pairing starts on the hour from 10am to 4pm, so it fits easily between a morning booking and an afternoon one.

Pick a pairing, a picnic or a long lunch and let the winery do the cooking. All good days are waiting.