A picnic in wine country is always a good idea, but this private outdoor feast at the cellar door of one of the Hunter Valley’s oldest wineries is a real recipe for romance.
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Christina and I love coming to the Hunter Valley. There’s always something new to discover or a much-loved winery to revisit.
This time, we’re lucky to combine both of these things.
We’ve been fans of Audrey Wilkinson wines for a long time and the beautiful, expansive cellar door is always somewhere we stop by when we’re here.
But we’ve never had the chance to try one of the experiences they run here — in particular, the wonderful Picnic Among the Vines.
We start things off with a quick wine-tasting in the bar that also operates as something of a museum to the winery.
The room is full of old wine-making tools and photographs of the Wilkinson family. And behind us are the original cement fermenting vats that Audrey Wilkinson himself crafted in 1897.
These vats were groundbreaking technology at the time and paved the way to a completely new way of making wine.
In front of us, the lush hills of the Hunter Valley countryside roll away to the horizon as we work through some of the winery’s delicious iterations.
Romantic Picnic at Audrey Wilkinson
After the tasting, we’re led outside and down a little path to our private picnic spot. It’s close to the stately homestead of the cellar door — as in about 10m away — but we’re so well hidden, it doesn’t feel like anyone’s around.
Behind a high privet hedge an at the end of the path is what I can only describe as a den. Within the cosy confines of a four-meter tall topiary bush are all the goodies for our picnic.
Squashy cushions and blankets make the space comfortable to relax in while a locally-procured charcuterie spread sits on a low board.
Cured meats, cheeses, char-grilled veggies, olives, salads, dried fruit and even chocolate brownies cover the wooden surface while up on a cut-down wine-barrel table are two fresh baguettes and a bottle of water. And of course our wine.
We recline in our little tree den for a while, feeling like kids again and working our way through the morsels of our picnic.
It’s the perfect cool spot here, within the green shade of our treehouse, but after a while, we decide it’s time for a little sun. We bring the food (and our wine) out to the blanket and chairs set up next to our den, and enjoy the views and warmth of the early spring day.
Sweet Indulgence Dessert Wine Tasting at Audrey Wilkinson
The amount of food is just right for us (we pull open the baguettes and cram them with bits from the board) and so is the timing of the experience. Soon after we’ve downed the last crumb, we’re ushered back to the cellar door for one last treat.
Back in our seats at the bar, we’re led through six of the Audrey Wilkinson dessert wines. Each one is paired scrupulously with a local handmade gourmet chocolate from Cacao Nib.
We’re shown everything from the moscato to the liqueur shiraz. Some of these wines are only available here at the Audrey Wilkinson cellar door.
Perhaps the best part of the tasting is the delicate and decedent Vin de Vie. This wine is sold in elegant sculpted bottles, but for the tasting, ours comes straight from the barrels behind the bar. It not only saves on packaging (these bottles look expensive), it also adds a bit of exclusivity to the experience. And we all love that, don’t we!
More Info About Experiences at Audrey Wilkinson
Under normal circumstances, I’m not a fan of picnics. But the setting, the quality and generosity of the food, and the thoughtfulness of this experience at Audrey Wilkinson is set to change my perceptions.
You can find out more about this Premium Picnic here and also the Sweet Indulgence dessert wines tasting that we did.
There are other experiences you can do here too, like this Under the Hunter Valley Sun – Pasta experience in the vines cooking lesson.
Bookings for all these experiences is essential, especially at weekends.
And if you’re looking for more winery picnics, the one at Heifer Station in Orange is also an amazing experience.
