Flying to Australia with a baby - I think we might be mad

In a few weeks time, we are flying to Australia with our 12 week old baby boy. 

I've flown to Oz four times previously. And each time, I have been completely inebriated the whole flight as it's the only way I can cope with the boredom and also knock myself out enough to sleep. One time, I actually fell asleep under the departure signs at Heathrow and nearly missed my flight. And another, I got off at Singapore and could not for the life of me remember where I'd put my passport. 

This time, however, I will be stone, cold sober. Not only will I have a small infant to look after but I will also be breast feeding. Oh and he has colic and reflux which means he throws up significant amounts following a feed and sometimes cries uncontrollably for no apparent reason. 

My husband and I enjoying a few drinks on a previous flight

We are flying with Etihad and they have assured me that we have a bulk head seat with a bassinet for the baby. But we have really limited carry on luggage allowance for him (just 5kg) so we can't bring all of the luxuries that he would usually have at home. This 5kg has to include change of clothes, nappies, cotton wool, baby wipes, dummies, blankets, toys and all the other things a child would usually need in a 24 hour period. 

This is all I can find on the Etihad website about what happens on board with the bassinet http://www.etihad.com/en-gb/experience-etihad/family-travel/prepare/. And this is the only image I can find of a bassinet on an Etihad flight, but this baby is much bigger than mine and I can't see the whole bassinet: http://baloneks.blogspot.co.uk/2008/01/micaiahs-first-airplane.html

Frankly, although I can't wait for my holiday, I am dreading the flight. 

Will I be able to play him his little bedtime tunes on my iPhone? Will I be able to play him my white noise app if he starts screaming? What if he drops his dummy on the floor, how will I sterilise it? Do I need to bring bedding for the bassinet and if so, what size? What if he won't sleep in the bassinet and I have to carry him the whole flight? What if my fellow passengers hate me for having a child that sometimes screams uncontrollably for hours for no apparent reason? 

If anyone has any advice or guidance for me on what they have found useful on long flights with babies I'd really appreciate it. Or if anyone has flown with Etihad and can give me a bit more information about what I'm allowed to do on the flight or how big the bassinets are, it would be a massive help. 

It's nice to be called young again

Some HPB destinations are more popular than others. But HPB Physkos in Turunc, Turkey is notoriously difficult to book. I'm told that some of the villas are booked up at least two years in advance!

Having just returned from a week's stay there, I can completely understand why.

The property is very decadent and luxurious with several large pools and hammocks on the lawn in which to laze in the sun. We had a studio apartment, which the booking staff repeatedly informed us was quite small. However, it was perfectly big enough for our needs with two large balconies, a spacious kitchen-come-living area and a nice double bedroom. As usual, the property was immaculate and equipped with every imaginable kitchen utensil you could ever need. We didn't get round to using the three bread baskets....

View from our second balcony

The pretty town of Turunc is a pleasant five minutes walk. There are plenty of bars and restaurants, a large stretch of beach and a marina with water taxis and day tripping boats to take you around the area. We enjoyed particularly good meals at Tapas Mapas, OBA 09 and Pisces restaurant as well as taking the water taxi to nearby Amos and Marmaris. There is a mini market next door that makes the most amazing pancakes and casseroles that they deliver to your room. You can read about how to get a water taxi on my blog here.

The main appeal, however, has got to be the management team, led by Korhan Demiroz. When we arrived, we had one of the warmest welcomes I have ever received and one of the funniest and useful welcome meetings I've ever been heard (although there was no booze, which for me is a must!). We celebrated a very exciting event while we were there and Korhan even sent a bottle of fizz to our room. A lovely touch from a lovely man.

The best bit however was, we were repeatedly told that "it was nice to have some young people staying at Physkos". Now, being 30 plus some years old, this has got to be one of the nicest things someone could possibly say to me!

And yes, most of the residents were, shall we say, on the greyer side of 50. However, everyone was so friendly and it certainly meant there were no late night parties or loud music!

I've carried on about how great HPB places are on my blog. Having just returned from the nicest one I've ever stayed in, I thought I'd take the opportunity to have another little rave! You can read all about how the HPB system works here and I can't praise the company enough.

The only downside was the naughty old wasps that plagued the pool. But by all accounts they arrive every year at the end of August. There's more about the wasps on my blog here. There was also no free wifi by the pool and since data roaming charges are so expensive in Turkey, this was a real shame.

I will almost certainly return, but next time I will be going in June. And no Korhan, not with children!! Although, who knows what they are doing two years in advance? I barely know what I am doing two weeks in advance so whether I'll be able to book a property may rely on a bit of luck!

I think I hear a buzz.....

We recently returned from an absolutely glorious holiday in Turunc. It's a lovely place, lovely people and overall we had a wonderful time.

However, there was a buzzy little irritant we had for the whole week. Wasps and bees!

They were absolutely everywhere. By the pool, by the beach, in restaurants, on the water taxis. Everywhere! And they absolutely loved everything sweet, so we were dreaming if we thought we could drink fruit juice on our balcony.

And they weren't placid little insects. They were the angry, persistent, aggressive and stinging variety. Everyone we met had been stung at least once and told horror stories of people being rushed to hospital with anaphylactic shock!

The breakfast we tried to have on our balcony which was thwarted by wasps! Look closely, you'll see one in the photo!

We subsequently learnt that the wasps arrive every year at the end of August and stay until the end of October. If you look online, there are quite a few blogs about it in Turunc and the surrounding bays so it is clearly an annual problem.

I have to be honest that, by the end of the week, I had become quite accustomed to them and let them land and zip around me. And the good news is that they go to sleep at night fall. However, the squeeze seemed to go the other way, became increasingly frustrated by the little beggars and was constantly seen swatting and swiping and swearing!

 

When we went to Amos restaurant, I ordered the most delicious red mullet (above). Disappointingly, as it was quite sweet, the wasps absolutely loved it as I was swarmed by them! They had to bring out a little smoke machine to get rid of them! So I ate in a big, plume of smoke!

I can't say it ruined our holiday, far from it. In fact it was one of the most lovely, relaxing, romantic and friendly places I've ever been. I will definitely go back, but maybe I'll go in June next time...

If it was my job, I think I'd enjoy it more!

When we got to Turunc in Turkey, we were immediately told we had to get a water taxi so we could see the coast from the sea.

Having never used a water taxi before, I approached this with a certain amount of trepidation. As someone who suffers from terrible sea sickness, I was worried about how big the taxi was going to be and how much my delicate tum would feel each of the bumps of the sea.

However, the taxi turned out to be more of a fully fledged boat, accommodating around 30 people at a time. Certainly not the intimate, rocky ride I expected it to be.

Turunc Water Taxis

The first water taxi we took was from Turunc to Marmaris. It cost 15 Turkish Lira (which at the time of writing is a around £5) per person for a return journey that took around 45 minutes each way.

Our hotel had provided us with the water taxi timetable. And, since the next one was due to leave at 10.30 we rushed down to the marina to catch it. However, we soon learnt the timetable is more of a guide than a time set in stone. As we waited on the boat for 45 sweltering minutes before there were enough people to merit a trip.

The taxis are run by a large group of swarthy men who stand around smoking, shouting and looking generally quite grumpy. Unlike the many day trip boats that litter the seas around the bay, the boat drivers clearly don't see their role as that of an entertainer or a tourist guide. The boat starts and they drive to the next stop, with barely a look of acknowledgement to their passengers throughout the whole journey. Mostly, they seem to spend their time shouting at other sailors or shouting down their phones.

I really don't understand what they have to be so grumpy about. As the journey and the coastline is absolutely stunning, the sea is fairly flat (to the delight of my stomach) and the air and sea is clean and fresh. Seems like a pretty good job to me!

Despite the stoic old sea dogs, I absolutely loved the trip and we ended up getting two further water taxis to the bays of Kumlubük and Amos. The whole coastline is absolutely stunning and largely unspoilt.

Costing only a few Turkish Lira a trip, it is definitely worth the money and much better than getting the bumpy old bus inland via the treacherous cliffs! Just don't expect service with a smile!

A view that's worth sleeping on the ground

When my brother invited me to go camping with him this summer, I didn't jump at the idea. I mean, I'm not exactly the camping type. I don't own a sleeping bag, I drink expensive wine and I drive a Smart Car.

But the Olympic sailing was taking place down the road at Weymouth and I thought I would rough it for the night. So we stuffed a duvet and a few bottles of plonk into the Smart and set off for the coast.

We were staying at Eweleaze Farm. This is a working farm, but for a few weeks a year, the site opens for campers. You reach the site down a long, dusty farm track (which my Smart didn't exactly love!). At the hill crest, you are presented with the most stunning blue-green view.


The view from Eweleaze Campsite

The camping fields are situated in a secluded valley, in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It includes ½ mile of private beach and cliffs, which now forms part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. So the view from your site will be nothing but beautiful beaches and craggy coastlines.

We were lucky because it was a clear weekend and from the site you could see right across the bay to Weymouth. You could actually see the Olympic sailing from our tent!

The squeeze drinking Pinot Noir from a blue, plastic cup!

My brother had already set up the tent (thank goodness) so all we had to do was build the fire, heat up the chilli and pour the wine. I'd brought with me one of my current wine favourites from Majestic, the Barista Pinotage 2010. It tastes of coffee, chocolate and berries and is even delicious drunk out of a blue, plastic beaker!

I've mentioned my brother, Bordeauxboy, before on this blog. He has and Advanced WSET qualification so always brings a good drop to the party. He had a lovely bottle of Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir which was peppery, fruity and delightfully dry. Again, drunk out of a plastic cup!

Me cooking chilli by the sea!

Although I slept on the floor, had to walk up the hill to the showers and use a long drop for my lady business, the view we woke up to over the blue bay in the morning was completely worth it (together with the bacon sandwich the squeeze fried up).

I wouldn't say I'm exactly a camping convert, but if you are going to sleep outside, it doesn't get much better than the serene charm of Eweleaze Farm.

Wine tasting, Lanzarote style!

Whenever I go on holiday, I try and fit in a trip to a vineyard for a spot of wine tasting. It gives you an introduction to the types of wines the region produces, gives you the opportunity to buy local wines straight from the producer and, frankly, is a great excuse to get tipsy!

So on my recent trip to Lanzarote, I was keen to go to one of vineyards on the 2,000 hectares of land cultivated for wine growing. However, it transpired that my hotel was around 20 kilometres from the nearest vineyard and my brother kind of put me off going.

An example of a Vineyard in Lanzarote

I think I've mentioned my brother, Bordeauxboy, on here before. He is basically the biggest wine snob I've ever met. He is the sort of person for whom you spend ages choosing wine, which just goes straight in the rack! He has an advanced WSET Qualification though, so I trust his opinion. So when he said it was too warm for decent wine in Lanzarote, I figured he was probably right. Considering that Lanzarote has around 100 mm of rainfall annually, it is amazing that anything grows there at all.

However, I was delighted when we managed to book a tour to the Timanfaya National Park in Lanzarote that included a trip to one of the vineyards. It meant I got to visit a vineyard without too much hassle or making a specific journey. 

On the tour, I learned that the wine grows, thanks to the unique way they cultivate their vines. Each plant is grown in a hole that is about a meter deep and wide and surrounded by a small protective wall called a Zocos. The pit protects the plant from the constant winds that blow across the island and helps create humidity around the plant, meaning it receives enough water to grow.

Barrels outside the Bodega Barreto in Lanzarote

So the vineyards are really striking to look at. Bright, green plants growing out of the black grains of lava. For the sight alone, I would urge you to take a look at the vineyards. However, the wine tasting experience I had was pretty disappointing.

The tour took us to the Bodega Barreto and we were told we would be trying two types of wine. Apparently this family run business has been producing wine for over 100 years and several of their wines have won prizes. Most of their wines are produced from the Malvasia grape, which I had never tried before and which grows very well on the island.

The Malvasia at Bodega Barreto, Lanzarote

However, when I say "trying" I mean we were literally given a thimble full. How can you get a taste for the wine when you have barely a mouthful? And I'm never going to be drunk enough to buy a case of wine based on a small dribble.

We tasted the Masdache Malvasia Seco and the Masdache Moscatel. There was also a Masdache Tinto and another couple of wines that we were not permitted to taste. The Malvasia Seco was not that dry and had quite a strong taste of vinegar, whilst the Moscatel had a nice taste, but was slightly grainy. Needless to say, I didn't buy any and I didn't see anyone make a purchase, even though they were quite reasonably priced.

I feel a bit guilty about this review, as probably, if I had gone to the winery directly as an individual, I would have got a different experience. But on this particular tour, it really wasn't great.

Enjoying a glass of El Grifo wine in Teguise, Lanzarote

I'd pretty much given up on Lanzarote wine after that experience. But we then went for lunch in Teguise to this lovely little place called Bodega de Santa Barbara. We sat in the sun trapped courtyard, served by handsome Italians and had a platter of sausage and goats cheese whilst sipping on a delicious dry, white wine. 

When I asked the waiter what it was, I was expecting it to be Italian. However, it was a local wine called El Grifo and it was the Colleccion Malvasia variety, which the waiter assured us was the best. It had an almost green, pale colour and a very dry, floral taste. Absolutely delicious!

So, if I went to Lanzarote again, I would definitely visit a vineyard. However, I wouldn't do it as part of a tour (you don't get enough wine!) and I would pay a visit to the El Grifo winery.   

A Classier Canary

I was pretty snobbish about Lanzarote before I went. I kind of imagined a scene from Benidorm with Brits throwing up on street corners, party games by the pool side, promoters dragging you into bars to drink from fish bowls and restaurants with pictures of full English fry ups outside. Yes I have been to Magaluf!

However, Costa Teguise in Lanzarote was nothing like that. In fact, I was pretty impressed.

Accommodation

Overall the resort, compared to some of the huge Spanish mega builds, is pretty attractive. There are a few ugly 70s and 80s style block hotels, but in the main there are lots of pretty, white buildings interspersed with the black, lava gardens for which the island is renowned. We stayed at the HPB Santa Rosa hotel, which is on the South West of the resort, very near to the Playa Bastian Beach. It's a great hotel. No animation teams organising club 18-30 type games, no loud music and nice and peaceful at night (yes, I am pretty middle aged!)

The view from Hennessey's Bar, by Playa Cucharas

Restaurants

The Santa Rosa hotel has lots of bars and clubs nearby. But for me, the nicest bars and restaurants are over to the South East of the resort, just up from Playa Cucharas. 

If you like Tapas, I would really recommend El Bocadito which has an amazing selection, although you might want to bring your Spanish dictionary otherwise ordering can be guesswork! We had a delicious bottle of wine at this restaurant too, Emilio Moro 2008, which I would heartily recommend. The 2007 version is available from Majestic in the UK. Portabello is great for Italian food and if you like nutty, Italian waitresses! If you want to eat by the sea front, El Maestro and La Pesquera share the same owner, and have a lovely chilled out vibe, with cool Spanish music. I had paella and sangria for just 7 Euro. 

Enjoying a cocktail at the Captain Hook Bar, yes, they do come with sparklers!

Nightlife

This isn't the sort of place you'd go for a stag weekend or to dance the night away. Overall, its pretty quiet, principally populated by families and couples. There are lots of bars with fairly naff pub style singers, crooning along to a Casio or a laid down track, and the odd karaoke night. 

For me, by far the nicest cluster of bars is around the Pueblo Marinero area. Built by Cesar Manrique (people are pretty obsessed with him in Lanzarote), the area is a cluster of typical canary style buildings, all white, simple and archy, and designed to look like a Canarian Fishing village (even though it is nowhere near the sea!). We had a drink at the Captain Hook bar, where you can get lots of nice cocktails and they give you a blanket if you get too cold! They have music playing most nights, and the first time we went, we enjoyed lovely live Spanish Guitar music.  

There are also some nice bars down by the Playa Cucharas. We had a very OTT cocktail at Robinson's Bar, and also Hennessey's is nice for a more traditional pint. Both have spectacular views out to sea, but can be a bit windy!

Beaches

El Jablillio beach

Costa Teguise has five beaches. Probably the nicest one is the Playa Jablillo beach which is a small, horse shoe shaped beach with beautiful turquoise water that's perfect for swimming in. It's a bit more sheltered from the wind too, which seems to constantly blow in Lanzarote. Playa Cucharas is a larger strip of white sand that has more bars and restaurants nearby, it also has a public toilet (but no loo roll!). You'll also be able to watch lots of hot windsurfers charging through the waves! 

It's free to lie on the sand, but to hire two sunbeds and an umbrella costs 10 Euro.

Getting there

The main Lanzarote airport is about a 20 minutes drive away and is called Arrecife airport. By far the highlight of the airport is that you can sit outside at the Carling pub, enjoy the sunshine with a glass of wine and watch the planes land. All airports should have an outside terrace, the perfect way to end a holiday!

Nearby

Most of the hotels organise day trips, you can also hire a car or book something through the many Last Minute Travel stores in Costa Teguise. There's lots to do and the costs can vary from a few Euro to around 100 Euro depending on the scale of the trip.

Timanfaya National Park, it's beautiful

I'd recommend a visit to the Timanfaya National Park, where you can see the bizarre looking lava fields and volcanoes. If you love a glass of wine, it's worth going to look at one of the wineries purely because of the unique way they grow their vines. 

Finally, the Sunday market in Teguise is pretty good for a visit. Alongside the usual fake Fendi Bags and belts are artisan foods and wines, and local arts and crafts. Teguise is also a really attractive little town, and quite different to the beach side holiday resorts. If you do stop for lunch in Teguise, I'd recommend Bodega de Santa Barbara as they have a sheltered sunny terrace, where we enjoyed a platter of salami and goats cheese, accompanied by a super cold glass of El Grifo Malvasia Colleccion white wine.

A vineyard in Lanzarote!

Downsides

Nowhere is perfect, and there are some downsides to Costa Teguise. The main one is the fact that you can't lie on the beach without getting hassled. Whether from the man selling the sunglasses (and other illegal substances!), the people offering massages or those wanting to braid you hair, it is really irritating and incessant. You get it the most in La Cucharas beach from my experience. 

It's also impossible to get a decent breakfast there, unless you buy it from a supermarket. I love a Spanish style breakfast with meats, cheeses and fresh fruit, or a lovely piece of crusty bread topped with ripe tomatoes. When I went to Ibiza, I found somewhere that did fruit kebabs and champagne for breakfast, which was amazing. However, this is impossible to find. You have a choice of Full English Breakfast, Vegetarian English Breakfast or Superior English Breakfast!

I'd love to hear if you've visited the resort, and what your favourite parts were. Thanks for taking the time to read my blog.

Places I love around Sydney

I've been to Sydney several times in the past, but generally as a fairly penniless traveller. But having just returned from a trip to visit my brother, I've had a bit of an insider's view of the nice places to eat and drink in and around Sydney and I thought I would share them with you. Remember, Sydney is not a cheap place to play in, but many restaurants do BYO which can help balance the budget! Although it can be pricey, the quality is generally excellent, and you get lots of variety of cuisine and genuinely fresh ingredients.

The Opera Bar

With two of Sydney's most iconic landmarks in view, The Opera Bar couldn't be better located. Described as "the world's best beer garden", you can sit outside and admire the coat hanger and the Opera House, or if it rains (take it from me, it often does in Sydney) you can sit inside too. The big pull is the stunning view, but they have a lovely selection of food and wines, and for Sydney, it's not too frighteningly priced. I'd recommend the sharing plate which is a beautiful tray of little tasting bites- a bit like a high end tapas dish- and is perfect to share. Ideal if you want a break from shopping at the rocks, or for pre opera snack while marvelling the Sydney skyline.

Woolwich Pier Hotel

Sydney is built on a large port and there is a great network of ferries that offers a fun and convenient way to navigate the best spots. One of the ports is Woolwich and it's worth stopping off here to go to this hotel - or pub as we would call it in the UK. Built overlooking the Woolwhich peninsula, the wrap around veranda offers a great aspect from which to watch the boats go in and out while enjoying the bistro style dining. I had an amazing salad of Baby Beetroots, Yarra Valley Goats Cheese,Torn Croutons, Cherry Tomatoes, Watercress and Red Onion with merlot vinaigrette washed down with a lovely glass of cold crisp Sauvignon Blanc. The ordering system is a bit strange where you have to pay for the food downstairs, you're given a device which buzzes at you when your food is ready and then you have to go collect it. A bit of a fiddle for such a classy place, but maybe you burn a few more calories.

Cockatoo Island

Cockatoo Island is the largest island in Sydney harbour and a former imperial prison and Naval base. Although the Jamaican style Island Bar is a little ramshackle as it is made from recycled shipping containers, the wood fired Pizzeria looked pretty good and they do a wide selection of cocktails. The location gives you a beautiful view of the Sydney Harbour and the Harbour Bridge, and the Island has some interesting art work and historical nods to the colonial past of Sydney. A fun place to get a bit tipsy on a sunny day !!

Sydney Fish Market

This might not sound like the most classy of places to go when in Sydney, but worth it for the experience alone. When you walk into the market, you find yourself in the company of what seems like thousands of other people from every imaginable country. In group formation you walk round the market, very, very slowly, past trays and trays of the strangest looking fish. Cat fish, dory, place, prawns, lobsters, flatheads, scallops, squids, rays, the list is endless. You can obviously purchase all the fresh fish, but you can also choose from a wide range of cooked platters. It's really reasonably priced and since you pay per platter, you see people walking out with trays piled high with fish. We controlled ourselves and enjoyed some calamari rings and battered flathead. And, you can buy wine by the bottle which you then drink on the harbourside, watched by hungry sea birds. Free wifi too which is an absolute rarity in Australia.

Bavarian Bier Cafe, Manly Wharf

If you go to Sydney, you've got to take a ferry from Circular Quay to Manly. You get to sail past the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge and up past the coast with the stunning city skyline in the background. Manly has some great surf shops, a wide and touristy beach and waves perfect for any surfing fan. Before you leave, I think it's the law that you have a litre of mango beer at the Bavarian Bier Cafe on the wharf. Of course there are other beers to enjoy and you don't have to have mango juice in yours, but for me, it is the perfect refreshing drink after a hot day on the beach. There's a good pizzeria next door too. 

The Riverview Hotel

Described as a local landmark in the heart of Balmain, imagine my surprise when I walked in and saw a painting on the wall of "Southampton Docks". The nearest large town to where I live in the UK. So The Riverview Hotel gets a mention for that reason really! We ate in the bar, but you can also eat in the dining room and the hotel has recently been awarded 'Gastronomic Hotel of The Year' at the prestigious AHA Awards for Excellence (apparently). Not a cheap eatery, but pretty good quality food and a wide selection of wines and beers. They have an interesting tapas style tasting menu as well as gourmet pizzas and daily specials which are more substantial. I had the tasting plate which was three dishes for $25. 

And if none of that suits, why not do things the traditional Australian way and have a Barbie? With a lovely glass of Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir or an old fashioned stubby- I'm a fan of a Coopers or a Little Creatures!!

I like this one, no this one ....

One of my favourite holiday past times is going wine tasting. I fancy myself a bit of a wine connoisseur and love going to vineyards and pretending that I can taste grass or green or mumbling knowingly about legs and good years. I suspect however, that it all ends up like an episode of Absolutely Fabulous. Me as Eddy or Patsy in a tasting room in France, completely paralytic, snorting and pointing to glasses saying "this is the one, no this one, no this one."

So over the years, I've pushed open (fallen through) the odd cellar door, and I thought I would write about a few of them here. These are not necessarily recommendations, rather they are a collection of experiences, from around the world which I hope to substantially add to over time.

Canava Roussos Vineyard, Santorini, Greece
September 2011

We went to this vineyard following the recommendation of the rather handsome barman at our hotel, Hotel 28, Kamari. If I'm honest, there are probably vineyards in Santorini that have more spectacular views. Santo Wines for example has a much more picturesque vista and I met a couple who got married there and the photos look spectacular. However, Canava Roussos was within walking distance of where we were staying in Kamari and it was owned by the family of the hot barman.

The Vineyard claims to be one of the oldest in Santorini, and uses many of the traditional methods of wine making they have for over a century. If you are after a glitzy, and polished experience, this probably isn't for you, however there was no hard sell and it felt like a very relaxed and earthy experience.

From Kamari, you reach the winery by walking up a long, dusty path past all the white washed buildings and blue and white churches you would expect in Santorini. The vineyard itself is small, has a nice tasting area dripping with vines and grapes, a small amphitheatre and an area where you can view the barrels and traditional production methods.

They offer two types of tasting, dry and sweet and I obviously did both! Each had four varieties of wine and cost a few euro. Santorini is known for its dry white wines, the most famous of which is which is often blended to make a Nykteri wines. This is perfectly suited to my taste as it is very dry, but has a distinctive and slightly misleading honey, sweet smell.

I ended up spending a fortune, which I always do, and one of the lethal errors of going to vineyards and making a purchase decision after a few glasses of wine. My favourite was probably a sweet wine made from the Assyrtiko grape or Vinsanto which had a lovely plummy-burnt caramel-figgy taste. Served perfectly cold and utterly delicious. It may be worth noting that the tasting rooms close fairly promptly at 7pm, so don't expect to hang around for the sunset in the summer.


Mudgee Vineyards, New South Wales, Australia
November 2005

I was a vineyard virgin when I went to Mudgee and it was perfect for a first timer. I went upon the recommendation of an expat friend of mine who claimed this was the less commercial sister of Hunter Valley and the one Sydney siders tend to choose for a more authentic experience. I guess it's about a three hour drive outside Sydney on a mainly fairly dull drive, although you can stop off at the Blue Mountains en route if you choose (which we did).

I went with my brother (Bordeauxboy) who was a wine tasting novice at the time but has since taken on wine tasting as a professional hobby. We were camping at the Mudgee Valley Tourist Park and hired bikes nearby, as you can reach a range of wineries by pedal.

I loved Mudgee for a number of reasons. Firstly because it was utterly unpretentious and very, very cheap. None of the wineries charged for tastings which I was later to discover is an absolute rarity (I'd love to know if this is still the case today as this was several years ago). Secondly, every person working the cellar door was friendly and knowledgeable and seemed genuinely grateful of the company. Thirdly, the measures were generous and free flowing.

This was also the first time I tried Ice Wine which is a fortified wine made from grapes that have been frozen while still on the vine. Before this day I had formed the opinion that I hated dessert wine, but drinking this delicious, cold, clean wine completely changed my mind for life.

The whole experience was perfect for me as I knew little (nothing) about wine. Wine tasting can be a slightly pretentious and snobbish affair, and sometimes the clueless can be sneered at. However, there was none of this here. Just friendly helpfulness, and wine that kept flowing.

The result was a very drunk Pinotnoirgirl and Bordeauxboy doing some rather Kamikaze cycling around Mudgee. We also got dive bombed by territorial magpies, adding to the immense gratitude for our cycle helmets.

Hunter Valley, New South Wales, Australia
November 2009

So I thought it only fair to include Mudgee's big sister, Hunter Valley.

An exceptionally full of life Kiwi friend of mine drove that day. So I was lucky that I had her company and also that I didn't have to drive. From Sydney, you can easily go there and back in a day. When we went, an art exhibition was taking place called Sculpture in the Vines. Which meant we could sup wine, beer and (not) champagne while looking at a range of slightly bizarre, but very fun, art. They also hold a Jazz in the Vines event which my brother has been to which he thought was excellent.

There are lots and lots of cellar doors to choose from, and although more commercial than Mudgee, the place still oozes with the friendly charm that Australia does so well.

A couple of highlights were having a "Sticky Experience" at the De Bortoli cellar door which merited a mention just for the name. I enjoyed six different types of fortified wine including a (not) Tawny Port and the famous Noble One Dessert Wine. We also supped some (not) champagne overlooking the vineyards at the Peterson House tasting rooms. It was called a Champagne House then, but I notice it has since been changed to sparkling wines, I assume due to champagne appellation laws. We had a delicious meal and enjoyed some delicious wines in a beautiful setting.

To make our tasting experience complete (and to cement the future hangover) we went to the Hunter Beer micro brewery which is located at the Potters Brewery and resort. As a lover of alcoholic ginger beer, it was great to find some spicy litre bottles here that we could try and buy.

Needless to say, my head was lolling all the way back to Sydney, with my very sober friend looking on disapprovingly. Until we got home, and proceeded to finish off most of the wine and beer we had bought during the day.

I'm going back to Syndey soon, and I definitely plan to make a trip here again.