3rd-4th February Hunter Valley and wineries

Up early, I took a train 2 hours outside Sydney, caught a bus then got a lift from the nice YHA people and was suddenly in the country in the middle of wine country! A nice change from the city and as the afternoon progressed the rain stopped and hiring a bike, I set out to explore. It felt good to move under my own steam after the confines of the city, however for a valley it was surprisingly hilly and my legs were a little shocked by the novel exercise of cycling!  A wine tasting and champagne (well premium sparkling wine actually) tasting were good reward for the exertion.
Whilst stopping to take pictures I think I saw my first Red Back Spider but wasn't inclined to linger! It might have been something else.
As evening came blue sky reappeared and a small rainbow. Intense insect noise kicked in, another contrast.

Apart from me and my Swiss roomate everyone else in the hostel were working as grape pickers, however it's not been a good summer for the grapes, too much rain has meant they can't be picked and even when it dries off the sugar content is low (avoid the 2012 vintage perhaps?)
Next day an organised wine tour for myself, Sylvie and a couple of others- 1 English, 1 Irish. The sun shone and the day flew by in a happy hedonistic blur. We discovered the Swiss girl liked reds, for me the whites, for the Irish- well she'd drink it even if she didn't like it, not much spitting out on this trip! There was also some soft cheeses (feta and camembert varieties are made around this area) and gelato.
The Hunter Valley is known for its Semillon, Chardonnay and Shiraz varieties. Also Verdelho not usually grown outside Portugal. It's too warm for the cooler grape varieties- the Sauvignon and Pinots. We visited Lindemans as a large winery and several small, family run ones- Constables, Mount View and Savannah Estate but there around 140 in the Hunter Valley most only selling from cellar door (sadly!)