Mudgee – what a gorgeous, unpretentious and friendly country town.
We’ve visited this jewel in the NSW Mid West a number of times over the years and the myriad attractions just keep drawing us back.
This time to experience a hot air balloon flight that our kids bought us a few years ago (COVID times) that we’ve not been able to use until now.
Mudgee lies an easy 3.5hr or 265km drive north west of Sydney, up and over the Great Dividing Range through Katoomba. The perfect distance for a long weekend getaway.
From our home on the NSW South Coast it’s a bit more of a journey, with 450kms to be covered in closer to 6 hours driving time through the gorgeous secondary roads via Goulburn, Oberon and Bathurst.
After an after breakfast start, with stops along the way to sample some amazingly beautiful country town bakeries we arrived in Mudgee around 4pm and made our way to our BnB which sat on a small farm approximately 8kms out of Mudgee township.
Just the perfect time to settle in and enjoy the most beautiful sunset from the back verandah while the temperatures rapidly dropped.
But first ! A quick visit to the local craft brewery Three Tails Brewery and Smokehouse which did not disappoint
Beautifully crafted beers all from local produce and the sweet aroma of slow cooked brisket in the outdoor smokers tempting us to stay longer …
Then back to relax …
The following morning landed fine, sunny and a touch Brisk – the perfect type of day to visit a few wineries.
We had visited a number of wineries over previous visits so we chose three that we hadn’t been to that sounded interesting.
Our first choice was Bunnamagoo Estate located about 20 minutes out of Mudgee – the indigenous translation means “meeting of waters” which is ideal for this magnificent estate. Owned by the Paspaley family, famous for their pearl farming history, this beautiful family homestead was one of the first built west of the Great Dividing Range.
The setting was superb and the wines very good.
Bunnamagoo continues to be run as a grazing property and its small vineyard is producing premium cool climate wines which are very easy to drink.
The staff were friendly and knowledgeable and as usual we enjoyed the experience so much we bought half a dozen bottles to take home with us.
Our next visit was at the delightful and relatively new McIntosh Estate
The star performer here is the winery pet dog Cooper who became great mates with our old fella Kayle.
We were greeted immediately by one of the owners of the estate who was the most friendly man you could imagine. He talked us through the recent history of the place from when he and his wife bought the vineyard around 6 years ago for a change of pace from the hectic Sydney lifestyle – with he originally from farmland in northern USA. Then COVID struck.
But they battled on, co Toni g to provide local winemakers their grapes before they thought – “Why don’t we make our own wines?”
And here we are.
Just the most beautiful experience. They have 13 wines on their list from sparking through white, rose and some cracking reds. We bought 12 of them 😎
We spent longer at McIntosh than we expected but we couldn’t drag ourselves away especially with the best cheese plate ever on offer.
Last visit for the day was to the Italian Inspired First Ridge Estate which sits elegantly at the top of a grassy hill in the Central Ranges with the vines tumbling beautifully downwards, as they do in Italian wine regions.
All wines are grown onsite and lean towards luscious reds of all varieties with Italian blends evident. Think Sangiovese, Barbera, Montepulciano and you’re on the right track.
Again, these full flavoured wines and the beautiful surrounds “made” us support the winery with the purchase of half a dozen of their very best.
What a way to end a fabulous day in this brilliant regional town that has it all.
An early night was on the cards to prepare for an early start for our next days adventures.
Lots more photos can be found in our Gallery Page
Ralph and Karen's Tours 