Melanielaa: Week 16: The gloriousness of Hunter

the last time i visited the Hunter Valley was in 2005, when i was young, naive and not quite the alcohol-enthusiast that i am now. back then, i didn't know my chardonnay from my pinot gris or my shiraz from my cabernet sauvignon (fuuyoh, i'm talking like some wine afficianado, when in actual fact i'm not!) - they were all red and whites and unappealing to me. no. back then, i didn't even taste any of the fine wines that the region had to offer, oh Lord have mercy. i didn't realise the full potential of the Hunter, and it was something that came back to haunt me time and again as my palette improved with every year that i passed here in sydney.

however, an opportunity to redeem myself arose last weekend and i grabbed with relish! my parents, my two cousins and myself were to spend the night at Hunter and just taste wines with wild and reckless abandon (ok la, not so much wild and reckless because my dad was there playing the role of wine patrol bah)! it was so much fun! i had so much fun! i bought so much wine! but i do not regret a single purchase - in fact, i wish i had bought more!

sigh.

anyway, Hunter's great. not just because of the wine, ok, but also for it's scenery. i didn't expect it to be so green and i certainly did not expect the rolling hills. even the food was excellent (except for the dinner at Chez Pok - commit that to your memory! you have been warned - which we will never speak of again)!

ok. enough talk. pictures will commence from...NOW!