La Bella Italia……………..

With Italy being one of the most popular destinations for Australian travellers, The Mole discovered that you do not have to travel thousands of miles to get a taste of Italy right here in Australia ………..and by that I don’t just mean Italian food!

The Tuscany Wine Estate Resort in the Hunter Valley [picutred right] feels as if it has been lifted in Dr Who’s Tardis and dropped conveniently on Sydney’s doorstep for us to all enjoy our little piece of Italy – poplars and all!

The 4* Tuscany Wine Estate Resort was built in 1997 and since December 2001 it has been under new management, offering 2 styles of accommodation, the Olive Grove and the Vineyard View rooms, all set in 26 acres of parkland, right in the heart of Australia’s premium wine country, with Keith Tulloch’s winery right in the line of sight nestled in the vines and the Blue Tongue Brewery right next door.

Also, some of the Hunter’s hidden winery and food secrets are to be found in the lanes and byways behind Tuscany away from the traditional tourist tracks – more about that next week.

Talking about on your doorstep, the undeniable leader in Hunter cheeses, the Binnorie Dairy cheese factory is also right in the Mill complex [pictured left], alongside the restaurants and if you haven’t tried Binnorie’s soft cheeses including Labna, then you have not lived. 

Binnorie cheeses are also featured in the dishes in Tuscany’s Broken Back tapas bar and in the excellent Mill restaurant – more about them and other great Hunter restaurants and cafes later in the week.

Tuscany also offers an outdoor swimming pool, tennis courts, bicycle hire and international guests will not disappointed with kangaroos appearing at dusk each day to feed.

Tuscany is an ideal place for that romantic weekend, assisted of course, by cruising along the Hunter’s lanes in www.luxurycarhire.com.au’s Mercedes 320CLK, with the roof down.

Back in Tuscany, the 26 Olive Grove rooms [pictured left] really reflect that Tuscan feel with a wooden queen sized sleigh bed [tip for Tuscany, the bed should be facing the window as in the picture!] with fluffy duvets and European style pillows and furniture and the walls painted in those wonderful soft European or Italian pinks and beiges – of course, redolent of Tuscany!

These rooms overlook the pool, dam and the parkland/bush land and young olive trees, while the 12 Vineyard View Rooms are located to take full advantage of the views over the vines to the Lower Hunter in the distance.

By the way, Tuscany is pet friendly and you should advise on booking if you are taking a pet as you will not be able to take advantage of any of the special deals, charging rack rate for covering the shampooing of carpets and upholstery after each pet visit.

More on Tuscany and in partucular the food later this week!

Tuscany Wine Estate Resort is located on the corner of Hermitage Road and Mistletoe Lane in Pokolbin, in the Hunter Valley – for more information please visit www.tuscanywineestate.com.au or call [email protected]

You can also call Tuscany on + 61 2 4998 7288

Tuscany has masses of great deals available every week and Luxury Car Hire also have some great packages including Tuscany and their range of luxury sports cars, including Porsche, BMW Z4 and Mercedes [pictured left in Sydney] sports cars – they can be contacted on www.luxurycarhire.com.au

So, make sure you read about The Mole digging around in The Hunter brought to you every day this week in TravelMole.

The Mole was a guest of www.luxurycarhire.com.au and The Tuscany Wine Estate but readers should be aware that TravelMole values and protects editorial integrity and all times and will always tell it the way it was.

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