The hidden Hunter………..

Driving around the Hunter in a soft top Mercedes [pictured right in Sydney] does make the whole experience very pleasant and why not, as there is no reason it should not be………….the Mole’s tip though is stay away from the big wineries and cheese operations where the throngs go and discover the real Hunter!

In any case with the wind in you hair, by courtesy of a www.luxurycarhire.com,au  Mercedes, Porsche or BMW, here are The Mole’s first hand tips on some of the relatively hidden things to do, drink and eat in The Hunter.

Clearly Tuscany Wine Estate Resort is not a mainstream property for masses of tourism, because it is a peaceful oasis, a must for that romantic weekend, transporting you and whoever you decide to take with you, right back into romantic Europe and into that most romantic of European destinations, Tuscany.

If music be the food of love with an edict to play on, then I am afraid while I love music, I think food is the food of love and what better than a romantic dinner with the Mill Restaurant in the Tuscany Resort offering a very good menu of modern Australian cuisine for lunch and dinner and a very hearty hot breakfast.

Across the courtyard, Broken Back Tapas Bar offers some great Hunter cheeses and some lovely little bell peppers stuffed with local cheese and all in front of a roaring log fire and a great selection of beers and wines.

There is nothing like a flashback though and to do that all you have to do is take the very short trip down the road and visit Casuarina to try their flashback flambe dishes!  Amazing and very tasty indeed and they even make the Caesar salad at your table, with none of this gluggy bottle dressings.

Casuarina is really a step into the past, but is was chokkers when we were there proving that tried and tested formulae do work!  By the way the crepe suzette with strawberries was fantastic!

Hey, but we are in the Hunter after all, so what about some wine!

First Creek is a smart small winery, a really cool place and in addition to the traditional and expected white and red wines they also offer some really excellent fruit wines – you have to try them and especially the raspberry wine – yum!

Go see the lovely Susan Peterson [pictured left] for really a good tasting of great First creek wines and she should know, her husband is the winemaker!

Visit http://www.firstcreekwines.com.au for more information.

Off to Tamburlaine wines where they don’t use and pest chemicals and minimal chemicals in the processing, so no more headaches or allergy problems.

The delightful Jan Williams [pictured below] ran our tasting there and she told The Mole that the owners are committed to the success of Tamburlaine, one of the few wineries in the Hunter that only grows and makes wines in the Hunter.

They also make a fruit wine – Framboise – stunning! 

For more information visit http://www.tamburlaine.com.au

I had never heard of Audrey Wilkinson and that is probably my shortcoming, but the amazing facts are that Audrey was a man and he set up reputedly one of the first wineries in the Hunter in 1886.

With stunning views over the Hunter, more about the history tomorrow, but they produce an amazing Liquer Verdhelo and a Vin de Vie made of brandy and strawberries – yum!

For more information visit http://www.audreywilkinson.com.au

Enough from The Hunter for today – back tomorrow!

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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