Top Ten Hunter Valley Gourmet 2014

Now we all love a list and this year we are sharing our suggestions for the Hunter Valley Gourmet Top Ten - featuring in no particular order some of our favourites and some of our new discoveries and some others who you might be interested in. 

Seriously, these selections are based on genuine Hunter Valley Gourmet and are not a paid list or clients of ours.  Word of mouth, referral and recommended to us by close friends, we are in a privileged position to share this list with you - the Top Ten Hunter Valley Gourmet for 2014.

Please, share your thoughts and nominate yourself, your business, or your own recommendation if you have a better suggestion or would like to be included in the next edition.  Above all we are fair, open minded and eager to share everything Gourmet about the Hunter Valley.

Great Gourmet Hunter Valley Wine Drives

Great Wine Drives - Gourmet Traveller

For decades the Hunter Valley has been Sydney's playground, a place to enjoy a weekend away in the country with family and friends all washed down with a healthy dose of local shiraz, semillon and chardonnay. Just close enough to make the couple-of-hours drive north of Sydney an easy run, the magical mix of vineyards, some outstanding wines and the imposing Brokenback Range continues to draw visitors, both local and international, to the region in ever-increasing numbers.

Hunter Valley Gourmet Restaurant

Leaves and Fishes Restaurant

Focusing on seafood, with an Asian kick, Leaves & Fishes started when co-owner Damian Burke began growing his own Silver Perch in the dam below Leaves and Fishes’ front deck. Harvesting and serving them in the restaurant, Sharon and he designed and built together, they became one of the first seafood restaurants in the Hunter Valley region. Offering good, fresh food in a friendly atmosphere has always been their continued goal.

Hunter Valley Gourmet BBQ

Tuscany Wine Estate Gourmet BBQ

Located in the heart of Australia’s premium wine country; Hunter Valley and only being a 2 hour drive from Sydney, many other factors such as the professional team with a high level of service ensuring you are made to feel you are at home; it is the food.

The Mill Restaurant at Tuscany Wine Estate Resort does not serve function food, rather prides itself on every meal with menu’s designed to give the highest quality, freshness, unique, variety; not your run of “The Mill”  experience.  Apart from the food we have the opportunity of offering various dining locations, ensuring those long stays offer a different dining experience each evening in both location and menu style.

Hunter Valley Gourmet Boutique Tours

Hunter Valley Boutique Wine Tours

This tour is a great introduction to the depth of Wine Country's industry! Yoll travel with a wine qualified host and experience insights into the industry not afforded everyday visitors to the Valley.  Also included are olive, cheese and handmade chocolate sampling.  Lunch consists of "clean, green" produce - a scrummy antipasto platter full of mouth watering selections.  On long weekend or event weekends,  a cafe style menu is provided.

Hunter Valley Luxury Accommodation

Blackwattle Gourmet Luxury Accommodation

Blackwattle Luxury Retreats offer two exclusive self-contained luxury cottages with romantic couples accommodation and luxurious small group self contained accommodation. The beautiful Lovedale location, in the world renowned Hunter Valley wine region of New South Wales of Pokolbin, Rothbury, Lovedale and Mount View, promises the ultimate getaway with the best of the Hunter Valley within just a few minutes.

Hunter Valley Gourmet Smokehouse

Lovedale Gourmet Smokehouse

Located on the picturesque Majors Lane Vineyard Estate in the heart of Lovedale, we are now home to Majors Lane Restaurant, Lovedale Smokehouse Gourmet Pantry, Lovedale Smokehouse Café, Majors Lane Cooking School, Majors Lane Wines Cellar Door and a Gallery of Local Art. 
We pride ourselves on showcasing the Hunter Valley’s best produce by offering a unique dining and tourism experience, and would like to thank the following publications and television programs for helping us spread the word about Hunter Valley producers:

Hunter Valley Gourmet Pizza

Hunter Valley Gourmet Pizza

A family owned business that has been in the Hunter Valley since 1998. We have expanded since then to include three locations with plans for more all across the hunter.  Nick and Nicky have been in the industry since 1976 when it was still in its infancy. They have grown and evolved along with the styles and tastes that have led to its current form.

Tinklers Fresh Hunter Valley Produce

Fresh Hunter Valley Gourmet Produce

Utilising our fertile soils and farming experience, we grow an abundance of seasonal produce including table grapes, peaches, nectarines, avocados, figs and mixed citrus. These and many other seasonal vegetables are available fresh or there is a wide range of jams, marmalades, pickles and relishes to chose from.

Hunter Valley Tour Guides- Two Fat Blokes

Hunter Valley Gourmet Tours

With an amazing 140 different wine outlets, over 50 outstanding restaurants the task to choose the right ones to visit can be a daunting one. We are also blessed with stunning natural beauty and an abundance of wildlife and that famous lay-back ‘Hunter Lifestyle’.  In fact, one of the world’s most respected wine magazines named the Hunter Valley as one of the top ten wine travel destinations in the world for 2013. The Hunter Valley is the only Australian wine region to make the list.

Binnorie Gourmet Cheese Hunter Valley

Hunter Valley Gourmet Cheesemaker

Set right in the middle of the Hunter Valley's fabulous Pokolbin vineyard district, Binnorie Dairy produces a range of cheeses with distinctive characters unavailable outside the region.  One of the ways this is achieved is by using only locally sourced milk.  "In the same way that wine reflects its regionality, due to soil variation and climatic conditions, so it is with dairy produce."

It is a real pleasure to keep seeking and finding hidden gems in and amongst the Hunter Valley Gourmet Region to share.

Hunter Valley Christmas on MKR

Here's a sneak peek at the upcoming series of My Kitchen Rules where we are proud to announce a local Hunter Valley Cheesemaker features as a contestant!  Go Hunter Valley!

Christmas Wine and Cheese Hampers

Making Christmas Wine and Cheese Gift Baskets is simple...

Some background on cheese...

Cheese is made from the curds (solids) of cow, sheep or goat milk, which are separated from the whey and ripened, according to Stephanie Alexander in her Cook’s Companion. With different processing styles, additives and curing methods, there is virtually no limit to the variety and taste spectrum that can be achieved. Farmhouse cheese is cheese that has been made on a farm with milk from that farm exclusively.

Will Stud, Australia’s sole member of France’s Guilde des Fromagers, suggests nine categories of cheeses.
Blue - Ripen from the inside out and moulds are injected. Think roquefort and gorgonzola
Cooked – low moisture content, long shelf life. Think parmesan, gruyere, emmental.
Fresh – uncured, unripened. Think ricotta, cottage cheese, mozzarella, marscapone
Goats – Distinctive taste, sprinkled with ash. Think Chevre.
Processed – ripening is halted by heat treatment for uniformity. Think supermarket.
Semi-hard – treated at lower temp and matured for 4-12 mths. Think cheddar, raclette.
Sheeps – Traditional Ethnic cheeses. Think fetta, roquefort.
Surface-Ripened Washed Rind – curd is pressed and dipped in brine alternately.
Surface-Ripened White Mould – Mould grows on surface and develops in. Think Brie, Camembert.
Preparing the Cheese Platter
Stephanie Alexander advises to be selective with your cheese for the platter. If you have a single perfectly ripe cheese do not bother adding to the selection – one fine tasting is far superior to a motley jumble of dried out pieces. Far better to have one fine experience than a confusion of inferior choices.

Tips
- Remove the cheese from the fridge prior to serving – let the cheese come to room temperature.
- Don’t feel obliged to serve cut kiwi fruit or unripe hard strawberries with the cheese platter – they do nothing to improve the experience.
- Grapes present well on the platter and are a sweet balance.
- Fig Jam is a great spread on crusty bread in between
- Crusty Bread works best with the cheese platter – sourdough bread with dense crumb and chewy crust makes for a satisfying compliment.

Wine for the Cheese Platter
The general rule, according to Stephanie Alexander, is the lighter the cheese, the lighter the wine. Don’t necessarily think that you always have to serve a dry, full bodied red wine.
A sticky dessert wine sits well with a creamy blue cheese.

Christmas Gift Baskets make the ideal birthday present for a person who has everything. Gourmet hampers make for a pleasant surprise that keeps giving for long after the occasion, as there is no rush to open and sample all of the jars and bottles in the gift. For more tips and advice on gourmet gifts, call 1300 284 684.

Worst Christmas Gifts Ever - My List.

Buying an affordable and appropriate Christmas Gift is not the hardest thing in the world - so how come we've all experienced a forgettable gift during the holiday season? Maybe my personal bad gifts have been because I over thought the whole thing and should have just gone with gut instinct. But in saying that, going for the no brainer and sending a gift card or coupon is just plain thoughtless. So here it is, my list of worst ever Christmas Gifts - I must admit I actually bought one for a family member, the other two were, unfortunately, give to me.

Electronic Santa Gifts. Three words that should never go together I think, just like the electronic things that said Santa actually does. Here's a basic rule I guess, if Santa does something when you put batteries in the back and push the switch to ON, there is probably a reason for the Christmas Gift to be on the worst gifts list. I have seen a climbing mountaineer Santa, a flying trapeze Santa, a Santa with sunglasses that said a funny catchphrase when you got too close. Anyway, basic rule holds true, Santa does not need batteries - period.

Art is a personal gift idea. Certainly, Art is a magnificent prompt to ponder the meaning of life and appreciate the intricate design of the universe, but as a gift it is pretentious, opinionated and very likely to elicit raised eyebrows. You see, Art is one of the most personal gifts you could imagine, so for me to offer you a print of abstract wildflowers and you to actually appreciate the idea is not even remotely likely. More to the point, you would politely hand back the art and suggest it might look better on someone else's wall. I haven't received art yet, but I have given it and they don't talk about it much, so I guess it wasn't appreciated.

Discount Office Supplies bought Gift Baskets. You know the ones - small baskets filled with cheap 7 Eleven chocolates, and a candy cane and some wafer biscuits and under plastic with a little basket? I'm not sure if it was because I was working at a factory and things weren't going so well for the boss, but come Christmas, the pay clerk stood us all in line and handed out a little basket with this stuff in it to all the floor employees. The Gift Basket still had the Discount Office Supplies sticker on the underside. Surely the worst gift ever!

Another worst Christmas Gift Idea is the coupon or store voucher. They force you to select a gift from a specified store, almost worst than just flipping some cash. And just a touch more thought goes into it as well. So the worst Christmas Gift Idea ever is the Gift Voucher.

When you are thinking of Christmas Gifts, avoid my list of the worst ever and take a little time to make a meaningful, memorable Christmas Gift. There is so much out there, it really is no excuse for making the worst ever gift ideas list.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Worst-Christmas-Gifts-Ever!&id=6655765

Christmas Gifts for the Person Who Has Everything

Every Family has them, everyone knows one, and we all struggle to find just the right Christmas Gift each year - the person who has everything. And be realistic, a gift voucher just isn't good enough when you want to make a personal, thoughtful expression of your feelings. So you scour the malls and browse online, looking for something a little left of centre for your hard to buy for friend. And guess what? Here is my secret tip for the holiday season - stop looking, here is the answer - a gift basket or gourmet hamper!

Let's set the scene - your friend is established, has a well stocked home and all sorts of odds and ends and doesn't really want for anything. And you arrive for your holiday drinks with a handmade gift basket filled with a selection of her favourite foods, pamper items and some cute hobby accessories. The perfect gift with a tantalising immediacy and personalized to suit her exact likes and preferences.

Or, better yet, you have arranged for a gourmet hamper to be delivered to her house in the days before Christmas so she will be able to share the products with her family and guests over the holiday period. And you write a memorable little ditty to accompany the personal greeting card which is enclosed with the gift. Again, it's sharing the perfect gift, with a truly meaningful twist.

Inspiration can come from any of your previous experiences with your friend, like particular tastes and flavours she likes - simply buy a gourmet sampler with these condiments in mind and you will have created a valued, original gift for her without being lazy. And that's what it is all about when you come down to it, we all remember the little gifts that have that extra something that touches our heart. Perhaps not the biggest or the most expensive, but the gift with the most thought.

In my years as a gift professional, I recall several instances where an executive client received a particularly well thought out gourmet hamper designed and packed by our staff with extensive consultation with the people who knew him well. It was a real knockout to hear the amazing feedback once he was presented with the gift. This demonstrates that careful planning, attention to quirky personal details, and trusting the actual hamper build to the professionals can result in a truly awesome impact.

Still not convinced that gourmet hampers or gift baskets are the ideal gift for the person who has everything? What if I told you adding a range of food, condiments and taste products like coffee, chocolate, wine, beer, champagne, and jars will make the gift not just something focused on her experience, but on her next dinner party or family occasion, when she will be able to share the products? That's when the gift becomes something entirely more than just about the recipient, and the focus shifts to sharing, caring ad family. And that, after all, is what Christmas is all about.

Consider sharing a gift hamper with your hard to buy for friends this Christmas and see how well like your choice is. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Hampers

More Christmas Hampers, ho, ho, ho.

Christmas Hampers - Bulk Orders are Going Crazy!!

Having a great lead into Christmas 2010, with enough clients realizing the stark contrast between "Crap in a Basket" and a Premium Gourmet Hamper.

Here's some images to keep you satisfied...

 Just threw these first few as a teaser - here's our newest venture, making our fourth vintage our Hunter Valley Shiraz.  It has been a tumultuous few years, especially the torpor of 2008, but with some luck we are emerging for the 2010 vintage in a much wiser, more calm position.  Anyway, here's some of the French Oak Barrels.

 Bottling 500+ cases of wine requires some infrastructure.  You should see the gang in full work mode manning these stations!

 The 2010 vintage days after harvest.  A gorgeous Hunter Valley Shiraz that has settled and matured as expected.

 Another load of Christmas 2010 Hampers delivered, personally, to your business.

 Have a look at the quality inclusions and professional hand wrap on these Hampers.

Hunter Valley Hampers

 The convenience of the Hyundai iLoad, with twin side sliding doors, makes Hamper delivery simple.

Another Corporate Order for Christmas Hampers

Day in day out at this time of year.

 One of the "Little Helpers"

A custom hamper made for one of the many corporates who trust us with their large orders.  We welcome you to give us the opportunity to quote on you brief and we offer a marked point of difference - NO imported "Crap in a Basket" Just simply local made Gourmet Food and Condiments, Hand assembled in the Hunter Valley.

Christmas Hampers

Here is a story about the Christmas Hamper. Gift Giving is made effortless with 100% Australian made Hunter Valley Food and Wine.