One of the first wine regions in Australia, the Hunter Valley in New South Wales was also one of the first high profile regions to establish itself in the mid-1980s when Australian wine reappeared in the UK after a long absence. It was soon overtaken by the South Australian behemoth and indeed that amorphous `Southeastern Australia` concept. Today hot and humid Hunter Valley is around 3% of the Annual Australian harvest. Though the state is also responsible for huge quantities of industrial wine from the irrigation areas we look to the Orange and Hilltops areas for the other quality wines.

Hunter Valley Semillon is one of the jewels in Australia`s crown, low alcohol, high acidity and immense ageability contributing to its mysterious magic. Shiraz also does extremely well here, especially in cooler years like 2018.