McWilliam’s Winery

1/13/2008 12:51:00 PM

AP Photo

Our day trip to the McWilliam’s Winery began with a bus ride from the Four Seasons Hotel via Rover Coach to Hunter’s Valley.

Scott McWilliam shows us around the vineyards.

We travelled out of Sydney to the northwest on National Highway 1, along the way we were just blown away by the views of the Australian countryside. The scenes were as varied as we have ever seen, absolutely breathtaking and all within two hours of Sydney.

We arrived at the Crowne Plaza in Hunter’s Valley and were met by Scott McWilliams, a sixth generation McWilliams winemaker and our host for the day.

Since 1877, when Samuel McWilliam planted his first vines at Corowa in New South Wales, successive generations of the McWilliam family have been pioneering the art of fine winemaking in Australia. McWilliam’s Mount Pleasant Estate - nestled in the slopes of the Brokenback Range in NSW’s lower Hunter Valley - was established in 1921 by legendary winemaker, the late Maurice O’Shea.

To say that we were given a VIP tour is an understatement. Scott McWilliam personally led us through all of their Mt. Pleasant vineyards, winery operations, entertained us with our own private tasting tour, provided a wonderful lunch and with the help of Andrew Atkins, toured the local countryside for more opportunities to take pictures of the breathtaking Aussie views.

Scott shows Nisha some of the finest grapes.

The first vineyard we toured was Lovedale and as we learned the Hunter Valley is widely regarded as the home of Semillon, and McWilliam’s as the producer of Australia’s best wines from the variety.

We are sure Scott has fielded the same battery of questions in his profession as winemaker, but he genuinely made us feel welcome and was a perfect host on a very perfect Australian day.

Our next stop was at a vineyard that produces one of our favorite varieties, Shiraz grapes. Being able to pick the grapes off the vine and taste the fruit was an exceptional experience.

Of all the vineyards owned by the McWilliams, the still productive “Maurice O’Shea” was the most astounding. The super-premium Maurice O’Shea Shiraz is made exclusively from 120-year-old vines grown on Mount Pleasant’s Old Hill Vineyard. This revered vineyard was established in the 1880s by the King family, and was purchased by O’Shea in 1921. To put it simply, it was an amazing experience to stand with this living history! 

From the vineyards we proceeded to tour the winery where Scott guided us through the entire process of making wine, from cradle to cork, so to speak.

Nisha did not drink all those bottles…maybe only half of them.

Some would think that a winery tour is all about the wine, but we think it revolves around the experience, and this one…will never be topped!

After our wine tasting exhibition, we were treated to a true delight, a lunch paired with all of our favorite wines. Kangaroo Spring Rolls/Lilleydale Pinot Noir, Lamb Kafka/Mt. Pleasant Phillip Shiraz, Sliced Beef, Corriander and Crisp Noodle Salad/Barwang Shiraz, Cloth Matured Cheddar with Marpeth Sourdough bread/Maurice O’Shea Shiraz.

At this point we bid Scott adieu and as I mentioned at the beginning, we were toured around after lunch by Andrew Atkins who provided us with breathtaking views. We were even treated to tour the property of Chief winemaker, Phillip Ryan, the father-in-law of Andrew. And you might have guessed, he has a vineyard in his back yard.

This is where the magic happens.

We couldn’t believe that we had spent an entire day at the winery and that the time had come to return to Sydney. As we left, we were given very thoughtful gifts courtesy of McWilliams. We would like to personally thank them for their kindness, time and personal attention given us by Scott, Andrew and the entire staff at Mt. Pleasant. If we had to leave tomorrow, we feel that our trip has already exceeded our expectations. We hope that you don’t delay entering the 2009 “Heating Up Down Under” Sweepstakes. You could win…we did!!