Hunter Valley Wine Tour from Sydney: 20 Wines & Lunch Included

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Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/14

Duration10h

GroupUp to 14

LanguagesEN

PickupAt your hotel

Hunter Valley's Boutique Wineries in One Day from Sydney

You're picked up from your Sydney hotel and driven two hours north to Hunter Valley, where you taste up to 20 wines at three to four boutique family-owned wineries with the winemakers themselves. Lunch with wine and a guided cheese tasting are built in, and you're back in Sydney by early evening without arranging transport, paying entry fees separately, or wondering what comes next.

10h

Step-by-step itinerary

Hunter Valley boutique wine tour

Hotel pickup in Sydney
Travel 2 hours to Hunter Valley
Pass Sydney Harbour Bridge and Hawkesbury River
Visit 2 boutique family-owned wineries
Sample up to 20 premium wines
Enjoy gourmet lunch at Cypress Lakes
Pass Hunter Valley Gardens
Guided artisan cheese tasting
Sample estate-exclusive wines with winemaker
Return via Hawkesbury River and Mooney Mooney Bridge
Arrive back in Sydney and hotel drop-off

The Experience

The driver pulls up at your Sydney hotel around 8am, and within ten minutes you're crossing the Harbour Bridge with a handful of other wine lovers heading north. Two hours later, after winding through Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park and crossing the Hawkesbury River, the vines start appearing on both sides of the road — and that's when your guide starts talking about what makes Hunter Valley different. The region's been growing wine since the 1800s, and you're about to taste why people still care.

Before lunch, you stop at two boutique family-owned wineries tucked into Pokolbin and the surrounds. These aren't the big names on the main strip; they're the kind of places where the winemaker might actually be there, pouring their own Semillon or Shiraz and telling you why the soil matters. You'll taste up to 20 wines across the stops — the classic Hunter Valley styles (that Semillon is the real deal) plus Chardonnay, Shiraz, and blends you won't find anywhere else. The groups stay small, capped at 14 people, so there's room to ask questions without feeling rushed.

Lunch lands at Cypress Lakes, a vineyard restaurant with views that actually justify the photos you'll take. You get a hot and cold spread, and a glass of wine is already on the table — no upselling, no surprises. After eating, you swing past the 60-acre Hunter Valley Gardens just to see the Rose Garden and the themed botanical displays, then stop for a guided artisan cheese tasting. The cheeses are made in-house, and someone walks you through what you're tasting and why it pairs with what you drank earlier. It's the kind of detail that feels small until you realize how much it changes the day.

The drive back to Sydney takes you over the Mooney Mooney Bridge and back across the Hawkesbury, and you're dropped at your original pickup point around 6pm or 6:30pm depending on traffic. The minibus has onboard refrigeration if you bought wine along the way, so you don't have to worry about bottles getting warm in the boot. Hotel pickup and drop-off from four central Sydney locations means no negotiating a ride to the start — it's all arranged, all included, no hidden charges.

What’s included

Your day includes hotel pickup and drop-off from one of four central Sydney locations, the 2-hour drive each way in a luxury air-conditioned minibus with onboard wine refrigeration, tastings at three to four boutique family-owned wineries in Pokolbin, up to 20 premium wine samples, a guided artisan cheese tasting, lunch at Cypress Lakes with a complimentary glass of wine, and expert local guide commentary throughout the journey.

Good to know

Easy physical levelPets welcomeNot for pregnant travelers

Operated by Boutique Tours Australia

Is this one for you?A good fit if you want to taste Hunter Valley's best without arranging your own transport, paying entry fees separately, or wondering which wineries to visit — the small-group format and fixed itinerary handle all of that, and the two-hour drive each way is what makes a full day of tastings and lunch possible in one trip.