The Hunter Valley, also known as Hunter Valley, is a region in New South Wales, Australia, about 160 km north of Sydney. It has a population of about 590,000 and lives mainly in the coastal cities of Newcastle and Lake Macquarie. The Hunter Valley is the largest river valley in New South Wales.
The Hunter Valley is not named after the hunters, and it is reported that the name of the Hunter Valley is derived from its New South Wales Premier John Hunter. The Hunter Valley was once divided into upper and lower parts, but both parts are very similar in terms of climate and topography. In July 2010, with the advent of the Upper Hunter Valley geographical indication, the name of the Upper and Lower Hunter Valley became the official name. In addition, the Hunter Valley has two sub-regions, one is the smaller but long-established sub-region, Broke Fordwich, which has an "L" shape and red volcanic soil, and the other is called Pokolbin.
The Hunter Valley has a Mediterranean climate and is warm and humid. The geography of the region does not look like an ideal place to produce fine white wines, with its low latitude (around 32° south), relatively hot summers and heavy rainfall, and the grape season may experience erratic rainfall that makes the grapes susceptible to disease or spoilage. Fortunately, the thick afternoon clouds and the cool breeze blowing from the ocean have largely eased the burden on the vines by the heat, allowing them to produce very high-quality grapes.
In the 1930s, James Busby, the "father of viticulture" in New Zealand and Australia, brought 20,000 vine saplings from Europe that had not yet been infected with phylloxin, which played a crucial role in the development of the Hunter Valley wine industry, from which some of Australia's oldest vines are descendants. Since then, James Busby has lived in the Hunter Valley, contributing to the development of the region's wine industry.
The Hunter Valley has 2,324 hectares of vineyards, the most important of which are Semillon, Shiraz, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, etc.; The valley is home to classic Sémillon white wines and Shiraz red wines, Sémillon's acidic yet firm and durable, and Shiraz's delicate, charming and gentle, making it one of the most famous wine regions in New South Wales and even Australia. The wine industry in the Hunter Valley was not all smooth sailing and was once in the doldrums until the 60s, and now the wine industry in the region is in the thriving.
The Hunter Valley is best known for its dry Semillon, which has been made since the 70s of the 19th century. An important feature of the wine is that its quality will continue to improve over time, and the best hunter Gu Semillon can be aged in the bottle for more than 15 years. Australia's national red grape variety Shiraz has also been an important cultivator in the Hunter Valley, and like other wines in the Hunter Valley, the regional characteristics of the Hunter Valley Syrah variety exceed the characteristics of the variety itself, often with earthy, leather and tar flavors, and the better Hunter Valley Syrah can be aged for about 20 years.
Hart & Hunter is a boutique winery in the region that specializes in producing fine wines from a single vineyard. The Semillon grapes used are mainly derived from two single vineyards in the Pokolbin region, Draytons Vineyard and Noble Domain vineyard. The Drayton vineyard is home to 50-year-old Riesling vines with a predominantly sandy loam soil, which gives the grapes a unique and mineral, chalky taste and minerality. The winery's finest wine, Oakey Creek Semillon, is made from grapes from this vineyard. Noble Vineyard is a family-run vineyard with similar soil texture and east-west vines with an average age of 25 years.
The Hart and Hunter wineries harvest the grapes by hand during the ripening period. After the grapes are destemmed and broken, they are placed in stainless steel containers for fermentation. In the production of white wines, the winery uses yeast cultivated in a single vineyard for fermentation, and strictly controls the fermentation temperature during the fermentation period to maximize the retention of fresh fruit aromas in the crystal clear liquor, so that the wine produced is pure and fragrant. For the production of red grapes, the winery usually performs 3 days of cold maceration before fermentation to maximize the color and flavor substances in the peel. Hart & Hunter Winery produces wines from the Single Vineyard and Black collections, which are of excellent quality, and are representative of the Hunter Valley appellation, and have won many awards in important competitions such as the Hunter Valley Fine Wine Competition and the New South Wales Wine Grand Prix.
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