saturday was all about the wine country! knowing how much of a food/wine lover i am, my trip would not be complete without some exploration into the Australian wine country.

7:45 am we headed north with Rae to the Hunter Valley wine region. about 3 hours north of Sydney, Hunter Valley is known primarily for their Semillion’s. white wine is really not my thing, but it was an opportunity to learn something new!

“cellar doors” is what Aussies call their tasting rooms, and there is no fee to taste. the tastes are very small, and the education about the wine is pretty basic. because there were a few really new wine drinkers in our group, i listened to the “how to make wine” schpeel a few times. the biggest difference that i could pick up through tasting is the whites of australia can be VERY VERY light, so if you’re looking for a crisp cold – water like – glass of wine, AUS Hunter Valley is perfect. there were a few reds, which were very good. i learned that these bigger bolder reds come from the southern parts of West Australia – Margaret River, and South Australia – Wrattonbully. i was underwhelmed by the Hunter Valley, but i know more about wine from this region than i did when i arrived!!

dinner back in sydney was at a recommended singaporean chili crab restaurant, and boy was that an experience! mud crabs are enormous, their shells thick and very hard to crack, and this restaurant charged us $75 a kilo for the “golden crab” we ate. i have never heard of a $200 crab, let alone had one for dinner. OY!!! mud crab will always be the crab made of gold.

cheers mate!