The purpose of this trip was for the boys to participate in the inaugural Mudgee Bike Classic Ride. The boys being Mark, David, and Matt.

We were all staying at Kirsten Apartments: Annabelle, Matt, Mark and myself stayed in Fleetwood house and Colleen and David stayed in The Cottage.

Mark and I were the first to arrive and checked into our lodging at 2 pm. We had stayed at this particular house before and it presented just as nicely as it did the first time. Colleen and David were also due on the same day but were a bit later arriving so Mark and I decided to head out and fill in the time for the afternoon by visiting one of the vineyards that we weren’t going to be able to visit over the weekend, Pieter van Gent. We spent a pleasant hour there wine tasting and and noting the Covid-induced changes since the last time we had visited. The tasting tables were more widely spaced and people were turned away once the allotted tables were filled.

By the time we got back into Mudgee, Colleen and David had arrived and so the four of us set out to find somewhere to have an evening drink before our early dinner at the Mudgee Brewing Company. We headed down our street, Lewis Street, and were pleasantly surprised to find that a new venture had opened and this just happened to be a craft brewery so you can imagine Mark’s surprise and joy. The Three Tails Brewery had only been opened a few weeks but was obviously already making an impression with the locals as it didn’t take long for the place to fill up. It has a lovely ambiance and the most amazingly huge smoker ovens, in the rear courtyard, so one could imagine winter dining there would be very hearty. We were a little disappointed to have to leave this comfortable and quirky place but we had a booking for the Mudgee Brewing Company and, so, off we set. We were a little disappointed to find the atmosphere and ambiance quite different from previous visits. I was to learn, the next day, that the place has recently changed hands and, whilst the food was still quite good, the venue was not nearly festive and cheery. We’d all had a rather long day of travel and so we headed home after dinner to our respective properties.

It was a glorious morning and so the boy boys headed off on an early bike ride and Colleen and I went for a walk and checked out the local markets. We caught up with the cyclists for a coffee in town before all heading home to shower for the day.

The four of us gathered later on and walked back into town to browse the shops and to find somewhere for lunch. We ended up at the Parking Lot Cafe which was okay but I wouldn’t make a point of heading there again.

Matt and Annabelle were due in the early afternoon and so we headed back to the house after lunch to wait for their arrival. We had a few winery bookings for later in the afternoon and they all flowed quite smoothly. Our first visit was to Baker Williams distillery at 2 pm. They do a great range of Gins and a delicious Orancello and Matt and Annabelle and Mark and I bought one of each of the samples we tasted. I’d highly recommend adding them to any wine visit list if ever in the region. Our next stop was at Huntington Estate at 3 pm. We opted for the standard range of wines to taste and these were ok, but probably not quite as appealing as on our previous visit, some years prior.

We had a bit of time before our next winery booking so we made a quick visit to Rosby as this had been mentioned as an interesting vineyard that incorporated a sculpture garden. There had also been mention of a ‘to die for’ Basque Cheese cake which appealed to me too so we detoured there for a short visit. We only stayed long enough for Coll to have one glass of wine and for a couple of us to sample the cheesecake. It was delicious and well the worth the trip to sample.

Our last visit for the day was to Lowe winery at 4 pm and we all always enjoy sitting-off at this beautiful vineyard perched on a rise offering commanding views of the surrounding fields and vineyards. However, Mark and I generally prefer the view to their wines. All three destinations needed pre-booking and involved tasting fees but it was worthwhile to guarantee access to the tasting rooms. When we were at Pieter van Gent the day before there were numerous people being turned away so I would highly recommend pre-booking any vineyard visits if ever in Mudgee for wine tasting.

The plan for the evening was to have dinner at home and so we set off after Lowe’s. We had a lovely dinner of Mark’s Spaghetti Bolognese and a relatively early night given the boys had a big day of riding ahead of them.

It was a partly cloudy morning for the inaugural Mudgee Classic Bike ride. Unfortunately, Matt wasn’t feeling up to the ride given he’d had his Covid vaccine on the Friday prior. So, leaving Matt tucked up in bed, Annabelle, Colleen and I headed off to watch the start of the ride. It was a very festive atmosphere indeed and we were actually able to see Mark and David, and David’s brother, Mark, head off in their particular section.

Us girls went for a walk and had a coffee / tea cafe at Alby and Esther’s before heading home to shower and collect Matt. We then all went back into town to browse the shops and find somewhere for brunch. We ended up back at the very popular Alby and Esther’s cafe; Colleen would give this cafe full-marks for their Chai tea. They have a lovely central courtyard, where we sat for both visits, which you can see in the photos below.

We then drifted home to wait for the boys return and they ended up finishing earlier than expected; they were home and showered by about 2 pm. So, rather impromptu, we decided to try our luck and head out to visit a few more vineyards. This was a wonderful way to spend the afternoon as the clouds had cleared and the weather was beautiful making for a very pleasant afternoon sitting at these vineyards, tasting wine and sharing our stories of the day. Our first port of call was Robert Stein, as we’d heard the day before that they had some very good dessert wines including a marmalade port which appealed to some of us. We all enjoyed their wines, and the beautiful vista from the tasting courtyard, and some of us bought said marmalade port!

There wasn’t a lot of time left in the day but we made a quick visit to Bunnamagoo, before the 4 pm close. Bunnamagoo is a vineyard we always visit when in Mudgee as we generally enjoy their wines and they are another winery with a lovely tasting room and courtyard that offers a great view over their vineyard. We even bumped into some of our Uni friends there, Pip and Mark Hooper… what a small world!

It was then back home to get ready to head out for our last evening meal and we stopped off at the Three Tails Brewery before heading over to the Orient Hotel for dinner. The Orient had expanded greatly since we were last there and the place was full so was rather noisy but the pub-style menu had something for everyone and the service was good. The boys were pretty tired after the big day and so we headed home after dining for another relatively early evening.

Colleen and David headed back to Canberra at about 8 am but Matt and Annabelle, Mark and myself went back to Alby & Esther’s for another coffee before heading home. This cafe was again very popular and it was a rather long wait for our coffees but the good feature of this wait was that the cloud and fog has lifted by the time we merged and we had sunny weather for our drive home.