A Mudgee Weekend Escape: Part Two
Yesterday, we regaled the cruisy drive from Sydney to hidden gem Mudgee, fine dining experiences and fabulous vineyards to visit, and in today’s series of our Mudgee exploration, we give you the perfect Saturday night out and a top notch stop-off on the way home.
We resume our itinerary on Saturday, and look at that, it’s lunchtime! The ideal place for a noon visit is Burnbrae Wines, which means ‘Brook at the foot of the hills’. With a vineyard simply made for weddings, and a cellar door that once acted as an historic dance hall, it is a piece of history with a touch of romance.
Business development manager and wine expert, Katie, empowered our wine knowledge with a comprehensive tasting (which saw us leave with a rosé and chardonnay), as well as filling up our bellies with one heck of a local produce platter filled with cured meats, cheese and fruit.
Making the place all the more lovely, Burnbrae comes with an original Winemakers Cottage fit for four, and ‘Lazy Pizza Sundays’, featuring delicious pizzas and a bucket of homebrewed 548 Lager to be enjoyed on the lawns.
From here, we sussed out the unique cellar door of Pieter van Gent, where barrels full of wine are maturing in a restful slumber in its shadowy cask hall.
Here we stumbled across a real treat as temperatures soared, with a chilled red wine known as Sundance Red, packed with spicy cherry characters and sweet fruit flavours. We also devoured a specially designed tasting plate, with certain chocolates paired with a complementary port, something the winery is particularly known for.
An afternoon nap and a quick evening drink back in the luxury of our Blue Wren farmhouse, and it was time to get back out into the local Mudgee town life. Saturday was the perfect night to visit local darling Alby & Esthers, found on Market St, as well as in the pages of the Good Food Guide for 2017. We sampled homemade cocktails and soaked up the atmosphere of the outdoor courtyard, with fairy lights draped in between tree branches and brick walls.
The entertainment for the evening was local 15-year-old singer, Zoe Gidget Brown, whose melodic voice and talented guitar and piano playing instantly lifted the cosy vibe to another level. Little did we know, it was her first public performance in the space, but she played so beautifully you’d never have known.
Owner Leigh was also one of the loveliest hosts we’ve encountered, stopping by to check how we were enjoying ourselves and ensure we were topped up with delicious tapas and tasty cocktails.
Before bed, it’s simply mandatory – as the locals kept telling us – to enjoy a nightcap at Roth’s Wine Bar, once a dingy corner to be avoided, but now a trendy hotspot for after hours. And once you’ve wrapped up your evening, it helps to have a local friend who can come pick you up. We met Bronny through our host Paul at Blue Wren, but playing taxi isn’t her only helpful service. Bronny runs Mudgee Explorer Tours, which sees her operate local tours for those who are looking to experience everything Mudgee has to offer without the hassle of organising it.
Sunday mornings are the same no matter where you are; made for lazy breakfasts and sleep-ins. We enjoyed a specially catered hamper from the lovely Rachael McCarthy Catering, including eggs from local free range chooks, fresh sourdough, delectable honeycomb, bacon and much more.
Sundays in Mudgee are also made for cherry-picking, and while only in season for around one month in December each year, the Roth Family Orchard welcomes visitors to buy a bucket and scavenge for your own gorgeous red fruits. Trees were dotted with the deep red delights, and despite the persistent heat we spent an hour plucking our very own collection of cherries.
The Roth family are out there helping, along with their beautiful dog, and we even got a peek into the historic converted church they use to pack cherries commercially. If ever in Mudgee in December, this place was a must-see.
If time permits, local boutique shops like Ladybeetle Shoes, Cherry Red, and Whatever Mudgee, are also high on the list of must-sees, during a relaxed stroll through the town.
And then, sadly, it was time to depart dear Mudgee, and slowly wind our way out of the Mudgee Region and back to the big smoke. But not before one last local treasure, about 40 minutes east of Mudgee and easily the best place to stop for lunch on your way home. It was called 29 Nine 99, and we found it in Rylstone.
Chinese-born Na Lan lives in Rylstone with her Aussie husband Reg and runs the quirky tea shop / dumpling house / Chinese gift shop. Decorated with vibrant colours and both Na Lan and her husband’s artwork, the restaurant is named after the date of their marriage – 29th September 1999 – considered a lucky number in Chinese.
But the hero of the whole place were the incredible dumplings Na Lan and her team make. Aside from advising of portion size and allergies, Na Lan and her kitchen dish up freshly made dumplings at random, all reflecting what’s in season, and what just generally tastes good. Matched with what seems like an endless list of Chinese teas, we were in food heaven, before quickly moving to food coma status.
We might have only driven four hours out of the city, but it felt like another world in Mudgee, with some of the best food, wine and people we’ve come across in a long time. If time is precious to you, but an escape is necessary, I can’t think of anywhere better than the beautiful Mudgee Region to satisfy your travel needs.
For more details on how to plan your getaway, see the Mudgee Region page.
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