How to get giddy in Australia's bucolic Hunter Valley—without tasting a drop of its fine wines By Steven Elias
R. IAN LLOYD
A balloon takes off into the dawn mist near Drayton Family Wines in Australia's Hunter Valley
When I signed up for a hot-air-balloon tour of Australia's Hunter Valley, famed for its wines, I had visions of a romantic Loire Valley-style adventure transplanted Down Under: festively colored, majestic balloons awaiting me with jets of golden flame roaring into their bellies and liveried waiters serving flutes of champagne. But this is no-frills, no-nonsense Oz, after all, and visitors to the valley can expect, instead, 4:30 a.m. wake-ups for the predawn launch, a dress code of jeans, caps and collared shirts to protect heads and necks from the heat of the flame, and a Balloon Aloft pilot who greets bleary-eyed voyagers by saying, "You may assist us by lifting the baskets off their trailers."
Chores done, 11 of us clamber into our basket and lift off from the southern tip of the valley. We rise silently over one of Australia's most prosperous and lovely regions, just as the first rays of dawn begin to spread over the landscape.
A sudden roaring blast of the burners shatters the morning peace as our pilot, John, forces the balloon higher. Then the romance begins. By now, a brilliant sun has burned off the early-morning chill. We sail over Cessnock, an old mining town laid out below like a chessboard, as a 75-carriage coal train snakes through the countryside. Another blast and we lift to 300 meters. From that height we can see a 40-kilometer stretch of the valley—a lush strip running east to west. To the north flows the mighty Hunter River, and on the southwestern horizon rises the magnificent Brokenback Range. Tawny mineral-rich hills act as a watershed, enriching the region's fertile soil. It is the soil, in conjunction with the climate and the pioneering vintners, that has given the Hunter its reputation for producing some of the world's best Shiraz, Semillon and Chardonnay grapes and wines.
Viticulture in the Hunter Valley began in the early 1820s, but only in the 1960s did the wine industry of the lower valley begin to flourish. By the 1980s it had superseded coal mining as the centerpiece of the local economy. These days about 160 grape growers and 43 wineries dot the valley, many offering daily tastings. And that's just the beginning of the gourmet allures: the region features some of the country's finest restaurants and many top-end inns and resorts. With Sydney only a two-hour drive away, the Hunter Valley has emerged as Australia's premier gastronomic destination.
Buffeted by gentle winds, we reach Pokolbin, less a town than a crossroads surrounded by wineries. The heart of wine country, it is home to world-renowned labels such as Tyrrell's, Brokenwood, McWilliam's, McGuigan and numerous boutique wines not yet discovered by international connoisseurs. Below us, vineyards spread like lava far into the distance. We begin to descend, brushing the tops of trees as we drift toward our paddock, 15 kilometers from where we started. "Take your landing positions," says our commander, "and hold on tight."
Back at Balloon Aloft headquarters we finally get our champagne, as we toast the success of our 30-minute ride. It's only 8 a.m., plenty of time still for a country breakfast of bacon, eggs and freshly brewed coffee, the better to prepare for a day of rambling in the vineyards or touring wineries to sample some of the superb vintages the Hunter has to offer.
If you want to experience the Hunter Valley from above, book Balloon Aloft's $250-per-person tour at (61-2) 4938 1955 or www.balloonaloft.com. You'll experience an even giddier high than you get from tasting fine wines.
