HUNTER VALLEY
The Hunter
Valley is New South Wales’ most famous wine region. It
was first sighted by European settlers in 1797 and was initially a source of
timber and coal for the steam ships. Although many farms were planted with
grapes, the Hunter
Valley was not initially
intended to be used for wine production.
In the early 1900’s customs
barriers and disease were responsible for a decline in wine production; however
the 80’s proved to be a time of change for the Hunter Valley.
Wine production went from around 30,000 cases a year
to thousands of cases a day and still growing. Not only was wine production
booming, the Hunter
Valley was becoming a
tourist hot spot. Restaurants, hotels, bars, shops, music, entertainment and
even golf courses gave tourists a reason to visit the wine country. What was
once a remote area is now one of New
South Wales’ most visited destinations.
