What is the difference between a Hunter Valley winery tour and a wine tour? It’s something that comes up often enough and in all honesty, it’s usually me who brings up the issue. This is because a lot of my guests refer to our tour as a winery tour. And, on certain days it is…well, sort of. But it may not be. Very often it will simply be a wine tour. Or, more specifically, a vineyard tour!

A Hunter Valley Winery tour vs A Hunter Valley Wine Tour

Let’s start by explaining what a winery is, versus wine and a vineyard. A ‘winery’ is in simple term, the big shed that keeps all the equipment used for making wine. From the crushers to the fermentation tanks, these are all housed within this, often huge, shed. So to do a Hunter Valley winery tour, it would mean you would enter inside these big sheds and look at the equipment used. The only problem with this is that many Hunter Valley vineyards don’t have a winery onsite. Their winery may be in a different location albeit nearby. And often there is no wine to taste in the actual winery, as the wine for tasting is at a cellar door.  There are some cellar doors located at the winery however not many. And as variety is the spice of life, we’d rather have a much broader of range of wines, labels and cellar doors to choose from.

I’m going to assume you know what wine is so let’s move onto vineyard.

A vineyard is the farm that grows the grapes for making wine. The rows and rows of skilfully trellised vines, that make beautiful postcards and Insta photos. And in our case, usually with a few kangaroos roaming in between them. The views of a vineyard can be, for many, the highlight of a wine tour. Getting out of the city and being surrounded by green is always good for the soul.

Now, sometimes you will have a winery on a vineyard. However I have never seen a vineyard on a winery (unless the winery was in a bunker or the vineyard was on the winery roof?).

When tasting wine, we have always believed that there is no better location than on the vineyard where you can gaze out and see the vines that grow the fruit that goes into the glass that you are drinking. Our tour is primarily a vineyard tour. However from time to time one of our vineyards may have a winery on site and if you ask early on in the tour, we may be able to organise a winery tour. 

But whether you are on a Hunter Valley Wine tour, Hunter Valley Vineyard tour or Hunter Valley Winery tour, you will, without a doubt end up in the cellar door for your wine tasting. Yes, that is where all the magic happens and that is where the wines are displayed, tasted and sold!

Contact us here to learn more and well, I hope to see you on tour soon!

And for a list of various Hunter Valley cellar doors check out from Hunter Valley tourism.