Night Noodles at Hyde Park, followed by Wine & Cheese in the Hunter Valley

After a great night out at the Night Noodle Markets in Hyde Market with friends (and a zillion other people, with huge lines to boot, but an excellent experience none-the-less) on Thursday night, we headed up to Pokolbin in the Hunter Valley wine region on Friday (via one cache on the way).  Approximately two hours drive from Sydney, the Hunter Valley comprises myriad vineyards and surprisingly (to me at least) lots of cheese dairies.

The Hunter Valley Cheese Factory was the first dairy we visited and we found a very high calibre of cheese.  I particularly liked their washed rind cheese (which had a nice bite to it) and their blue cheese (that was very light in blue flavour but lovely and creamy).

After checking in at our accommodation on Hermitage Road we headed along the road to Emerson’s at Pokolbin  for lunch. They have only been open for 3 weeks (according to the chef/owner) and are doing tapas style meals.  The duck liver pate was divine and one of the best we have had.  We also had garlic prawns and calamari, both of which were okay although lacked a wow factor.  We were impressed however that the chef/owner came out and asked us what we thought of the meals and took a genuine interest in our feedback.

We then ventured on to Piggs Peake for our first wine tasting and they were okay but nothing noteworthy.  They were very friendly and gave generous tastings.  I do wonder though whether since they were the first vineyard for the day and our first for this region whether I was being overly critical.

DenMar was our second vineyard and there was yet again nothing jumping out at me.  I also found that their Pinot Noirs weren’t to my palate, but I think that may be more so due to me being more in-tune with NZ Pinot Noirs.

Tintilla Estate was my pick of the vineyards on Friday, also helped by the exuberance of the wine salesman.  He was a member of the family and consequently knew lots about their huge selection of wines and was very open to all feedback.  I particularly enjoyed their Semillon 2010  and their Sangiovese 2009.  I also really enjoyed tasting their selection of fortified wines.

We then quickly grabbed a lovely cheddar cheese from Binnorie Dairy before they closed and had a taste of their washed rind cheese (which I enjoyed).  We will return tomorrow for a proper tasting.

Whangaripo Buffalo Cheese Company’s Marin Blue is Nom nom nom

In the weekend we popped up to the Matakana Farmers Market and Whangaripo Buffalo Cheese Company had a stall there.

We tasted their selection of cheeses and ended up purchasing the Marin Blue and the Fresca.  They also had a beautiful brie with the aged one beginning to get engulfed by ammonia.

The Fresca is a bit like a soft cottage cheese with a hint of lemon, however the blue was my highlight and I had a decent taste of it again this evening.  It is nice and creamy, not too strong on the blue and has lots of complexity.  It reminds me of a sheep cheese we purchased in the south of France at Carcassonne that was not blue at all, but the layered flavours of this bring back vivid memories.

Next time we’re at the market I will be buying more.

Cascade Brewery, the Huon Valley and Grandvewe Cheeses

We went out for a drive today south of Hobart to the Huon Valley.  On the way we drove by the very picturesque Cascade Brewery at the base of Mt Wellington.  Tours are run at the brewery several times a day, however at this time of the year booking in advance is required.

Approximately 30 minutes South of Hobart in Grandvewe Cheeses that specialises in sheep cheeses.  We tasted some lovely cheeses and an excellent Mutton Kransky and purchased some goat cheese (which we hadn’t tasted) and kransky for consumption later.

We drove around the scenic coast and stopped in at a bakery in Cygnet where we picked up some bread and after some more driving found a place for an in-car picnic (because it was a bit windy outside) consisting of the goats cheese, kransky and bread.

The goats cheese was much stronger than anticipated and not to our liking and rather than stink the car out we got rid of it at the first rubbish bin we came to.  The rest of the in-car picnic was however great.