Travel the Mount View Wine & Dine Trail Today

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Since 1972, Briar Ridge Vineyard has been bustling in the hills of Mount View. A 5-star James Halliday-rated winery with award-winning, classic and new-age Australian-made wines, this is a cellar door not to miss.

The team tailors every standard tasting (and a complimentary nibble of local produce) to you! There is even a Pooch Platter to spoil your fur babies with.

Briar Ridge Vineyard is a must-visit destination that will prove to be the highlight of your Hunter Valley journey!

Possibly one of the best kept secrets in the Hunter Valley, Mount View can be found at the southern border of Pokolbin between Nulkaba and Wollombi, nestled amongst the lush green surrounds of the Brokenback Range. With its winding country roads and panoramic views, Mount View offers some of the most outstanding scenery in the Hunter Valley.

Travel along Wine Country Drive through Nulkaba, then weave your way around the terraced vineyards, and picturesque fine dining restaurants and breathtaking views of Mount View to discover hilltop cellar doors and restaurants with panoramic views (such as those from Mount Views Bistro Molines on our cover).

A favourite spot for photographers, Mount View's stunning surrounds have provided the perfect backdrop for many couples. The peaceful ambience will have you feeling like you are a million miles away!

Briar Ridge: Wine and dine in Australia’s oldest wine region

Originally published in:

It may have just turned 50, but forward-thinking Briar Ridge is continuing to impress with its award-winning approach to winemaking.

As the oldest wine region in Australia, the Hunter Valley has been producing wine since the early 19th century. While it’s renowned for its quality grapes with winemaking traditions steeped in old-world heritage, it’s the forward-thinking approach to new-world blends that sets Briar Ridge apart. The winery calls it “classically radical”.

Heart of Hunter Valley

Located on an idyllic mountainside in this stunning part of New South Wales, the foundations of this family-led winemaking estate are firmly embedded in tradition. Owner Jaclyn Davis’ father purchased the property at Mount View 50 years ago; today, she manages the estate and its wine club that offers exclusive access to unique bottles in limited numbers.

Award-winning wines

Overseeing wine production is award-winning winemaker Alex Beckett, who combines traditional and experimental techniques with emerging varieties for tastes that are set to become iconic. Beckett has a passion for pushing new winery technology, which has elevated Briar Ridge to world-leading status and saw him take out ‘Other White (and Blends) of the Year’ at the 2023 Halliday Wine Companion Awards, with a gold medal score of 95 points for the Briar Ridge 2021 Limited Release Albariño.

Beckett was also awarded the Riedel 2022 Hunter Valley Young Achiever of the Year award, recognising the exceptional talent of young winemakers.

Grown at a great height

Regardless of its blends, the techniques have largely remained the same. Providing low-yield, high-quality fruit enhanced by Mount View’s unique micro-climate, cooler temperatures due to an altitude of between 130 and 180 metres, and rich, red limestone-based soil. The steep slopes surrounding the cellar door are home to the prized single vineyards of Dairy Hill, Briar Hill and Red Hill. Here they grow traditional Semillon, Shiraz and Chardonnay grapes to be bottled for the premium Single Vineyard and Stockhausen range. More modern styles found in the popular Varietal range include Fumé Sauvignon Blanc, The Dam Verdelho, Cold Soaked Cabernet Sauvignon and Old Vines Shiraz.

50 years in the making

This year, Briar Ridge is celebrating its Jubilee anniversary. It’s been 50 years since it planted its first vines in November 1972.

From humble beginnings to the forward-thinking, award-winning wines of today, Briar Ridge has much to celebrate. Showcasing classic techniques with truly radical innovation in winemaking to deliver Australian wines that deserve a place on your table.

Visit the estate to enjoy a ‘Wine Gusto’ wine tasting. Then spend a leisurely afternoon at the Osteria, a new eatery with an al fresco terrace. Here you’ll find Italian-inspired dishes and artisan antipasti boards using the best local produce. Come on Sunday and you’ll also be serenaded with live music.

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www.signatureluxurytravel.com.au/briar-ridge

 

Shannon Wins at the Cessnock Business Chamber Awards

The Awards.

The Customer Service Awards are run each year to recognise, showcase and reward exceptional customer service within the Cessnock Local Government Area. It provides an opportunity for community focus over a period culminating in a function to celebrate customer service excellence.

This project also helps to develop networking opportunities with local businesses, the Chamber, and the community in general.

The Gala Dinner was held on the 3rd December 2022 at Cessnock Leagues Club. A night to celebrate the achievements of all locals offering exceptional customer service. Monthly Chamber Awards are awarded each month with the winners becoming finalists in the Chamber Choice Award at the yearly event.

 

Cellar Door Festive Fun

It’s summer and the festive season is upon us. Briar Ridge Vineyard is located just outside Cessnock in the rolling green hills of Mount View. If you’re looking for award-winning wine, some Christmas gift shopping, fun for all the family, some delicious Italian inspired food and Sunday live music sessions in the sunshine on the verandah, then look no further. Briar Ridge cellar door is the ideal place to head if you want to combine fun times with Christmas shopping and wines to tempt the most dedicated connoisseur.

Sunshine & Santa at Briar Ridge

Santa is visiting Briar Ridge on Sunday 11th & 18th December, 10.30 to 12.30pm. Bring the kids, bring your pooch, and take the perfect festive pics in our photo booth set on our beautiful vineyard (better than Santa pics in a mall - plus you can do it with your pooch!) Treat your furry baby to a $15 Pooch Platter.

There are games scattered throughout the gardens for the kids and young at heart to play as well as local musicians performing every Sunday. Book a wine tasting while the kids are enjoying themselves, shop the wide range of local produce & merchandise on offer for your Christmas gifting and then settle back for a delicious lunch in our Osteria. The Italian set menu starting at just $45 pp is an authentic share-style lunch featuring antipasti, pizza & pasta. Prawns and oysters will also be on offer at weekends during the festive season. If you prefer a more relaxed option, enjoy a picnic in the wine garden with antipasti, wine and pizza available.

Seafood Weekends

As a first for Briar Ridge, indulge in locally sourced (Newcastle) oysters and prawns in the Osteria.
Available until sold out every Saturday and Sunday. 

|   WEEKENDS ONLY in December 2022. Book now.

Popsicles & Picasso

If you’re looking for something fun and different to do in the January school holidays, why not bring your little ones out to Briar Ridge for an enjoyable Thursday! On January the 12th, 19th and 26th from 10am, Michaela, art teacher & Briar Ridge cellar door host, will be presenting art classes for kids. These aptly named ‘Popsicle & Picasso’ events must be booked via our website and will include a free wine tasting or coffee for you whilst the children paint. Follow it up with 10% off at our Osteria for lunch!

The wine garden is perfect for the kids to run around, play in the sunshine and enjoy some of the games that are available, while you and your friends relax on the verandah. It’s the perfect holiday activity for the whole family.

Book for this event here.

2022 Single Vineyard White Release

The Briar Ridge Single Vineyard wines regularly take out some of the most prestigious awards in Australia. The 2021 Single Vineyard 'Briar Hill' Chardonnay recently won the Gold Medal and Trophy for 'Best Hunter Valley Chardonnay' in the 2022 James Halliday Australian Chardonnay Challenge.

The last few years have seen some of the coldest growing seasons with record levels of rainfall which leads to vigorous vineyard growth. According to winemaker Alex Beckett, this often leads to wines of purity and elegance with long cellaring potential.

“The cool seasons always herald my favourite wines,” said Alex. “This year we’ve got some exceptional Semillons and Chardonnays which I am very proud of. I think they are some of the best quality and most interesting wines I have made to date, and which will provide both immediate enjoyment as well as excellent cellaring potential.”

 

Our winemaker is currently in Germany!

Briar Ridge Vineyard wins prestigious award with 2021 Limited Release Albariño at The Halliday Wine Companion Awards 2023

The Halliday Wine Companion Awards sets the industry benchmark for Australian wines each year. Eight judges from the wine industry including wine critic, founder and vigneron James Halliday AM and Tyson Stelzer, chief editor of the Halliday Wine Companion guide, tasted over 8000 wines from 50 different wineries in their search for the best of the best.
 

 Australia's best of the best!

Widely considered one of the most prestigious and hotly contested awards in the country, the winners were announced last night at the awards ceremony held at the distinguished Stokehouse in St Kilda, Melbourne. And yes, our Winemaker Alex Beckett took home the trophy for 2023 Other White (& Blends) Wine of the Year and a gold medal score of 95 points awarded to 2021 Limited Release Albariño.

“It is an absolute honour to have our Hunter Valley Albariño be recognised as the best other white in Australia by James Halliday and the Wine Companion Tasting Team. The last few years have seen our team put tireless work into evolving the viticulture and winemaking behind our wines so to have that quality recognised is a wonderful feeling. Albariño is fast becoming to us, one of the key varietals for our region and we look forward to seeing the variety’s future success around Australia,” said Alex.

Judge Ned Goodwin MW (Master of Wine) originally reviewed the 2021 Limited Release Albariño in October last year. See what he had to say;

Considered a niche variety with only a handful of producers in Australia, Albariño is from a northern part of Spain called Rias Baixas where it is one of the country’s most fashionable white wines.

“Albariño as a varietal has all the aromatics, texture, weight and flavour concentration yet always finishes very clean,” said Alex Beckett. “The 2021 Limited Release Albariño in particular, is really floral and super aromatic with a freshness and vibrancy that on the palate is just incredible.”

“It’s the melding together of the old and the new that makes Briar Ridge so interesting – it’s certainly why I enjoy doing what I do. I have the creative freedom to play and experiment and build upon that tradition, respecting what has been done but also improving it as we move on.”

Owner of Briar Ridge Vineyard, Jaclyn Davis is excited about the future of the winery with Alex as Winemaker.

“This is a humbling recognition of the work our family and the Briar Ridge team have been putting into experimenting with new varieties and wine styles,” said Jaclyn. “With an ever-changing climate, varieties like Albariño will be an important component of the Australian wine landscape in the coming decades. We are proud to be part of the forefront, championing these varieties of the future as well as preserving the heritage of our country through classic varieties and wine styles.”

This year Briar Ridge Vineyard is also celebrating it's 50th Jubilee with a Long Lunch in the famed Dairy Hill Vineyard, where it all began in 1972. For those keen to experience everything Briar Ridge has to offer, including the award winning Albariño, the cellar door is open 7 days per week with live music on Sundays. 

To complement this astounding news, we are pleased to announce the release of our 2022 Albariño! 

Check it out here

The Limited Release Albariño is one of our most sought-after wines that consistently sells out within months of release, year after year. We strongly encourage all Albariño lovers who wish to enjoy this wine in the future to register here to find out more about Club Radica.

Club Radica, launching Summer 2023, is a new and exciting wine club program that will be our ‘first in, inner circle’ for our highly hunted, small batch, rare and premium wines. More to come…

'Big Bully' beats the rest in class!

The Big Bully is back!

Our latest release showcases the low yielding yet high quality fruit of the 2020 vintage in Wrattonbully.⁠ ⁠Escaping affect of the east coast bushfires that plagued the vintage, our Wrattonbully vineyard commenced with cool weather during the flowering and fruit set in early Summer. This led to small yields yet fully ripened flavours and sugars which enabled us to harvest excellent fruit to utilise in the Winery.

"Showing good varietal character - despite the generally cool conditions in 2020. Black current and blueberry fruits, charry oak and liquorice spice. Complex with good length and structure."

The 2020 Limited Release 'Big Bully' Cabernet Sauvignon was our maiden submission to the International Cool Climate Wine Show based out of the Mornington Peninsula. A highly successful entry for us, it went through to take out the only award in Class 24 (2 years or younger Cabernet Sauvignon).

95 Points & Top Gold

Alex (our winemaker) aimed to exhibit a classically styled wine that is robust yet still in balance; which he succeeded in doing with this excellent style of Wrattonbully Cabernet Sauvignon.

Concentrated blackcurrent and blackberry fruit flavours, strongly defined tannin build and length all provided by a long mix of fermentation on skins and in a static fermenter. High quality oak character is also provided by 24 months of maturation in one year old French oak casks. 

Have a bottle open and at the ready with your next lamb roast or hide some under the stairs for years to come. ⁠

Experience Briar Ridge Vineyard at a different pace.

The garden, the views and the wine are all factors that contribute to making Briar Ridge Vineyard a must-visit destination for your trip to the Hunter Valley.

This season, a new experience has been added to the offerings in Mount View; Winter Fireside Picnic Package.

The Winter Fireside Picnic Package is the answer to your cooler months in the Hunter Valley. Situated in the Wine Garden, be greeted with a glass of our Signature Sparkling Chardonnay Pinot Noir upon arrival, before making your way down to your private pre-lit wood fire. Blankets, outdoor beanbags and oversized hassocks will be set up to guarantee only the cosiest of moments. Relish on some of the finest local cheese and artisan charcuterie and a bottle of wine each, chosen by you on the day.

This package runs at 2pm Thursday through to Mondays with bookings essential. Available up until September 4th 2022.

Make a reservation today.

Showstopping Semillon!

After a two year hiatus, the National Wine Show of Australia returned to the calendar in May with the delayed 2021 honours.

There were a total of 880 entrants and only 15.3% of these claimed gold medals. Briar Ridge Vineyard were amongst the very few on show to receive a top gold and point score of 96 for the Museum Release 2013 Stockhausen Semillon which was submitted in Class 10 - 2020 Semillon and older.

But that’s not all, with an invite sent to Winemaker, Alex Beckett, he was soon on his way to attend the awards ceremony being held at the National Press Club of Australia, Canberra. The night proved to be worth the journey in a Jetstream 32 (19 seats) and the Briar Ridge Vineyard walked away from 2021 National Wine Show with the Semillon Trophy for the Museum Release 2013 Stockhausen Semillon. What a reward!