Notes from the cellar at Ember Hill
Tirage
Tirage is the time a sparkling wine spends resting on its lees. These are the notes we write while ours wait: how it's made, what to plan, and when to visit.
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Things to do in the Hunter Valley: a considered weekend
The best things to do in the Hunter Valley fit into a slow weekend: two or three cellar doors, one long lunch, a sunrise among the vines, a walk, a gallery or a market, and time to do nothing much. Here is how we'd spend it.
Hunter Valley wine tours: how to choose the right one
A Hunter Valley wine tour takes the driving off your hands and the planning off your mind. Here is how the main kinds of tour differ, what to ask an operator before you book, and what a stop at our cellar door in Pokolbin looks like.
Dog friendly wineries in the Hunter Valley: planning the day
Dog friendly at a Hunter Valley winery usually means outside, on a lead, and not in the tasting room or restaurant. At Ember Hill your dog is welcome on the lawn. Here is how to plan a day around a dog: heat, water, shade and what to check first.
A Hunter Valley day trip from Sydney, planned properly
Pokolbin is about 2 hours 15 minutes from Sydney by the M1 and the Hunter Expressway, so a day trip works if you keep it simple: one tasting, one long lunch, a designated driver or a tour, and home before dark.
Disgorging: how a sparkling wine loses its lees
Disgorging is the moment the spent yeast leaves a traditional method sparkling wine: the crown seal comes off and the pressure in the bottle pushes the lees out. Here is how it's done by hand and by machine, and what follows.
Hunter Valley vintage: harvest at a sparkling house
In the Hunter, vintage starts early, and fruit for sparkling wine comes in first: usually in January, picked by hand before dawn at lower sugar and higher acid. Here is how harvest runs at Ember Hill and what you'll see if you visit.
Champagne vs sparkling wine: what the name really means
Champagne is sparkling wine from one region of France, and the name is protected. Since 2010 no Australian producer can use it. Here is what that rule covers, what traditional method means, and how to read an Australian label.
Taste what these notes are about
The cellar door is open every day from 10am. Walk in on a weekday, or book a tasting for the weekend.