A Distinguished Event

Don’t miss this rare and exciting opportunity to taste twelve outstanding vintages of Thomas Wines’ flagship Braemore Semillon or Kiss Shiraz at these unique winery masterclass and lunch experiences led by  winemaker, Andrew Thomas.

The events include an in depth look at Braemore Semillon or Kiss Shiraz, informal discussions around the wines with Thommo, a sumptuous tasting plate paired with the 12 wines, and an exquisite lunch in the winery afterwards by leading local Chef, Andy Wright. Places extremely limited, book early.

The Distinguished Dozen Braemore Semillon - Saturday 5 June, 2021
The Distinguished Dozen Kiss Shiraz - Saturday 19 June, 2021

Tickets $195pp  - inclusive of 12 vintages of Braemore Semillon or 12 vintages of Kiss Shiraz, tastting plate, lunch and lunch wines. Bookings here.

20/05/2021 at 4:03 PM Permalink

The best approach for the perfect Hunter Valley Getaway

It's often hard to decide where to start when planning a visit to Wine Country, there's so many places to see, wines to sip, restaurants to dine in and gorgeous scenery to absorb.

So how do you make the most of your visit in our new (COVID safe) world?

Whilst restaurants and Cellar Doors are now back to full capacity, Easter is a busy time in the Valley. Most Cellar Doors have new offerings and experiences, and bookings are the best way to tick off the bucket list.

So what's the best approach?

• Our local wine and tourism association website www.winecountry.com.au is a great place to start. It lists many of the businesses with their contact details and a summary of their offerings. 
• Create a list of must-do's; include a few staples and add a few places that you haven't been before
• Think logistically, it can be quite a distance between venues, so allow travel time. A great approach is to carve the Valley up and target one "sub-region" or area per day. You might target the Lovedale area on day one, Around Hermitage on day two and Central Pokolbin on day three.
• If you're looking to avoid the crowds, head to the roads less travelled, think Broke Fordwich, Mount View, Around Hermitage or Wollombi.
• There's some great wine experiences on offer; cheese and wine pairing; vineyard walks, behind the scenes tours, picnic tastings or a deep dive into specific varietals. And then theres breweries, distilleries, local produce.....
• Allow time to relax and enjoy yourselves, after all you're on holidays. So many people try to fit too much in in resulting in frustrations; missing out on their final booking (due delays along the way), the ability to stop and take in a specvial view or time to spot a kangaroo
• Restaurants - defintely book your restaurants. We have so many visitors in Cellar Door frustrated & hungry because they didn't book ahead
• What about the kids? Book some time at the Hunter Valley Zoo, Hunter Valley Gardens, Aqua Golf and to run and explore
• And your furry friends? Many of our Cellar Doors welcome your pets, you'll find pet friendly accomodation and lists on the wine country website

If you love the Hunter Valley's signature varieties, or would like to learn more about them, add Thomas Wines to the list. We've curated two seated experiences, one to give you an overview and one that takes a deep dive into individual vineyard wines. Book in advance and we;ll have your table ready and waiting for you on your arrival and we'll include a couple of back vinatge wines in your tasting.

So what are you waiting for? Do all the hard (but fun) work now. Plan and book your visit before your holiday, then all you have to do when you get here is relax and enjoy.

25/03/2021 at 2:48 PM Permalink

Cut Loose with Thommo

2020 a challenging year for everyone, to say the least. Now that things are on the improve we reckon it's time to cut loose, and what better excuse is there than to celebrate the release of another outstanding vintage of Hunter Valley Shiraz.

In true "Thommo style" Andrew Thomas will be showcasing a 'sneak preview' of the full range of his outstanding 2019 Shiraz. He's hitting the road in April for a Thomas Wines Club Member's tour, hosting dinners in Melbourne, Brisbane, and Sydney, and then the official release day lunch in Pokolbin on Saturday 1st May.

Whilst the Pokolbin Lunch and Mode Kitchen + Bar Dinner on 13 April is fully booked, we'd love you to join us in Brisbane, Melbourne or at the newly released Mode Kitchen + Bar Dinner on Monday 12th April.

With some restrictions still in place numbers are limited.

The Dinners and Lunch will include four courses, perfectly paired with the full suite of 2019 Shiraz (with a couple of extra wines thrown in for good measure.....)

09/03/2021 at 4:05 PM Permalink

Save the Date - our tour dates for the 2019 Shiraz Release Dinners

It's time to cut-loose & hit the road to release our range of 2019 Shiraz.
Whilst we are finalising the details we thought you might like to SAVE the date so that once we have the events live, you will have gathered your friends and will be ready to book to join us.

The Dinners will include a four courses, paired with the to be released 2019 range of Shiraz and will be hosted by Thommo.

Here's the line-up

• SYDNEY – Tuesday 13 April – Mode Kitchen and Bar
• BRISBANE – Wednesday 14 April - Walter’s Steakhouse
• SYDNEY – Wednesday 21 April – Pilu at Freshwater
• MELBOURNE – Thursday 22 April – Juliet Melbourne
• POKOLBIN – Saturday 1 May - Yellow Billy Restaurant

Tickets and full details will be available via the website in the near future.

After the past crazy 12 months we can't wait to cut-loose and catch up with everyone.

12/02/2021 at 3:53 PM Permalink

Taste the Juice in Cellar Door

Vintage 2021 is in full swing with the last of the Braemore vineyard harvested today.

It's a great time to visit the Valley, so much action and excitement with bright colours of pickers in the vineyards, huge mechanical harvesters & tractors on the roads & the wineries buzzing with action as they bring the grapes in.

Whilst the winery is not on site at Cellar Door (it's about 1km down Hermitage Road) we love to share the vintage experience with daily tastings of freshly crushed juice and ferments. It gives our guests a taste of what's to come with an explanation of what is happening each day.

This photo is pure semillon juice from the Braemore Vineyard.
When we first crush and press it, it is iridescent green and full of pulp (per glass one); we then pump it to tank to let all the pulp/solids settle. The 2nd glass is the juice after day two, such purity, and still just juice, there is no alcohol here. Glass three is a wine that has been inoculated and has started fermentation, the cloudiness is the yeast hard at work converting the sugras to alcohol, the by product of which is CO2.
We currently have juice and/or ferments available to taste as part of our Cellar Door experiences. BOOK YOUR TASTING HERE.

05/02/2021 at 12:35 PM Permalink

Vintage 2021

After a nervous start Vintage 2021 is officially underway for Thomas Wines.

As a general rule our harvest starts on the Australia Day weekend and this year was true to form. “The OC” Semillon was harvested on Monday 25th January, with “Fordwich Hill” close behind; “Braemore” harvest began on Wednesday 27 January.

“After several years of drought the wetter start to the 2021 vintage had us nervous” said Thommo, “but we dodged a bullet with the last couple of weeks of warm to hot days ripening the fruit and producing good flavours”.

The pickers will be hard at work in the Braemore vineyard finishing mid next week, with a week’s break before the Shiraz harvest begins.

29/01/2021 at 12:40 PM Permalink