The Hunter Valley, month by month.

High summer, and the valley’s social season at its peak.

Warm, bright days and long evenings define January. The open-air concert calendar — A Day on the Green and similar vineyard shows — runs through the summer, and the Hunter Valley Gardens Christmas Lights Spectacular, billed as the Southern Hemisphere’s largest, continues into late January.

• Vineyard concert season in full swing
• Christmas Lights Spectacular runs to late January
• The year’s warmest, brightest pool weather

Stay tip Our outdoor pool and a 15-minute drive to the Gardens make the long summer days easy.

Vintage begins — the working heart of the wine year.

From late January into February, the first grapes of vintage are picked across the Hunter. Cellar doors hum with harvest energy, days are warm and sometimes humid, and cool mornings are ideal for an early tasting before the heat settles in.

• Grape harvest (vintage) gets under way
• Busy, atmospheric cellar doors
• Warm afternoons, mild mornings

Stay tip Five minutes to Saddlers Creek, ten to the Pokolbin cellar-door strip — an easy day from your room.

Vintage peaks, and the touring weather turns near-perfect.

Harvest reaches its height and the whole valley smells of crushed fruit. Warm days ease into cool nights — many regulars call March the most comfortable month of the year to tour — while harvest festivals and long lunches fill the weekends.

• Peak harvest across the region
• Harvest festivals and long-table lunches
• Warm days, cool nights — ideal touring

Stay tip Walk into Cessnock for dinner, then back to a quiet room a short drive from the fairways.

The vines turn gold.

Cooler, settled days arrive as the leaves colour through russet and gold — the prettiest light of the year for a slow drive through Pokolbin. Easter brings an early burst of visitors, and as daylight saving ends in the first week, the evenings begin to draw in.

• Autumn colour across the vineyards
• Easter long weekend (early April)
• Soft, golden light for photography

Stay tip Free on-site parking means you can chase the light all day and pull up right at your door.

Long-lunch season.

Crisp mornings, golden afternoons and quieter roads. May is long-table season — growers and restaurants set food and wine out among the rows. Shoulder-season rates make it one of the best-value months to come.

• Long-table lunches among the vines
• Autumn colour lingers on the vines
• Quiet roads and better value

Stay tip Ask us to point you to the cellar doors worth the drive.

Hunter Valley Wine & Food Month.

June is the region’s celebrated Wine & Food Month, with events staged across the valley. Big winter reds come into their own, cellar doors are calm and unhurried, and truffle season opens. Cold, clear days — and the best value of the year.

• Hunter Valley Wine & Food Month
• Truffle season begins
• Winter reds and fireside dining

Stay tip A warm, quiet room and free parking waiting after a cold day among the barrels.

Truffles and fireside dining.

Truffle season is in full swing, with truffle hunts and degustation dinners across the valley. Nights are cold and clear — among the best of the year for stargazing — and the mid-month school holidays bring families to the gardens and wildlife park.

• Truffle hunts and degustation dinners
• Clear, cold nights — excellent stargazing
• School-holiday weeks mid-month

Stay tip Nine minutes to the Wildlife Park — an easy outing when the little ones need a run.

Bare-vine quiet — the calmest month.

The vineyards are pruned and resting under crisp, blue-sky days. It’s the quietest, best-value time to visit, with cellar doors and roads largely to yourself and the first hints of the spring to come.

• Pruned, resting vineyards
• The clearest skies of the year
• Lowest rates and quietest roads

Stay tip Book direct in August for our best rate of the year and a genuinely peaceful stay.

Bud-burst — the vines wake.

New green shoots appear along the rows and the first blooms open at Hunter Valley Gardens. Mild, pleasant days return and the evenings carry jasmine. With daylight saving beginning in early October, the light is about to lengthen again.

• Bud-burst along the vineyard rows
• Spring blooms begin at the Gardens
• Mild, comfortable touring weather

Stay tip A gentle, uncrowded month — perfect for a first visit to the region.

The gardens hit full bloom.

Sixty acres of themed display gardens reach their peak at Hunter Valley Gardens — a slow, easy day for families. Warm, long days return, wildflowers colour the bush, and the long weekend early in the month brings the season’s first crowds.

• Hunter Valley Gardens in full bloom
• Warm days and the return of long light
• Family-friendly and walkable

Stay tip Family rooms sleep four and the pool’s a few steps from the door — an easy base for the Gardens.

The Christmas Lights switch on.

In mid-November the Hunter Valley Gardens Christmas Lights Spectacular — the Southern Hemisphere’s largest Christmas light display — is switched on and runs right through January. Warm evenings and the festive build-up mean family rooms book out early.

• Christmas Lights Spectacular begins (mid-Nov)
• Warm, festive evenings
• Family rooms in high demand — book early

Stay tip Fifteen minutes from your room — reserve direct and we’ll hold your dates.

Festive in the vines.

Carols, lights and the return of concert season; long, balmy evenings and the valley at its most celebratory. It’s the peak of holiday demand, so early booking is essential — especially for a room over the Christmas and New Year period.

• Festive events and the Christmas Lights
• Concert season returns to the vineyards
• Peak holidays — book well ahead

Stay tip Holiday dates go first — book direct now and we’ll look after you over the festive season.