Hunter Valley White Wine
Regarded as one of the oldest and most successful wine regions in Australia, the Hunter Valley is a place like no other. From the heights of Mount View to the foothills of the Brokenback Range and the rolling countryside of the Lower Hunter, it has a beauty both austere and inviting. We are continually inspired by the resourcefulness and talent of its winemakers for making some of Australia’s best white wines.
Due to its proximity to Sydney, the Hunter Valley has played an integral part in the story of Australian wine and is the birthplace of some of our most celebrated and iconic white wine names. It remains the original innovator in wine
Bordered by the Great Dividing Range, surrounded by national parks and with the mighty hunter river winding through it, the Hunter Valley wine region has three distinct sub-regions – broke fordwich Pokolbin and the upper hunter valley.
With over 150 wineries, the Hunter Valley is not only Australia's oldest wine region but also a firm favourite with visitors each year who come to encounter the many varieties of cellar doors and exciting wines on offer. Explore the region with our Hunter Valley wineries guide
Hunter Valley Whites wine
Just over half of the wine produced in the Hunter Valley is white wine. Besides the staples of Chardonnay, Semillon and Verdelho, the Hunter Valley is becoming increasingly known for Fiano and Vermentino.
Hunter Valley Chardonnay
One of the Hunter’s claims to viticultural greatness rests in the fact that it is home to some of the oldest and rarest vine stock in the world – including the world’s oldest Chardonnay vines – with vineyards dating back to the 1860s still being nurtured. When the big, oaky style of Aussie Chardonnay took the world by storm in the 1980s, it was largely thanks to the Hunter. As tastes have evolved, so too has Hunter Valley Chardonnay, with modern expressions maintaining full-flavoured characters of ripe peach and citrus, but with less obvious oak treatment.
Read more about Australian Chardonnay
Hunter Valley Semillon
Once referred to as hunter river Riesling, white burgundy or Chablis, Hunter Valley Semillon today is the toast of wine lovers around the globe. Semillon is grown in other regions of Australia, but its true home is in the Hunter Valley. Its production of a Semillon single variety dry white wine is unique. Its generously fruited, delicately aromatic, waxy textured style, coupled with its amazing ability to age in the bottle, wins the hearts and minds of wine experts globally.
The youthful unoaked Semillon tastes of Lemon Green Straw, Tonic, and light bodied and very dry, this is a world-leading style that is high in acidity with a low alcohol content. Almost water-white in appearance when first bottled, patience will reward you with developing honeyed, toasty, grilled-nut characters. Some will age beautifully for 20 years or more.
Bottle-aged, unoaked Semillon tastes of Preserved Buttered, Honey, Lanolin Bees, Lemon Toast. Taking on more golden hues, bottle-aged Hunter Valley Semillon is renowned for its complexity, yet it retains a clear signature of primary fruit and lemony acidity even after years in the cellar. Utterly unique in the world.
Read more about Australian Semillon
Hunter Valley Verdelho
Warmer grown, riper Verdelho is generally richer, fuller with ripe tropical fruit salad flavours. Regardless of style, or region, Australian Verdelho also represents great value, with most being under the $20 mark. It is one of the Hunter Valley’s regional heroes where it dates back to the early 1900s, when the Tulloch family made a fortified wine predominately from the Verdelho grape in the Madeira style and called it Crème de Vin.