This cellar door is not to be missed on your tasting journey through the Hunter Valley
Set amongst the Hunter Region’s oldest Shiraz vines on the historic Post Office Vineyard the Cockfighter’s Ghost cellar door is not to be missed on your tasting journey through the Hunter Valley. Followed by lunch next door at the deliciously amazing Hunters Quarter.
Cockfighter’s Ghost’s wines are known for their classic Hunter Valley varietals of Semillon, Shiraz, Verdelho and Chardonnay, along with their new Single Vineyard Sangiovese Rose which is light and fresh, but with a savoury style on the palate. We highly recommend booking in for their Premium Wine Tasting that way you’ll get to taste them all!
Perfect for groups of six or less the Premium Wine Tasting experience takes you through six varietals, as Cellar Door Manager Phil Thompson explains, “We like to sit everyone down for the tastings. We also like to keep that sense of a small boutique winery, and there are a couple of different tasting options available. There’s the $5 tasting option where you can choose up to six wines and basically, we’ll tailor the tasting around what you’re looking for. Or if you’re looking for more of an educational experience, we have the masterclass which is $15 per person, and with that one we take you through comparative tasting, so from younger to older”.
One of our favourite parts of the tasting was drinking out of the Riedel varietal-specific glassware; we drank Shiraz from a Shiraz glass and Chardonnay from a Chardonnay. And then we tasted the Chardonnay from a standard tasting glass and we could actually taste the difference! The varietal-specific glassware is designed to enhance the flavours of each variety with different shapes, sizes and diameters for each variety.
The Legend of Cockfighter’s Ghost dates back to 1820 when “Governor Macquarie sent some explorers out through the region to open it up for farming. There were six explorers, and the lead horse in the expedition party was called Cockfighter. Back in those days, there were no bridges across the rivers so they had to swim across. Unfortunately, Cockfighter lost his life whilst crossing one of the rivers and years later when workmen were building the bridge across the river, they claimed that on dark and stormy nights they could see the ghost of Cockfighter galloping clearly through the paddocks,” Phil described.
Cockfighter’s Ghost’s Winemaker, Xanthe Hatcher (pictured) commenced her winemaking career in the Hunter Valley in 2009, and in 2012, was selected as ‘Finalist’ for The Wine Society’s Young Winemaker Award. In 2016 Xanthe’s talents were recognised by her peers, being honoured with the Hunter Valley Wine Industry’s Alasdair Sutherland Scholarship. In 2017 Xanthe was appointed Winemaker for Cockfighter’s Ghost, charged with putting her own stamp on the label including the release of the new Single Vineyard range.
And we attest that her wines are amazing!
