As you arrive at Saddler’s Creek Wines in Pokolbin, Hunter Valley, you can immediately see this vineyard has quite the vibe going for it. The front facade is a beautiful old stone building that immediately builds character and this is complemented by the more modern use of shipping containers, ironwork, and signage to create different break-out spaces amongst the green lawn and vineyards. The layout of this little vineyard ensures it suits all visitors - families, couples, groups, and even the fur babies.

We had been keeping an eye on these guys via Insta for a couple of months, so we were pretty keen to find a little spot for ourselves and get the full experience.

The cellar door has changed a fair bit over the years. It now has different break-out spaces for tastings and food. You can grab a spot on the lawn, in the converted shipping container deck, or outside in the top grassed area. It’s in this top grassed area, via the stairs, we found a shared BBQ facility and two picnic spaces - perfect if you want to organise a BYO BBQ. It’s a great way to enjoy the vineyards and the Saddler’s Creek Wines over a casual lunch.

But if bringing your own BBQ food isn’t your thing, they do offer some meals via the on site food truck on Fridays through to Sundays. Grab some food from the experts and a picnic blanket from the cellar door and enjoy your wine and food whilst lazing on the lawn. There are a range of chefs taking up temporary residence on-site, so be sure to give the team at Saddler’s Creek a call to check out what’s happening if you’re after something to eat. Currently, they are dishing out delicious tapas!

But we were here for the wines today, so we took a seat on the lawn tables and were joined by Mitchell who took us through our $10 per person tasting.

We started with the Saddler’s Sparkling Chardonnay Pinot Noir NV which was an enjoyably fresh sparkling to kick off our tasting. It had a zesty flavour with subtle hints of strawberry.

The Saddler’s Verdelho was also a lovely easy drinking drop before we moved onto the famous Bluegrass Cabernet Sauvignon - the catalyst for the current owners falling in love with this place. We were pretty excited to taste this one!

As Mitch explained, Saddler’s Creek Wines is owned by the family trio of, Frank, Wendy, and Serge Laureti. 10 years ago, Frank was introduced to the Bluegrass Cabernet Sauvignon and he fell in love! After many years of being a member, when the opportunity arose to purchase the vineyard - he knew it was meant to be. Frank’s wife Wendy and brother Serge got caught up in the Saddler’s vibe as well and the three became partners.

The Bluegrass Cab Sav is well known for its depth of fruit character with aromas of rich plum and blackcurrant and supported by a gentle American Oak maturation giving an essence of cedar and mocha. We could see why the Laureti family love it so much!

We kept the red flowing and moved to the Sparkling Bluegrass Cabernet which had delicious blackcurrant flavours and a fine bead. 

There is quite the variety of wines on offer at Saddler’s Creek. Led by Head Winemaker Brett Woodward, Saddler’s Creek produces some beautiful wines that its members and visitors still fall in love with.

Mitchell kept us entertained throughout the tasting, in fact, the whole team at Saddler’s were all so welcoming - we had a lot of fun hanging with them for the afternoon.

They did fill us in on the fact that not only do they do tastings and amazing wine at Saddler’s Creek Wines but they host regular events and run “Weekends @ Saddlers” on Fridays through to Sundays. Here you get to enjoy your wine with live local artists playing acoustic music.

The vineyard is also kiddo and doggo friendly which is a win in our book. So, yes it seems they have built up quite the offering here at Saddler’s Creek Wines.