Taste the Scarborough collection with a cheese platter in hand and soak up the views
A visit to the Scarborough Wine Co. cellar door is all about getting comfy, soaking up some pretty special views and tasting a collection of the Hunter Valley’s finest. The Scarborough’s take the whole wine tasting experience thing very seriously, preferring you to enjoy their wines in a homely and relaxed manner rather than just a quick tasting and moving onto the next vineyard.
The cellar door’s very friendly and extremely knowledgeable staff allow for the novices right through to the wine geeks to get to know as little or as much as they want about Scarborough wine. A very delicious and complimentary cheese platter accompanies every tasting and is made up of some of the region’s most outstanding local produce.
So how did the Scarborough Wine Co. story start? Well, we need to take you back in time, to the side of a road, somewhere in the Barossa, where Ian ‘Scarbie’ Scarborough and Merralea first met. Thanks to a broken down ute Ian and Merralea’s paths crossed and life was never to be the same again.
Marrying three years later the couple’s life would then take a very wine flavoured journey particularly after a life-changing trip to the Hunter Valley in the 60s. The 70s brought with it children, Jerome and Sally, and the purchase of the spectacular Gillards Road property.
With some of the best views in the Hunter Valley, the property was also home to a vineyard full of Shiraz, yet Scarbie knew his money was on the Chardonnay. Whilst a bold move at the time, he made the decision to replant the entire vineyard. With the Chardonnay boom just around the corner, his slightly mad idea was about to pay dividends. Turning out their first vintage in 1987, from the family garage (what is still the cellar door today), and the Scarborough’s dream was in full motion.
The Scarborough’s took a slightly more non-traditional approach to distribution, choosing instead to stack the car with a pallet of wine and hand deliver it to Sydney restaurants. This more personal touch together with a cracking wine has allowed their Chardonnay, the Yellow Label, to make it onto the wine lists of some of Sydney’s best restaurants. As word spread so to did the need for more vines and wine.
Scarborough to this day is still all about family with Ian and Merralea’s children, Jerome and Sally, playing an integral part in the day-to-day running of the business. Having established itself as one of the Hunter Valley’s finest vineyards, it is a must visit on any wine tasting trip to the area.
What does a visit to the Scarborough Gillards Tasting Room entail:
- Spectacular views of the Hunter Valley
- A delicious, and complimentary, cheese platter with every tasting
- A sampling of each of the Scarborough Wine Co. wines Semillon, Verdelho, Vermentino, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Shiraz via the very knowledge cellar door staff
- A chance to wander around the grounds and soak up some of that Hunter Valley vine air.