Hunter Valley NEW SOUTH WALES

This established wine region offers a few surprises with its new spirit of innovation

- SAMANTHA PAYNE

Samantha is a sommelier, writer and wine consultant. @sl_payne

So, you think you know the Hunter? You've S been there, done that, bought the semillon and you're done. With 180 years of wine history, the New South Wales region is one of the oldest in Australia. But if you think there's nothing new to see here, the Hunter Valley might surprise you yet.

A sense of tradition permeates these gently sloping hills. And yet, the last decade has been characterized by a spirit of innovation, which takes many guises. This spirit of revival is thanks to the actions of forward-thinking winemakers such as Mike De Iuliis, who in 2010 planted the native Portuguese grape touriga nacional, a first for the region. "Semillon and shiraz will always be the thing the Hunter hangs its hat on but climate change means we've got to look to other regions to supplement what we grow in tougher years or other varietals," says De Iuliis.

This experimentation lends itself to a strong cellar door culture. "For us, being a younger brand in the region, it's easier for us to do weird, quirky things, 68 per cent of our sales are direct to the consumer- the wines go straight from our cellar door and into people's homes so we can show people new things."