With its iconic bell tower overlooking vines to the Broken Back Range, Bimbadgen is one of the places to visit when in the Hunter Valley. Check out all the things on offer at this award-winning winery in Pokolbin.
I remember so clearly the first time we met Bimbadgen. We were on a drive with Hunter Valley legend Ian ‘Scarbie’ Scarborough of Scarborough Wines fame when we cheekily asked him for local tips on other wineries to visit in the Hunter.
Scarbie came up with a great list – humbly leaving his own – which we posted here. High on his list was Bimbadgen. He even took us to see the cellar door.
Since then, we’ve always tried to get to Bimbadgen (and of course Scarborough Wines) whenever we’re in the Hunter Valley.
Check out our quick video around Bimbadgen Estate and all the things to do here:
WIN! 3-night stay at The Lane Retreat plus wine tastings, hot air balloon rides, fine dining, in-room massages, picnics and more!
We’ve teamed up with Bimbadgen to offer lucky winners 2x romantic Hunter Valley getaways for two—see our post here for details or click here to enter the contest!
5 reasons to visit Bimbadgen Estate Winery
It means “beautiful view” of Wanarruwa, Bimbadgen it lives up to its name with views of rows of vines accentuating the gentle curves and undulations of the McDonalds Road vineyard.
In the distance, the buttoned sides of the Broken Back Range add their grandeur to the scene. That is if you can get your attention away from all that is going on in this versatile cellar door and all that it has to offer.
1. Bimbadgen’s Cellar door
Bimbadgen offers three different tasting options in its beautiful tasting room. Below the main entrance and right next to the working winery, the large bar and separate room have plenty of space to unwind with your experience.
The view of the vineyard makes this taste even more special.
Choose between the Grower’s Experience, featuring the winery’s Grower’s Range of six wines, the Sparkling Experience, where you can try five different bottles of bubbly, or the Signature Experience. This selection showcases Bimbadgen’s best wines from their best vines.
2. Fine Dining at Esca Bimbadgen
On the top floor of the winery is Esca, one of the Hunter’s best restaurants and an award-winning venue in its own right.
The food here is incredible. Crafted with the region and its wines in mind, each dish is as exciting as it is satisfying. You can dine a la carte or you can choose someone else’s problem with the Signature Experience.
Open for lunch from Wednesday to Saturday and for dinner only on Friday and Saturday.
3. Bimbadgen’s Wood-fired pizza and Live Music
Downstairs, in the Tuscan-style courtyard, you can sit and enjoy not only the proximity to the vineyards, but also pizzas made from sourdough in-house and baked in Bimbadgen’s beautiful stone wood-fired pizza oven.
You can also enjoy a glass (or bottle!) of Bimbadgen wine with your meal and there is no restaurant surcharge, meaning they are sold at cellar door prices.
This part of the winery is open for lunch every day, as well as dinner on Friday and Saturday nights, where you can also enjoy live music.
4. Did you know Bimbadgen has one too A distillery?
Because he’s not busy enough, Bimbadgen’s head winemaker, Richard Done, also makes spirits here. Night Merchant Distillery features handcrafted gin and vodka that Rich makes in the gorgeous copper still that you can see from the tasting room and patio.
Rich also has plans to make Australian agave spirit (we can’t call it tequila-here’s why) and aged spirits such as rum.
Bimbadgen have also created some great RTDs with their gin and vodka and stock them in Lane Retreat’s mini bars. See our full review of this romantic accommodation option here.
5. Get into the Festival Spirit—Day On The Green at Bimbadgen
One of dozens of venues hosting the A Day On The Green music festival, Bimbadgen’s lawn can accommodate up to 10,000 happy visitors and the usual serenity of winery life is transformed into a frenzied concert atmosphere with some of the world’s biggest music stars to play in April every month. year.
We were here for the concert during Covid and even with reduced numbers the atmosphere was amazing.
Extra points!
It is important to point out that Bimbadgen is a working winery as well as having all these amazing front of house features.
Coming here and seeing the winery in action is exciting. You might even be lucky enough to see head winemaker and general genius Richard Done making his rounds.
Not only does Rich make all of Bimbadgen’s wines and his own distillery, but he also has his own winery down the road—John Wallace Wines— this shows Richard’s abilities to make wine in his own personal style.
See John Wallace’s cellar door here.
And because Richard isn’t busy enough, he also makes the wine at Emma’s Cottage Winery, Bimbadgen’s little sister. The wine here, Alter Wines—as in Bimbadgen’s alter ego—is different again. I don’t know which Mr. Done keeps all this.
If you like Bimbadgen and John Wallace, you must visit Emma’s Cottage. The chilled atmosphere at the cellar door matches the relaxed atmosphere of the wines.
