Hunter Valley wine legends honored at Wine Media Conference

Australia is a new world wine region, right? Well, even though the vineyards don't have the same length of history as some in Europe, doesn't make them exactly new. Case in point is the wine region of Hunter Valley in New South Wales. This area, Australia's oldest, was established in the 1820s by James Busby. It's old enough, in fact, to have "legends," and I had the good fortune to meet a number of these distinguished gentlemen at a special Wine MediaConference event at Brokenwood Winery.

According to winecountry.com.au , "The status of 'Hunter Valley Legend' is an honour bestowed on individuals who have given many years of outstanding service to the advancement of the Hunter Valley as a wine producing region."

Hunter Valley legend Brian McGuigan was one of the featured speakers at the event. The attendees of the Wine Media Conference, which included wine bloggers, marketers, and trade professionals from a number of countries, were excited to hear from him.

Brian established his first winery, Wyndham Estates, in the 1970s, and then moved on to create his eponymous winery in the early 1990s. McGuigan wines are now distributed across Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and the US.

In addition to introducing conference participants to the Hunter Valley legends, the event also featured dozens of fine wines from the region. At the conference, participants straight-away learned that the region is proud of its Semillon. At the event, we got to taste a delicious 10-year-old bottle from McLeish Estate. Aged Hunter Valley Semillon has a textured mouthfeel, lemon curd on the palate, and makes a rich impression.

Coming with the expectations that there would be plenty of Shiraz, we weren't disappointed. One of the outstanding offerings was poured by Pepperwood Winery. However, those of us from the US didn't expect to taste Shiraz with restraint and elegance as well as plentiful fruit. Earlier harvesting is a trend in the region that's contributing to these wines possessing a new-found finesse.

The event also showcased the gorgeous, open air tasting room - or as referred to in Australia, the  cellar door - at Brokenwood. Recently opened, this is a destination winery that is already attracting numerous visitors.