Gourmet Hunter Valley: Semillon and goats cheese

Cheese and wine. Two of my favourite guilty pleasures.

There’s simply no better place to learn about the perfect marriage of cheese and wine than in the Hunter Valley. So if you love cheese or wine, start driving. The Hunter Valley is a two hour drive north west of Sydney and home to plenty of amazing Australian produce.

Start at Binnorie Dairy, the Hunter Valley’s award winning cheesemakers. Binnorie Dairy is located within the Tuscany Wine Estate on Hermitage Road in Pokolbin. They produce an exciting range of soft cheeses using locally sourced milk only. Cheese master Simon Gough believes dairy produce is just like wine – it reflects its originality, due to soil variation and climatic conditions. The cheeses here have distinctive characters that are unique to the region.

Their award-winning marinated Feta is a must try; it’s rich and creamy, soft enough to spread on toast or a great addition to any green leafy salad. Although I do have a special gooey soft spot for brie, I’m here to try their famous goat cheeses. The goat cheese log is creamy soft with the right balance of salt and acidity. I particularly enjoy their Buche de Chevre, a goat cheese that’s rolled in a black layer of vine ash which adds another layer of complexity to the cheese.

My next mission is to find a wine to match with the cheese I picked up at Binnorie Dairy. So it’s time to head over to the picturesque Mount View, one of the most scenic parts of Hunter Valley wine country. Mount View is an idyllic haven nestled in the Lower Hunter, just 15 minutes away from the Pokolbin hub of wineries. Driving along the slopes of the Brokenback Range offers a spectacular panoramic view across the valley below. I head to Briar Ridge to meet with winemaker Gwyn Olsen, who was awarded Gourmet Traveller WINE’s 2014 Young Winemaker of the year. So I’m sure she’ll find me a good wine to pair with the cheese!

Gwyn has recommended her award-winning 2014 Briar Ridge “Dairy Hill” Single Vineyard Semillon to match with the cheese. Semillon is one of the hero wines in the Hunter Valley region, a refreshing white wine that’s lemon lime citrusy when young with good acidity, but can also age exceptionally well, incorporating toasty notes. Gwyn also shows me their unique vineyard block fondly referred to as the ‘dyslexic’ block containing five varieties – Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Chardonnay, Verdelho, Vermentino, all of which together create The Briar Vineyard Blend.

A trip to Mount View is not complete without dropping by Bistro Molines for lunch. This restaurant is housed inside Tallavera Grove Vineyard, a charming little Parisian corner in the Hunter. Still holding its one chef’s hat status, first awarded by the Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide back in 2010, Bistro Molines continues to whet our appetites with sophisticated yet rustic French Provençal dishes by using locally sourced, in season produce. Today I’m not here for lunch. Instead I’m meeting the godfather of Hunter Valley dining, Chef Robert Molines, and I have a challenge for him – to create a Hunter Valley inspired dish using the Binnorie Dairy’s goat cheese that matches Briar Ridge’s Semillon.

It’s an honour to cook alongside Chef Robert as we prepare a beautiful dish of crumbed zucchini flowers filled with goat cheese, served with petite salad and tomato aioli. The dish tastes as good as it looks, the Semillon indeed works very well with the dish, elevating the flavour of the creamy goat cheese beautifully.

Expedia compensates authors for their writings appearing on this site, such compensation may include travel and other costs. Billy was the guest of Destination NSW.