{"id":450,"date":"2014-05-06T05:54:25","date_gmt":"2014-05-06T05:54:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/gourmet-hunter-valley-semillon-and-goats-cheese\/"},"modified":"2022-08-08T23:20:37","modified_gmt":"2022-08-08T23:20:37","slug":"hunter-valley-goat-cheese-and-semillon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/hunter-valley-goat-cheese-and-semillon\/","title":{"rendered":"Gourmet Hunter Valley: Semillon and goats cheese"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Cheese and wine. Two of my favourite guilty pleasures.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s simply no better place to learn about the perfect marriage of cheese and wine than in the <a title=\"Expedia Hunter Valley Travel Guide\" href=\"http:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/Hunter-Valley.d6034269.Destination-Travel-Guides?brandcid=blog.article.meso.gourmethuntervalley.goatscheese_070515\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hunter Valley<\/a>. 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.<\/p>\n<p>Start at Binnorie Dairy, the Hunter Valley\u2019s award winning cheesemakers. Binnorie Dairy is located within the <a title=\"Expedia Tuscany Wine Estate Resort\" href=\"http:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/Hunter-Valley-Hotels-Tuscany-Wine-Estate-Resort.h1662592.Hotel-Information?brandcid=blog.article.meso.gourmethuntervalley.goatscheese_070515\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tuscany Wine Estate<\/a> 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 \u2013 it reflects its originality, due to soil variation and climatic conditions. The cheeses here have distinctive characters that are unique to the region.<\/p>\n<p>Their award-winning marinated Feta is a must try; it\u2019s 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\u2019m 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\u2019s rolled in a black layer of vine ash which adds another layer of complexity to the cheese.<\/p>\n<p>My next mission is to find a wine to match with the cheese I picked up at Binnorie Dairy. So it\u2019s 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\u2019s 2014 Young Winemaker of the year. So I\u2019m sure she\u2019ll find me a good wine to pair with the cheese!<br \/>\n<img src='https:\/\/images.trvl-media.com\/media\/content\/expaus\/images\/blog-img\/5_2015\/9333_7_HT' \/><br \/>\nGwyn has recommended her award-winning 2014 Briar Ridge \u201cDairy Hill\u201d 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\u2019s 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 \u2018dyslexic\u2019 block containing five varieties \u2013 Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Chardonnay, Verdelho, Vermentino, all of which together create The Briar Vineyard Blend.<\/p>\n<p>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\u2019s 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 Proven\u00e7al\u00a0dishes by using locally sourced, in season produce. Today I\u2019m not here for lunch. Instead I\u2019m meeting the godfather of Hunter Valley dining, Chef Robert Molines, and I have a challenge for him \u2013 to create a Hunter Valley inspired dish using the Binnorie Dairy\u2019s goat cheese that matches Briar Ridge\u2019s Semillon.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s 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.<br \/>\n<img src='https:\/\/images.trvl-media.com\/media\/content\/expaus\/images\/blog-img\/5_2015\/9333_3_HT' \/><br \/>\n<em>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.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,2,3,39,14,7],"tags":[8,40,107,303],"authors":[],"class_list":["post-450","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-destination","category-experiences","category-explore","category-food-and-wine","category-interests","category-oceania","tag-australia","tag-foodie","tag-hunter-valley","tag-huntervalley","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Gourmet Hunter Valley: goat cheese and Semillon | Expedia.com.au<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"There\u2019s no better place to learn about the perfect marriage of cheese and wine than in the Hunter Valley. 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