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8 memorable Mudgee wine tours that offer more than just transport

Make the most of your visit to the vineyards around Mudgee with the following wine tours and experiences.

With its viticultural history stretching back to 1858, the Mudgee wine region, built around buttery chardonnays, robust shiraz and cabernet sauvignon, is according to the Mudgee Wine Association, also branching out and creating ‘new’ Australian styles of riesling, barbera, sangiovese, tempranillo, vermentino and pinot grigio.

Squeeze every drop out of your weekend getaway by taking up these top Mudgee wine tours and experiences.

1. Learn from the experts at Mudgee Wine & Country Tours

girls having fun during Mudgee Wine & Country Tours
Hop between six cellar doors on a full-day tour and enjoy a long lunch.

Take the guesswork out of planning your perfect weekend in Mudgee wine country by leaving your itinerary up to the experts at Mudgee Tourist Bus.

Indulge your oenophilia by booking a full-day wine tour with the family-run company that has six Mudgee cellar doors on the list as well as a long lunch in a vineyard.

After picking you up from your accommodation, your knowledgeable guide will teach you wine-tasting terms and their meaning, wine-tasting etiquette, and what makes the fertile Mudgee wine country so magical.

2. Cycle your way around Mudgee

Cycle the scenic vineyards with Tour De Vines.
Cycle the scenic vineyards with Tour De Vines.

Meander around Mudgee by bike by following a one-day self-guided tour with Tour de Vines or take it up a few notches with a Cycling Mudgee package that includes three different tiers of accommodation: Local, Comfy and Luxury.

There are more than 35 cellar doors in and around Mudgee and the self-guided and group cycling tours mapped out for you are designed to take in some of this stunning terroir. Best of all: if your tyre is flat or you have over-indulged at Logan’s Wines, the Tour De Vines team are on hand to pick you up.

The easy, self-guided cycling tour on quiet country back roads will steer you around some of Mudgee’s lesser-known wineries and cellar doors and on to a wine bar said to be Australia’s oldest.

Need tips, more detail or itinerary ideas tailored to you? Ask AT.

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3. Time your visit to coincide with Flavours of Mudgee

performers at Flavours of Mudgee.
elebrate the culinary traditions of the region with Flavours of Mudgee.

Mudgee, located just three-and-a-half hours’ northwest of Sydney, is the first Australian wine region to be known for organic wine thanks to pioneering work done at Botobolar Wine. That’s one of many reasons for conscious travellers to celebrate the region, which was first established as a wine-growing area by a German viticulturist named Roth in the 1830s.

Although it’s best known for its robust red wines, Mudgee is also known for its food and the best of the region’s bounty can be enjoyed at Mudgee’s signature event, Flavours of Mudgee.

4. Visit Mudgee’s original vineyard

Lowe Wines Mudgee cellar door
There is always a new reason to revisit Lowe Family Wines Co. (Image: Destination NSW)

There’s a lot to be said for lounging on the lawn at Lowe Family Wine Co. which has become a destination in its own right. This Mudgee mecca is a must-stop during a winery weekender, with the hybrid hub offering everything from twilight tapas to guided farm tours, long dinners under a canopy of vines in the Tunnel of Lowe bush chapel, and garden gigs attracting some of Australia’s best musicians.

Zin House is one of the best places to eat in Mudgee, and the accommodation offered here is also on point, making it one of the most luxurious places to stay in the region too.

5. Tour together with Mudgee Explorer Tours

If you’ve gathered a gaggle of oenophiles and it’s suddenly become all too unwieldy to herd everyone in the same direction, book yourselves onto a tour with Mudgee Explorer Tours. A fully organised tour complete with knowledgeable guides, this is the way to delegate a good time among the vines. With half- and full-day tours and a one-hour orientation tour on offer, you can choose your level of immersion. The full-day stretches over 6.5 hours with visits to five to six wineries, while the half-day checks out three wineries in three hours, both include snacks and drinking water and each stop is pre-booked for you. With a fleet of 8 buses and 10 guides, Mudgee Explorer Tours can accommodate large gatherings, such as hens and bucks parties, as easily as small groups.

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6. Get chauffeured around by Mudgee VIP Wine Tours

Mudgee VIP Wine Tours
Learn why the region’s wines are so distinctive with Mudgee VIP Wine Tours.

Wear some comfortable kicks while channelling your favourite Kardashian with Mudgee VIP Wine Tours’ local guide Alyson Scarbrow. Alyson has extensive knowledge of local wines and wineries and loves to share her passion for talking terroir and demonstrating why Mudgee wines are so distinct. Alyson has been in the Mudgee wine industry for 14 years after moving to the region in 2006, where she managed the cellar door at both Petersons Winery and Huntington Estate.

Mudgee VIP Wine Tours will take you to the region’s best wineries, including Logan Wines.

Logan’s Wines is one of five wineries Alyson loops in on her full-day tour and the option to enjoy a tasting experience here is a highlight for keen quaffers as it looks over the terraced vineyards that tumble down to Appletree Flat.

7. Wine and flights with Mudgee Tourist Bus

a helicopter and van for wine tour, Mudgee Tourist Bus
Hop on a wine tour by air or land with the Mudgee Tourist Bus.

If you fancy a wine flight with, well, an actual flight, you can splash out on a wine tour by air. Mudgee Tourist Bus offers a wine tour and scenic flight package that lifts you up and over the countryside for a view that puts the region into beautiful perspective. Included on the eight-hour tour is a half-hour scenic flight and stops at five-to-seven wineries in the region, as well as pick-up and drop-off to your accommodation. You’ll need a minimum of four flyers for lift-off.

8. Choose your own path

Already know which wineries and other Mudgee hotspots you want to visit? Create your own bespoke tour, without needing a designated driver, thanks to Mudgee Rides. Book reliable, on-time transfers for a single event, or book them out for a day of vineyard-hopping.

For more travel tips and expert advice, read our Mudgee travel guide.

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Carla Grossetti
Carla Grossetti has written across print and digital for Australian Traveller and International Traveller for more than a decade and has spent more than two decades finding excuses to eat well and travel far. A prestigious News Corp cadetship launched her career at The Cairns Post, before a stint at The Canberra Times and The Sydney Morning Herald gave way to extended wanders through Canada, the US, Mexico, Central America, Asia and Europe. Carla was chief sub editor at delicious and has contributed to Good Food, Travel & Luxury, Explore Travel, Escape. While living in London, Carla was on staff at Condé Nast Traveller and The Sunday Times Travel desk and was part of the pioneering digital team at The Guardian UK.
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3 vintage train journeys to step back in time and explore NSW

(Credit: Krista Eppelstun)

From country landscapes to the coast, Vintage Rail Journeys blends the grandeur of the golden age of rail travel with immersive local experiences.

Travelling aboard the historic Southern Aurora train is the ultimate scenic journey through regional NSW. Operated by Vintage Rail Journeys, the former Southern Aurora is a step back in time, from the lovingly restored carriages to the Off Train Experiences that spotlight local history, artisanal crafts and regional producers.

Once the overnight express that ferried passengers between Sydney and Melbourne throughout the 1960s, this train has been revived to its former mid-century glory, from the cabin layouts to the original lettering. Today, the train takes passengers on scenic and historic five-day journeys – starting and ending in Sydney – through three distinct regions of NSW: The Riverina, Golden West and North Coast.

Vintage Rail Journeys Southern Aurora train carriage
Be transported into the golden age of travel. (Credit: Krista Eppelstun)

One of the most magical parts of travelling with Vintage Rail Journeys is waking up on the train. Each night, the train stables at a station so guests can enjoy a restful night’s sleep in stillness, before departing again at dawn. Passengers awake to the gentle motion of the carriage, flicking open the blinds to watch the landscape unfold at sunrise. There is no better way to start the day.

The onboard experience come evening time is just as picturesque. Guests enjoy the all-inclusive food and beverages, nursing cocktails in the Art Deco-inspired lounge carriage or lingering over a three-course dinner in the dining carriage. Outside the window, Eastern grey kangaroos bound across open plains and flocks of cockatoos scatter from the gumtrees. It’s an old-world way of travelling, a slower pace that’s increasingly rare amid the frenzy of modern life. From coastal sojourns to adventures through agrarian landscapes, these are the multi-day Vintage Rail Journeys itineraries transporting guests back in time.

The Riverina

Vintage Rail Journeys Southern Aurora train travelling through nsw
Travel through the agricultural heartland of NSW. (Credit: Krista Eppelstun)

The Riverina is the agricultural heartland of NSW. Over five days, Vintage Rail Journeys takes passengers through the region to experience its celebrated produce, wines and local history. Travelling in a loop through the Central West, guests can sample sweets at the Junee Liquorice & Chocolate Factory, housed inside a former flour mill, tour an olive grove alongside a second-generation olive farmer, and enjoy tastings at family-owned wineries where the grapes are harvested mere metres away.

The Riverina is also a region shaped by passionate local historians. The Fairground Follies museum in Bowral houses one of the world’s largest collections of mechanical music and carnival memorabilia – a riot of colour and nostalgia tucked away where you’d least expect it. Meanwhile, Temora Rural Museum offers a glimpse into the history of everyday life in rural NSW. It’s home to the NSW & ACT Ambulance Museum (yes, a museum within a museum), packed with ambulances that span the past 120 years (including horse-drawn!). And seeing it all aboard a vintage train makes it feel not just like you’re visiting history, but living inside of it.

North Coast

Forest Sky Pier
Take in the views from Forest Sky Pier. (Credit: Destination NSW)

This five-day journey is all about ocean views and slowing down in tune with the rhythm of coastal life. As you make your way north from Sydney, the water is never too far from sight, whether Vintage Rail Journeys is tracing the Gloucester River or travelling alongside sweeping stretches of coastline. You’ll want to sit by a window as the train passes through the Coffs Harbour region – it’s one of the most scenic stretches of the whole journey.

Guests can also disembark at Coffs Harbour to take in the beauty of the Great Dividing Range at the Forest Sky Pier – a surreal lookout point that looks like a runway disappearing into the sky. The train continues onward to Byron Bay, where guests can disembark to explore the iconic beach town at their own pace. And on the return journey to Sydney, keep your eyes peeled for dolphins – they’re known to frequent the Kooragang Wetlands near Newcastle, which guests visit on a lunch cruise on the final day.

Golden West

winery experience in new south wales
Jump off the train for a winery experience. (Credit: Krista Eppelstun)

Travelling through the Golden West by rail is like stepping into a Frederick McCubbin painting – a nod to the golden era of rail travel. This five-day journey evokes the era of Australian Impressionism, passing through some of the country’s most painterly landscapes while tracing a path through history.

Starting in Sydney, the train makes its way to the Hawkesbury River, where the train crosses a historic rail bridge over the bronze, glassy waters below. Guests disembark here to cruise the brackish inlet aboard a historic postal boat before returning to the train to continue into Gold Rush country. Ahead lie grand heritage towns and historic estates, including the 1870s Abercrombie House in Bathurst.

Special event journeys

meal onboard Vintage Rail Journeys Southern Aurora train
Enjoy all-inclusive dining and beverages on the way to special events. (Credit: Krista Eppelstun)

Regional NSW is home to some truly one-of-a-kind events, and Vintage Rail Journeys offers a memorable way to get there. Planning a trip to the Bathurst Repco 1000? Vintage Rail Journeys’ special itinerary combines accommodation, dining and transport into one seamless experience. Guests take the scenic route to Bathurst, where the train becomes a unique home base for the event, complete with transfers, all-inclusive dining and beverages, and three days of reserved grandstand seating before returning to Sydney Central Station.

For something a little more playful, guests can also join fellow Elvis enthusiasts on a special overnight journey to Parkes for the town’s iconic annual Elvis Festival. It’s a vintage rail journey – with a little added rock ‘n’ roll.

Step back into the golden age of rail travel at vintagerailjourneys.com.au.