The Lovedale Long Lunch, Weekend Getaway

Just one glass you say? How about seven wineries? Get on to the Lovedale Long Lunch!

As a child, did you ever fantasise about having your own Secret Garden? A place for you to run through fields, and hide in bushes whilst the sun tingled your skin? Well, swap the fields for vineyards, and the bushes with vines. The Lovedale Long Lunch has turned your childhood fantasy into a weekend-long adult dream world from Saturday 20^th till Sunday 21^st May 2017. You will not enter alone as you and your fellow foodies will be accompanied by two full days of food and wine from Lovedale’s finest.

This annual Autumn event is a major hit on the Hunter Valley’s fruitful food and wine calendar. In collaboration with the Hunter Valley’s leading chefs, seven of Lovedale’s most renowned wineries bring you a weekend of foodie fun, heightened by the background tunes from local artists. ‘Chianti’ do a whole weekend to away? Not to worry, The Lovedale Long Lunch offers a Saturday Package and a Sunday Package along with the full weekend. With the events beginning daily at 9.30am, your red wine lips and blushed cheeks will be showing up to the party by the time lunch is served.

Showcasing the talents of the Hunter Valley, each winery has its own menu to satisfy your tastes. Venue allocation may become quickly exhausted, so be sure to do some research on what is on offer at each winery. If you’re not so confident in your knowledge of wine, let the hunger of your eyes guide you. Let the eight-hour braised lamb, with truffle polenta, watercress, pecorino, fennel, walnuts and pancetta, take you to Allandale. Or perhaps Emma can steal you away to her cottage for a lunch of seared prawns with pearl cous cous, pistachio nuts, goji berries, mint and parsley with a lemon and garlic yogurt sauce?

It’s suggested to visit three wineries per day, so if you’re there for one day, choose wisely foodies. But, if you’re there for the whole weekend, well, what’s one more? Not only is The Lovedale Long Lunch a dream weekend away, the wine comes cheaper than most events water with $5 for 5 tasting tickets. What makes this food and wine event better than most? The Hunter Valley produces just 2% of Australia’s wine. With 10 regions within the Hunter Valley, you are left with a 0.2% chance of finding a Lovedale wine from a selection of 100 Australian wines. That sounds pretty unique to us!

This weekend of showcasing moves talents beyond the ingestible, and into the groovable with live music at each venue. The ‘Uptown Funk Band’ will have you swinging at Gartelmann Winery, and by the time you reach Saltire Estate, you’ll be joining the ‘Secret Society’. At 5pm, as you make your last take-home wine purchase of The Lovedale Long Lunch weekend, turn and wave goodbye to your childhood secret garden. It won’t be long till you’re back though, the secret garden is always open.
So, grab your fellow foodie friends and head to The Lovedale Long Lunch website now! Start planning your weekend away into the realm of Australia’s oldest winemaking region. Which winery threshold you will cross first? 

Packages:

Weekend Packages

• Entry on Saturday and Sunday
• 2 main meals
• 2 dessert or cheese plates
• 1 souvenir wine tasting class
• 1 event program
• General release: $114 (+ $5 booking fee)

Saturday Package

• Entry on Saturday
• 2 main meals
• 1 dessert or cheese plate
• 1 souvenir wine tasting glass
• 1 event program
• General release: $99 (+$5 booking fee)

Sunday Package

• Entry on Sunday
• 1 Main Meal
• 1 Dessert or Cheese Plate
• 1 Souvenir Wine Tasting Glass
• 1 Event Program
• General release: $64 (+ $5 booking fee)
• On the day: $69 (+ $5 booking fee)

Head to The Lovedale Long Lunch website where they’ve set out many transport and accommodation options to make your journey as easy and enjoyable as possible!