N
ewcastle is a coal town (formerly coal and steel), and it's relatively new to cruise traffic. Back in the day, it was the place that they shipped the especially difficult prisoners, too crafty or dangerous for Sydney. I think it's cleaned up a little since then.
ewcastle is a coal town (formerly coal and steel), and it's relatively new to cruise traffic. Back in the day, it was the place that they shipped the especially difficult prisoners, too crafty or dangerous for Sydney. I think it's cleaned up a little since then.In the morning, we had a wine tour of the nearby Hunter Valley; three stops, each with it's own style. First was Tempus Two; classy, ultra-modern--what the locals call 'very swish.' The property is just huge. The grounds were designed as an auditorium, and concerts are held throughout the nicer months. Hip artists that have played recently include: Elton John, Rob Thomas, Styx,... Foghat,... one of the guys from Nelson. The place was beautiful, though. But the wine? Me. Di. O. Cre. Almost absent of taste. But half the people on the cruise loved it. "I'd give this wine a GOLD!" some lady shouted over a wine that tasted like... yellow. It tasted like the colour yellow. Winery two was a place called Bimbadgen Estate, where there was to be more tasting and also lunch. While we ate, the owner gave us a little wine education. Paraphrased: "Cork is the devil! Anyone who puts a bit of dead cork into a perfectly good bottle of wine should be shot in the arse!" Perhaps the case wasn't stated quite so strongly, but you get the message. 
Cork taint, according to the Bimbadgen owner, happens to one in five bottles of wine. It's not that I don't believe him, but I just think there's degrees to cork taint, and your average palate doesn't pick it up unless it's quite bad. After swish old Tempus Two's, and soapboxy Bimbadgen estate, our third winery--Lindemans had a style best described as "Let's get pissed!" There was comparative tasting, there was education... but there was also a lot of wine. We took home about three bottles (from wineries one and two), some tasting glasses and a cool carrying bag, and I had a big fat nap on the bus ride back.
At the pier again, we spent a small amount of time in the city, but as mentioned previously, Newcastle isn't really used to cruise traffic so they were rolling up the carpets by about five in the afternoon.
Cork taint, according to the Bimbadgen owner, happens to one in five bottles of wine. It's not that I don't believe him, but I just think there's degrees to cork taint, and your average palate doesn't pick it up unless it's quite bad. After swish old Tempus Two's, and soapboxy Bimbadgen estate, our third winery--Lindemans had a style best described as "Let's get pissed!" There was comparative tasting, there was education... but there was also a lot of wine. We took home about three bottles (from wineries one and two), some tasting glasses and a cool carrying bag, and I had a big fat nap on the bus ride back.At the pier again, we spent a small amount of time in the city, but as mentioned previously, Newcastle isn't really used to cruise traffic so they were rolling up the carpets by about five in the afternoon.
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