Pokolbin: Cheese & Wine Tasting Tour with Local Pairings

4.91

(141 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

The first thing I noticed was the quiet clink of glasses — that soft, hopeful sound when you’re about to taste something new. We’d just settled into this sunlit room in Pokolbin, and already the smell of rind and oak was everywhere. Our guide (I think her name was Sam?) grinned as she set down the first cheese, a creamy wedge from somewhere nearby, right next to a glass of Hunter Valley white. “Try them together,” she said, like it was a dare.

I’ll admit, I’ve never been great at describing flavors — but there’s something about having someone local walk you through it that makes you notice more. The cheese had this buttery softness, and then the wine sort of cut through it with this bright snap. Someone at our table tried to guess where the blue cheese came from (wrong continent), and Sam just laughed. She told us little stories about each pairing — how some cheeses were made just up the road, others all the way from Europe. It felt easygoing, not stuffy at all.

By the fourth or fifth pairing, I stopped worrying about saying the “right” thing and just enjoyed whatever weird combination ended up on my plate. There was a moment when everyone went quiet after trying an Australian cheddar with a bold red — I still think about that taste sometimes when I see supermarket cheese back home. The whole experience lasted maybe two hours? Hard to say; time got fuzzy between pours and laughter. Anyway, if you’re ever in Pokolbin and want to do more than just drink wine, this cheese and wine tasting tour is worth slowing down for.