NSW - Hunter Valley

By David Ellis and John Rozentals

Alex Stuart was born in Sydney in 1944 of Scottish and Welsh stock, while  Daniel Binet was born in 1979 to French parents in Vanuatu.

Yet they’ve arrived at the same place in Australia after having taken very different paths to get there — the former Hunter Valley property of winemaking legend Len Evans that’s now known as Ballabourneen.

And for visitors to Ballabourneen they’ve a wealth of tales of connections with Sydney’s commercial yesteryear, and their individual paths to the Hunter, all told over a glass or three of their Ballabourneen-label reds or whites.

Alex’s great-grandfather, William Stuart was a Scottish stonemason who migrated to Australia in the early 1880s, setting up Stuart Bros Pty Limited and putting his name to the construction of such landmarks as Sydney’s Luna Park, Australia’s Wonderland and a considerable chunk of the city’s Darling Harbour.

For more than 90 years, the company also worked closely with the Fairfax family in Sydney, working on The Sydney Morning Herald’s old downtown headquarters (now the Radisson Renaissance Hotel), building their Broadway conglomerate in 1955, and also constructing the Channel 7 studios at Epping.

And in another connection with history, Alex’s maternal grandfather, Welshman Philip Bevan, started McPhersons Hardware that amongst other things supplied most of the amazing 6,000,000 rivets for the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

When Stuart Bros went public in 2003, Alex who was a director “retired” and moved with his wife Di to the Hunter Valley, where he established a small vineyard on the corner of Talga Road and a little laneway called The Ballabourneen in the district’s Lovedale sector.

And despite his Scottish and Welsh ancestry, he named his vineyard Ballabourneen – that in fact is Irish for “the town road”, and had his wines made at nearby Capercallie by the late Alasdair Sutherland.

That’s where he met Daniel Binet, an exciting young winemaker who had a major hand in crafting wines such as Alex’s Ballabourneen 2003 The Stuart Chardonnay, and which won the Murray Tyrrell Trophy for Best Chardonnay of Show at the 2004 Hunter Valley Wine Show.

Daniel had finished secondary school in Australia and made the almost obligatory excursion to Europe to explore his French origins, and upon falling in love with the romance of wine making enrolled to study oenology on his return to Australia.

In 2008, after six years with Capercaillie, he felt an urge to establish his own brand, and knowing Alex Stuart had put the Ballabourneen operation into a holding pattern a couple of years earlier, approached him to see if he could use the label.

They had a chat, and ultimately came up with a far better solution: they decided to relaunch Ballabourneen as a joint venture, buying grapes from the Hunter Valley’s best sources, making their wine at Tatler’s Lovedale Road facility, and leasing the old Evans Family Wines property for their cellar door   on the Hunter’s main artery, Broke Road.

As well, they refurbished the property’s old “suit demolisher” dairy, and converted it into delightful tourist accommodation.

The now-trim little cottage overlooks gentle slopes on which kangaroos graze in the mornings amid swirling mists, and there’s the opportunity for guests to stroll through the nearby woodlands.

The cottage sleeps two and has top-name appliances, tasteful decor courtesy of Alex’s wife Di and Daniel’s partner Natalie, and even free wireless internet connectivity.

As well, wonderful aromas of fresh-baked local bread awaits newly-arriving guests, together with the makings of a Continental breakfast – and a free bottle of bubbly and cheese platter.

These are delightful digs for a romantic getaway and also central to Pokolbin’s many and varied attractions. Rates are $200 per night mid-week, $250 per night weekends and public holidays (with the standard Hunter Valley two-night minimum stay on weekends).

For further information, phone (02) 4998 6505 or visit www.ballabourneen.com.au. Located at 2347 Broke Road, Pokolbin.

ALSO IN THE HUNTER VALLEY AREA

Many other wineries with cellar doors, including the legendary Lake’s Folly (www.lakesfolly.com.au), established by the late Dr Max Lake and his family in 1963 and often cited as Australia’s first boutique winery.

Exceptional dining at Hungerford Hill’s Muse Restaurant Café (www.musedining.com.au).

Hunter Valley Golf & Country Club (www.huntervalleygolf.net.au), one of the district’s finest golf courses.

Hunter Valley Gardens (www.hvg.com.au) — 10 lavish gardens spread over 60 acres.