The top wine tours from Sydney

The NSW countryside has some of the oldest, most acclaimed and spectacular vineyards in the country, many with wineries big enough to host a wedding party, your work team or your entire family. But organising a trip for so many can be logistically difficult. These wine tours from Sydney will handle everything, regardless of the size of your crew, from the early morning pick-up in Sydney to the final drop-off back to your hotel that night. Taking you to the Hunter Valley, the Southern Highlands or the South Coast, you’ll visit celebrated NSW wineries, and consume facts, snacks and views on the way. If the itinerary or schedule doesn’t quite suit your group, most can create a bespoke tour just for you.  

Hunter Valley 

Grapes were first planted among the rolling hills of the Hunter Valley in 1820. Now the area hosts more than 150 wineries, making it the biggest and one of the most varied wine regions in the state. If you’re a food-motivated traveller, sign up for a Gourmet Getaway Tours experience where your tour guide doubles up as a chef, using the bus’s kitchenette to whip up meals as you travel through the countryside. Like Gourmet Getaway Tours, award-winning tour company Boutique Tours Australia works best with more intimate groups, around five to 15, as their tours are dynamic, changing based on the group, day and vibe.  

Gourmet Getaway Tours at Saddlers Creek Winery, Pokolbin

If you’re travelling with the whole workforce, Dave’s Tours can take up to 100 guests to three wineries plus a distillery, with bonus cheese and chocolate to match the wines. Urban Legends Tour Co guides groups of up to 200 on specialised, budget-conscious, four-to-six-hour tours where you sample the wines of the Pokolbin or Broke Fordwich regions. If your wedding party or workmates want to visit multiple regions, Urban Legends can also help customise your trip: stay the night in the valley; or visit a brewery, distillery or cheese tasting on the way.  

Dave's Tours, Hunter Region - Credit: Dave's Travel Group

Zepher Tours promises “no long boring commentary, just fun facts and local stories” over their full-day private tours, perfect for a hen’s, buck’s or work getaway of any size. Fuel used is offset by tree planting on Carbon Neutral’s Yarra Yarra Biodiversity Corridor. For a more opt-in, affordable adventure, Go Beyond Tours lets you pay for what you want – they take you to three to four wineries, plus chocolate, olive oil and cheese tastings, but the choice of lunch venue and wine tasting options are up to you to decide on and pay for. For a luxury experience, explore the countryside via air with Sydney Bespoke Tours. This high-end tour company offers helicopter transport to and from Sydney, as well as a degustation lunch between vineyard visits. Or stay on the ground with Australian Luxury Escapes, who mix in educational commentary and morning tea by the Hawkesbury into their private tours to the region’s most lauded wineries. Although designed for smaller groups, both tours can accompany large groups on request.  

Hunter Valley Wine Tours, Hunter Valley - Credit: Zepher Tours

Southern Highlands  

With the Great Dividing Range as a backdrop, the Southern Highlands shows off charming country scenes, a thriving food culture and more than 60 wineries. The cool, moderate climate has historically produced great chardonnay, riesling and cabernet sauvignon, but more recently it’s been praised for pinot noir drops. With Kenny Escapes you can join a tour of 10 or less or organise your own adventure (there is no maximum tour group size) that includes three winery visits, a cheese tasting and lunch at a premium Southern Highlands venue. If you have a large extended family (or work team), Urban Legends Tour Co guides up to 200 people on half or full-day trips, including three wineries.  

Kenny Escapes Food and Wine Tours, Berry - Credit: Kenny Escapes

To ensure you get to one of the most spectacular sites of the region, the grand vineyard of Bendooley Estate, jump on the Shire Shuttle Bus day tour of the region, taking in three to four vineyard stops and a local cheese tasting. Group tours are for eight to 24 people and, despite the name, pickups and drop offs can be made to other areas of Sydney apart from the Shire. For a more general experience of the villages and countryside of the Southern Highlands region, Splendour Tailored Tours organises private day tours of the region for groups of eight to 20 that include a cool climate wine masterclass and an afternoon vineyard visit. If you have a smaller group, Local Eyes focuses on small-batch vineyards and local producers for groups of seven or less.  

Bendooley Estate, Berrima

South Coast 

The Shoalhaven wine region combines the postcard coastal scenery of the South Coast and the rugged land of the Kangaroo Valley. The temperate climate first welcomed grapes in the 1970s and ‘80s and is now known for boutique wineries specialising in chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon, chambourcin and shiraz. Customise your own day – chuck in a brewery tour, lawn bowls with mountain views or a picnic by the ocean – with Urban Legends Tour Co, an affordable tour company that caters to groups of any size. Whatever you decide, you’ll be treated to cheese platters and quintessential South Coast scenery on the way. Shoalhaven Shuttles can pick up and drop off from Sydney locations for an extra fee, and take groups of between six and 28 on day trips to three South Coast winery locations including Cupitt's Estate, which is also a brewery, restaurant and boutique accommodation.

Cupitts Estate, Ulladulla

Kenny Escapes offers a trio of South Coast day trips, either focusing purely on wine tastings or throwing in some oyster shucking or hen’s party-styled picnicking to spice up the day. The tour company, owned and operated by an Illawarra local, works with some of the best wineries in the region, like Coolangatta Estate, Two Figs and the historic Silos Estate, so whichever tour you go with you’ll have the chance to walk away with an award-winning bottle to share back home. With Shire Shuttle Bus, you can create your own atmosphere by connecting to the coach speakers and DJing between trips to the region’s acclaimed wineries. They accommodate eight to 20 people, and you can either help choose which vineyards and extra sites you want to check out or let them handle all the decisions and just come along for the ride.

Shire Shuttle Bus and Tours, Shoalhaven