I made the fortunate choice of going with the Hunter Valley tour hosted by Jimmy. It was incredibly well done. The smallest details were thought out, making the logistics part easy. The food was fantastic, and of course the wine was delicious. Everything from the short walk to breakfast, rolling our own sushi, seeing the wildlife - there was nothing to even give constructive feedback about! Pretty sure it comes close to a perfect day for me. And to top of off, the other guests made great company to be touring with. read more

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If you love food and wine and authentic experiences, this is the trip for you! Jimmy has created the perfect blend of nature, meets food, meets fine wine and unique experiences! We loved our hunter valley trip... a must do when visiting Sydney!! read more

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This is a once in a lifetime kind of experience and a must for any wine lovers or foodies. This was by far one of the best things I could of booked in Australia. It was for sure a highlight of my 26 days spent in Australia. The Hunter Valley is a beautiful region and this makes for a great experience to get away from the business of the city and enjoy the small quaint wineries and towns. Jimmy was so passionate, so informative, approachable and friendly. Overall he is a great guide, friend, and amazing chef. I really enjoyed the entire tour and all the stops along the way. He picks you up directly from your hotel. The stop at the Sydney fish market was outstanding and the seafood used and purchased for the sushi making class was world class. The morton bay bugs were my favorite alongside the Sydney Rock Oysters. All of the wineries were top notch and there was plenty of food and wine to go around. It even rained most of the day on my tour and Jimmy still didn't skip a beat with the tour and improvised quite nicely especially when he had to make breakfast out of his van instead of using the griddles normally in Brooklyn . All of the management and hosts at the wineries were courteous, professional, and you could see the relationship Jimmy had build with his one of a kind tour. I always like to see small wineries and companies support one another. The three wineries we visited included 1.) Wollombi Wines(The port dipping sauce is a must try- its what Jimmy marinated the kangeroo skewers in ) 2.)Savvanah Estate (favorite: Port) 3.) Saddlers Creek (favorite 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon) We probably tried about 10-13 different wines The food prepared was so delicious and the kangaroo, barramundi ,stuffed mushrooms, waddle-seed creme-brulee and crepes were among my favorites. The banana bread with banana butter was a great pairing. The sushi making was well executed and very enjoyable . It was my first time making sushi and it went great . I also appreciated that Jimmy allowed his clients children on the tour and was very open to questions and catering to non-alcohol needs. The scenery was photo-perfect and the atmosphere was very relaxed and easy going. The last winery was by far my favorite sporting an amazing Cabernet Sauvingon. Living in CA near Napa I wine taste quite often but these wineries were great and well planned out. The whole day got better and better and we ended on a high note. I wish Jimmy the best of luck with his company and thanks again for making this tour so unique and so fantastic. I have done food tours all over the USA but this tour was so top notch .Keep up the good work . I had an amazing day and have many memories to last a lifetime. read more

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WOW and WOW. Jimmy was awesome.... friendly and fun. A Unique wine and food tour. Started off with going to the Sydney fish market to buy ingredients for our lunch. Then off to a lake for breakfast. Proceeded to Hunter valley for wine tasting at 3 different small boutique wineries. The second and third locations we had are wine paired with the food we bought earlier. Yes. Jimmy cooked the food right there. Definitely would recommend this tour. read more

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There are not enough stars for this tour! Jimmy was a wealth of information and covered MUCH more than just the wineries (fish market, brooklyn). Perfect size tour - not too few or too many people. He is not kidding when he says he's an ex-chef as he personally prepared the most amazing food to pair with the wine tastings at each stop. This tour is so much more than just a drive and drop. Highly highly highly recommend!! Thank you jimmy! read more

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Definitely worth the price! Jimmy used to be a chef! He also used to give tours. So he now has his own business as a touring chef and is perfect as what he does. He is charismatic and good at what he does. My husband and I did his tour while we were on our honeymoon in Sydney. Jimmy took us to three wine vineyards for tasting, took us to sydney fish market to by fresh fish for sushi, we had sushi rolling class, he made us breakfast, and he cooked for us throughout the day. This is one of our favorite things we did on our trip! read more

I cannot say enough about Jimmy and his amazing wine tasting tour. Jimmy is a fantastic host, tour guide and chef. Starting the day in the Sydney Fish Market was super fun and educational. It allowed us to explore a piece of the city we never would have gotten to otherwise (actually prompting us to return back ourselves the next day to buy fresh oysters and shrimp!). The breakfast by the river was delicious and it was so fun to cook outdoors and eat a breakfast picnic right there. We devoured everything he made. Jimmy made the drive out to wine country informative and fun. We had a curious group and he entertained every question we had. I feel like I learned so much about day-to-day life in Australia, from the animals (looking for kangaroos!) to the cultural history, sports, real estate, commerce and everything in between. Once we arrived in wine country, we went to three great wineries and an olive shop. All the hosts at the wineries we're inviting and entertaining. Basically allowing us a one on one view into their wines and processes. The food Jimmy made to pair was perfect. I feel this was an amazing value and we got to try a bunch of local ingredients (including kangaroo!). The wines were all great too and I'm excited to have brought several bottles home. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. Not to be missed if you are in Sydney. read more

our day started at 7am with Jimmy picking us up in his passenger van. Being in Sydney during the COVID-19 outbreak, we thought maybe our tour wouldn't be full, but people love wine and no global pandemic can stop them! we had all 15 folks in our tour ready to leave behind the worries of the world and have a great day. we started with brekky at a park and our sushi rolling class. i had never made my own sushi before, but Jimmy was a great instructor! we then drove on to Hunter valley (The Hunter) and visited three wineries. they were all great and accommodating. Plus Jimmy served us courses at 2 of the 3 wineries. All the food was great - we had scallops, kangaroo sliders, asparagus spears with truffle oil, and some cooked sausage. our experience was wonderful and would highly recommend this excursion! read more

Awesome tour. Went to Sydney with my sister hotel recommended the new gourmet food and wine tour. had a wonderful time Jimmie was awesome started the morning with a tour of the Sydney Fish Market, short hike of picturesque Hawkesbury River where you are greeted by delicious gourmet breakfast. 3 separate wine boutique stops with breath taking views where the chef pairs dishes that compliment the wine. read more

Fantastic. We really enjoyed this tour. Was not really sure what to expect and what we got was a very unfancy, honest and genuinely nice guy named Jimmy with a passion for cooking and wine who takes you out into the Hunter Valley much more like riding in a car with friends over a sterile well polished tour for tourists. This is a one man operation it seems and he really knows how to make people feel welcome and comfy and really enjoy the day. We started at the Sydney Fish Market early to see the vendors start filling up their fish counters and picked up some various fresh seafood and veggies. Then we had a tasty breakfast prepared by Jimmy on the Hawksebury River and then off to three different wineries in the Hunter Valley. At each stop Jimmy made various foods to sample like kangaroo skewers, mushroom caps which were awesome, we all made our own sushi together with fish bought at the market and one of my favorites was this wattle seed creme brulee he made. We loved the wineries and bought at least one bottle at each one. We had a small multi-cultural group that got to know each other and had a blast together. The bus was comfy and stocked with waters with rest stops we made along the way. Overall totally enjoyable and a great way to get out of the city to see the countryside. Highly recommended. read more

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Jimmy was the perfect host. He was extremely accommodating and while some other local tour operators were less than welcoming when we tried to book a tour with our darling 13 month old, this was not the case with Jimmy. The drive out to Hunter Valley from Sydney was a little long, but Jimmy's tidbits of history and local culture made it bearable. His cooking was phenomenal, his grilled barramundi skewers were probably the best thing we ate on our whole trip On our last stop the winemaker actually gave us the tasting, picking his brain was an unexpected added bonus. If you've read many of my other reviews, it might be obvious that I don't please easily. If you're looking for a trip out to hunter valley during your trip to Sydney, I don't think you could do much better than going with Jimmy. read more

I was in Sydney alone looking for a fun wine tour and the Marriott recommended Jimmy's tour. I can say this was an amazing, fun, educational adventure. Not only is Jimmy and wonderful chef but he shares so much knowledge. He is funny, down to earth and treats all of his guest like family. If you are looking for a unique experience to know more about the Hunter Valley wine country and have fresh food prepared for you alone the way, this is the tour I highly recommend! Thank you so much Jimmy and Gus the Bus!!! Aloha and Mahalo Kimberly read more

Wow! Amazing! A must do if in Sydney. I'm not a tour person, but Jimmy was so personable, and his food was so good. Loved, loved loved all the local spots on the tour. Jimmy really researches everything, and it shows. He loves what he does, and it shows. This was an incredible value for an amazing experience! . read more