Capercaillie Wines

Capercaillie Wines is a boutique cellar door on Londons Road in Lovedale with a big lawn, vineyard views and, unusually for a cellar door, a dam where well-behaved dogs get a supervised off-leash run. Dogs are welcome across the outdoor areas, often inside the tasting room as well, which puts it among the most genuinely dog-welcoming stops in the Hunter.

The dog setup

The layout works in three tiers: lawn and outdoor seating right where you taste, inside access at staff discretion, and the dam for a proper run on warm days. Water bowls are typically out. Keep control near the water and around other tasters, and confirm the off-leash arrangement with staff when you arrive, since it depends on the day and the dog.

The vibe

This is a serious small producer going since 1996, with a long list of wine show awards across reds, whites and cool-climate styles, plus cheese platters to hold a table together. Tastings run 10am to 4:30pm daily. The dam-and-vineyard setting is half the appeal, so the tasting pace is relaxed rather than rushed.

Pepsi: a dam I am allowed in beats any lawn. Time it for a warm day and pack a towel for the car ride home.

Getting there and parking

It sits at 4 Londons Road in Lovedale, an easy turn off the Hunter Expressway with on-site parking right by the cellar door. There is no useful public transport, so drive and sort a designated driver.

Pair it with

Allandale Winery is up the same Lovedale road, and over toward Pokolbin both Saddler's Creek Wines and Tintilla Estate Wines keep large lawns where dogs settle beside the tasting, so a Lovedale morning pairs naturally with a Pokolbin afternoon.

When to go

A warm day makes the dam the whole proposition, so bring a towel. Mornings are quieter if your dog is wary of crowds, and the Lovedale Long Lunch weekend in autumn is best avoided for a first visit.

More choices are on the NSW dog friendly wineries guide and the Lovedale destination page.