Parched Crow Wines

Parched Crow at 536 De Beyers Road is a small family-owned cellar door that brings dogs inside rather than leaving them tethered at the gate. It opens Friday to Sunday, and in the cooler months there is an open fire in the tasting room that might be the best dog seat in the Hunter.

The dog setup

Well-behaved dogs are welcome inside the cellar door and out across the vineyard and grounds on a lead. The rule set is simple: lead on at all times, clean up after your dog, and keep them settled around other tasters. Water bowls are often available but not guaranteed, so a travel bowl in the bag covers it. The winter fire is the draw: a dog on the floor beside it while you work through a tasting is about as cosy as Pokolbin gets.

Max: a spot by the open fire, a room small enough that nobody minds me, and semillon while the rain comes down outside. Winter sorted.

Worth knowing

Hours are Friday to Sunday, 10am to 4pm, so plan the visit for the back half of the week. The wines are boutique single-vineyard releases made by noted Hunter winemaker Andrew Thomas, spanning semillon, chardonnay, verdelho, shiraz and sangiovese, and the hosting is personal: the room is small enough that the tasting tends to turn into a conversation. Groups should ring ahead, and the mystery picnic experiences that get a mention online run through booking partners.

Getting there and parking

De Beyers Road runs through the quieter northern end of Pokolbin, and there is parking on site beside the cellar door. It is a few minutes from the main Broke Road strip; the road is narrow and shared with cyclists on weekends, so take it easy on the way in.

Pair it with

McLeish Estate is on the same road and just as dog-welcoming, and Tulloch Wines makes a good semillon-focused second stop nearby.

More doors are on the NSW wineries guide and the Pokolbin destinations page.