Piggs Peake Winery

Piggs Peake on Hermitage Road is the unpretentious, fun end of the Pokolbin spectrum: a boutique winery known for experimental styles and a laid-back welcome that extends to dogs. It is one of the handful of Hunter cellar doors where a well-behaved dog can join you inside for the tasting rather than waiting on the lawn, which makes it a good hot-day or wet-day pick.

The dog setup

Dogs on lead are welcome inside the tasting room and across the outdoor grounds and shaded patio spaces, with water bowls usually out. It is still a working tasting room, so a dog that settles quietly does best. Two things to mind on arrival: there are roaming peacocks on the property and a resident winery dog, so keep the lead short walking in and let your dog read the room.

Max: peacocks plus a resident dog means a busy first thirty seconds. Keep the lead short until your dog settles, then relax into the tasting.

The vibe

The wines are the talking point, with offbeat names and styles running from sweet reds to heavier drops, and staff who take the stuffiness out of wine. There is food on-site too, including flatbreads and charcuterie, so it works as a proper long stop rather than a quick pour.

Getting there and parking

The cellar door is at 697 Hermitage Road, Pokolbin, with on-site parking. Tastings run 10am to 5pm daily, and bookings are worth making, especially for a weekend table with the dog in tow. Hermitage Road has a scenic stretch for a leg-stretch walk before or after.

While you're out there

You can build a Hermitage Road dog-friendly run around it: Tintilla Estate Wines sits just up the same road, and Saddler's Creek Wines pours in a relaxed garden a few minutes away. Brokenwood Wines is the bigger-name cellar door nearby if the day needs a third stop.

More options are on the New South Wales dog friendly wineries guide and the Pokolbin destination page.