St Clair Wines

St Clair Wines is a family-run boutique cellar door in Pokolbin, and it is one of the Hunter Valley's most genuinely dog-friendly tastings. The venue's own cellar door page states that dogs are permitted in both the indoor and outdoor seating areas, and resident cellar dog Sadie stars in the hospitality.

The dog setup

Because dogs are allowed indoors as well as out, this is a wet-weather option most Hunter cellar doors cannot offer. Keep your dog on lead and settled while you taste, bring a water bowl as backup, and book ahead so the tasting room can plan for your arrival.

The vibe

Estate-grown boutique wines poured by the family themselves, with flexible indoor and outdoor seating that is heated in winter and air-conditioned in summer. It is an intimate, personal tasting rather than a coach-load operation, which is exactly why it suits a dog.

Pepsi: this is the cellar door to hold in reserve for a rainy Hunter weekend. A dog-welcoming indoor tasting is rare enough that it pays to remember which ones exist.

Getting there and parking

The cellar door sits at 130 Gillards Road, Pokolbin, in the middle of the vineyard strip, with on-site parking and an easy drive from Cessnock. It opens Monday and Thursday to Sunday from 10am to 5pm, closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so check the day before you build an itinerary around it.

Worth knowing

The venue also runs the Thirsty Palette art-and-wine workshops, pairing painting sessions with the wines, which is a different way to spend a long lunch than the standard tasting flight. Weekdays are quieter for a first visit with a dog still learning how to settle at a cellar door.

Pair it with

Nearby dog-friendly pours include De Iuliis Wines and Tulloch Wines, both on the same Pokolbin strip. More options are on the NSW dog friendly cafes guide and the Pokolbin destination page.