Wombat Crossing Vineyard

Wombat Crossing Vineyard on Hermitage Road is a small, family-run boutique cellar door in Pokolbin, and it is one of the few in the Hunter Valley where a dog is genuinely part of the visit rather than an afterthought. Well-behaved dogs on a lead are welcome inside the tasting room as well as out on the grounds, so there is no need to tag-team a tasting or leave anyone in the car.

The dog setup

Dogs can come inside the air-conditioned cellar door and walk the vineyard and grounds with you, as long as they stay leashed and under control. The room is small and personal, so a calm dog settles in easily; water bowls are usually on hand, though bringing your own is a sensible backup on hot Hunter afternoons. There is a fire for winter and cool air for summer, so the stop works year round with a dog in tow.

The wines are single-vineyard and handmade across Semillon, Chardonnay, Verdelho, Shiraz and Cabernet blends, with input from acclaimed local winemaker Andrew Thomas. What sets the place apart is the cause behind it: cellar door visits and purchases have raised serious money for local wombat rescue work, which makes a tasting here feel like a small donation by itself.

Worth knowing

Opening days are limited, running Friday to Sunday rather than a full week, so check the website before you drive out. Weekday-adjacent slots, Friday especially, are the quietest for a dog that needs room to settle. The site is easy to spot on the Hermitage Road cellar door trail, with on-site parking right by the door.

While you're out there

Hermitage Road links a long run of Pokolbin cellar doors, so it is easy to build a dog-friendly loop: Meerea Park Wines and Tulloch Wines are both nearby stops. The broader set of options is on the New South Wales wineries page, and the Pokolbin destination guide pulls the area together.

Max: this one is an easy recommend for dog owners because the welcome runs deep, the room is small enough to keep an eye on your dog, and the tasting money goes back into wombat rescue.