Gundog Estate
Gundog Estate
4.5
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
About
Gundog Estate is a boutique producer of premium Semillon and Shiraz. Sourcing fruit from some of the best vineyards in the Hunter, Hilltops and Canberra wine regions in New South Wales, we engage passionate growers that work tirelessly to deliver the best fruit possible. Our growers also firmly believe in sustainable vineyard practices, with a view to leaving the land in a better condition for the next generation.
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- CateAuckland, New Zealand126 contributionsEasy to miss, but worth turning back forVery lucky to find Gundog Estate winery when I was the only person there. Had a highly educational hour tasting of their full “standard” range. This small and easy to miss winery sources its grapes from within the Hunter Valley as well as from some “cold climate” vineyards close to Canberra. The results are delicious. I was lucky to be the only person there on a quiet mid-week visit, and the patient and knowledgeable sommelier took me through their full “standard” range. He also added two of their vintage reds to taste . . . now I understand the differences!!! It’s all personal, but I ended up buying a mixed half dozen reds, and have been very pleased with them since I got home.Visited December 2023Travelled as a coupleWritten 12 February 2024
- Chase B14 contributionsMust Do if living in or visiting CanberraVisiting from Brisbane and having lunch next door at Grazing for husband's birthday so started celebrations early with the wine tasting at Gundog. I am more of a gin drinker but this wining tasting was exceptional. Weather sunny so sat outside and Zar took exceptional care of us. She was so lovely to chat with and very knowledgeable and passionate about the wines. And of course the wines.....very very good and even converted this gin drinker to a Semillon which we shared that evening watching the Olympic Games. Venue only 30 mins from Canberra so a MUST DO if visiting or living in our capital city!!! Thank you Zar and Gundog Estate for making my husband's birthday extra special.Visited July 2024Travelled with familyWritten 18 August 2024
- david r1 contributionSome great wine and some great dog treats.This wine was great, but the server was even better. She was super friendly and told us heaps about the selection. We left with a few different bottles because we couldn't decide. They are dog friendly and our pair of barky of JackRussles were fast friends with "the lady with the treats" (their words not mine). There was hand licking before our third tasting. Next time in-laws come to visit we're 100% going back. Or when we run out of our current stock of wine.Visited September 2024Travelled with familyWritten 5 September 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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4.5
200 reviews
Excellent
134
Very good
46
Average
6
Poor
8
Terrible
6
Carl P
Sydney, Australia2 contributions
July 2020 • Friends
We booked and paid for a tasting. Phoned ahead to notify them we’ll be a little late, and were told that was fine, our session time would just be reduced (which was totally fine by us). We arrived and were denied entry by a very rude man... not even allowed to come in to potentially purchase wine.
Two emails sent about the incident. No response and certainly no offer of a refund of the tasting cost that was not provided to us.
I suspect had we been of a different “demographic” we may have not been met with the same service.
Plenty of other wineries in the area that will welcome you with open arms, even during this difficult time... I would skip Gundog.
Two emails sent about the incident. No response and certainly no offer of a refund of the tasting cost that was not provided to us.
I suspect had we been of a different “demographic” we may have not been met with the same service.
Plenty of other wineries in the area that will welcome you with open arms, even during this difficult time... I would skip Gundog.
Written 24 July 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear Carl,
It is unfortunate to hear of your experience last week, we certainly don’t want any of our guests leaving feeling so disappointed. My apologies also in the delay of my response to your email, but I wanted to be sure that I had chatted to every member of staff that was working, to see what occurred before I replied.
As you will appreciate, we, like every business in the region, are attempting to negotiate extremely uncertain times. At the moment, due to NSW Government COVID restrictions, we are only able to accommodate a limited number of people in our cellar door. Our experiences are for 45 minute tastings, that begin on the hour mark. So, for your booking at 4 o’clock, your tasting session was for 4pm – 4:45pm. Unfortunately, none of the staff who were present are able to recall receiving your phone call informing them that you would be running behind. When you did arrive, slightly after 4:40, with 6 people instead of the 4 you had booked for, you were informed that our tasting sessions were almost over for the afternoon. These times need to be strictly adhered to as it allows us time to sanitise and clean between each service. This is to conform with all NSW COVID legislation, and for both our staff, and our guests, continued safety. I’m sure you can also appreciate that , as we are such a small cellar door, there is an extremely high demand for our booking slots.
I apologise that you felt our staff were rude in advising you that you had effectively missed your booking slot and I assure you that it was not their intention to be so. In the event of such overdue bookings at the close of business, we would always offer a booking slot the following day when we would have the time to show you what we do without rushing you in and out.
I am sorry that you left feeling that your ‘demographic’ or anything else other than the staff’s concern to stick precisely to the new COVID regulations, were the reason you weren’t accommodated at the time. I hope your day in the Hunter Valley was still a pleasant visit and that you will book in at some stage in the future so we can show you exactly why our booking slots are so popular.
Kind Regards,
David Sinclair
Cellar Door Manager
Written 28 July 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Jasmin J
2 contributions
June 2021 • Friends
Unfortunately my experience was a non event. I was greeted with an extremely hostile and terse employee, who promptly told me there was no space for tastings, which I understood. She was abrupt and clearly had no interest in assisting me, even when I told her I was here for a specific bottle of wine. Her delivery and manner was awful and I regret buying the wine and giving Gundog my business.
Written 18 June 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi 873jasminj,
It is unfortunate to hear of your experience here at Gundog. Having spoken to all the staff, no one is able to remember anyone coming in, booking or not, that didn't then sit down and have a tasting with us. So i can ensure this never happens again, would you possibly be able to contact me on cellardoor@gundogestate.com.au and give me some more detail of your experience? Once again, my apologies for your unpleasant experience.
Written 12 July 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
thesydneytram
Sydney, Australia1,802 contributions
Nov 2020
The artworks of Gille and Marc - the rabbit and the dog, are the main theme of Gundog Estate. The lady offered us a good variety of Shiraz and Semellion. What a shame they ran out of the sweeter wine range. It wasn’t my best wine tasting experience.
Written 8 November 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi thesydneytram,
Thanks you for taking the time to leave us a review and some feedback. Glad to hear you were offered a good range of our wines and while we have sold out of a lot of our wines after an almost non-existent 2020 vintage due to bushfires, on the sweeter side we do still have our off dry Semillon and our NV Muscat. If you could possibly email me at cellardoor@gundogestate.com.au, I would love to hear of your visit, and specifically what we can do better, as we are always looking to improve our offering to better meet our visitors expectations. I sincerely hope to hear from you soon,
Kind Regards,
David Sinclair
Hunter Valley Cellar Door Manager
Written 9 December 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Timboy
3 contributions
Feb 2020
A wine brand that’s become slightly confusing. Feels like the direction of the brand has moved away from wine and is searching for something more. We tasted the beer, were going to buy the gin but it became apparent the beer is made by a brewery & the gin a distillery, not produced by Gundog at all! The overload of charities to contribute to is a bit much, seems like it’s more for recognition that actually giving back to the community. Every company and most individuals give to worthy causes but don’t use it as a marketing tool. Keep it simple, make wine. And absolutely help the homeless, contribute to the local meal drives, go plant some trees as those directly helping these causes are the true heroes.
Written 7 March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear Tim,
My name is Matt Burton and I am the owner of Gundog Estate. I received a notification of the one-star review you posted on TripAdvisor and after reading your content, I wanted to reply to you personally.
Firstly, I apologies that your visit to Gundog caused so much confusion or otherwise offended you to the degree that you felt compelled to post a review like this.
I disagree that the direction of the brand has moved away from wine. In fact our current line up is our most comprehensive and critically acclaimed yet. We are consistently rated by James Halliday, Australia’s most influential wine critic, as being amongst the top 10% of wine producers in the country. Our focus on continually improving wine quality, and over delivering to our customers, has not wavered. I don’t feel that we are “searching for something more,” rather that the addition of a beer and gin are part of our desire to build a comprehensive brand experience, and each of these products clearly reflect the values of the brand. You are correct in that we work with Tumut River Brewery and the Newy Distillery to produce these products – we are open about this. We collaborate with the talented individuals at these businesses to deliver two amazing drinks, which we wouldn’t otherwise be able to. I apologies if your expectation was the wine, gin and beer were all produced on site.
I was surprised and disappointed to read that you feel that working with two charities represents an “overload.” Making a deep and meaningful contribution to social and environmental sustainability takes an ever-increasing level of importance within our organisation. We work with local organisation Path 2 Change to break the cycle of youth homelessness by supporting at risk individuals gain employment via financial support and the work experience program we run at our cellar door. The results of this partnership have been utterly profound, and I would be more than happy to share some of the case studies with you if this is of interest.
Since last November, with the huge support of our customers, we have purchased over 500 trees to regenerate the natural environment and reduce our carbon footprint. Again, I feel our partnership with 15 Trees is already delivering a very meaningful contribution to environmental sustainability, and this is just the beginning!
I encourage you not to confuse “marketing” with “raising awareness” for these causes. We certainly communicate frequently and openly about our work with both Path 2 Change and 15 Trees, as we hope to encourage others to support these amazing organisations. As you rightly point out, most individuals and businesses already give to worthy causes, but it is my passionate belief that much, much more needs to be done. I feel you have also confused seeking recognition with simply taking on a leadership role within the community. I assure you, the staff and I are not seeking praise for the work our organisation does, we simply get on with it.
I would be more than happy to put you in touch with managers at Path 2 Change and 15 Trees if you were interested in learning more about their work, and the most effective ways to support their efforts.
Again, I apologise that your experience with Gundog Estate left you feeling confused and disappointed, hopefully my response has offered you some clarity.
Kind Regards,
Matt Burton
Written 9 March 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Joy
4 contributions
Sept 2022 • Friends
Bad experience - we were met with cold, unwelcoming and unfriendly treatment. One staff was focused on a group of guests and ignored our presence. Another just continued to do admin work and some packing behind the counter. We had to sit ourselves down and waited for a while before we were given a menu.
We were given a list of wines to choose from and were only told later , after we had started the tasting, that most of the listed vintages were not available for tasting that day - misrepresentation. We had noticed the vintages on the labels by chance. The staff serving us showed no attempt or intention to highlight and explain the difference.
We were given a list of wines to choose from and were only told later , after we had started the tasting, that most of the listed vintages were not available for tasting that day - misrepresentation. We had noticed the vintages on the labels by chance. The staff serving us showed no attempt or intention to highlight and explain the difference.
Written 15 September 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi Joy, I would like to understand more about your visit. I presume you were part of the group that also posted a negative review recently? Can you please call me on 02 4998 6873 to discuss? Thank you.
Matt Burton.
Written 15 September 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Alexander W
2 contributions
Sept 2022 • Friends
Gundog Estate has one of the most comprehensive selections of white wine (x9), rosè (x3) and red wine (x8). The service was of the highest quality and all of the wines were incredible.
We were comprehensively taken through the history, source and flavour profile of each wine that we tasted.
Truly a phenomenal experience.
We were comprehensively taken through the history, source and flavour profile of each wine that we tasted.
Truly a phenomenal experience.
Written 9 September 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Caryn W
Sydney, Australia327 contributions
Oct 2020 • Couples
We love this cellar door and the long serving staff members. This visit was to taste the limited release reds! COVID has taken the spontaneity out of the Hunter, but we still felt very welcome here. We visited mid week and if you can get away mid week it’s the best time we feel to enjoy the Hunter at the moment. Gundog never disappoints.
Written 2 November 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi Caryn W,
Thank you for taking the time to review your experience at Gundog Estate. It is lovely to hear that our staff continue to make your return experiences to Gundog enjoyable. It is always lovely to welcome our friends back to our Cellar door. Congratulations on grabbing some of the super special Single Vineyard Shiraz' and we hope to welcome you back for a tasting again soon.
Kind Regards,
David Sinclair
Written 2 November 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
iamninoace
Sydney, Australia792 contributions
Nov 2020 • Friends
This was our second stop for this particular wine-tasting tour and I had more fun on the first stop. The wine tasted better as compared to our first stop but its a bit pricier. The experience also felt rushed. Still worth visiting though when in the area.
Written 8 November 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi iaminoace,
Thank you for taking the time to review your visit to Gundog. We really appreciate your feedback and, since posting, we have had a team meeting and implemented changes to ensure that our guests are able to stay for longer so the experience doesn't feel rushed. We do have a large number of wines to get through and we would like all our guests to have plenty of time to explore everything we do without feeling rushed.
Kind Regards,
David Sinclair
Written 9 December 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Suzanne K
Brisbane, Australia244 contributions
Mar 2022
We popped in just after they opened to check out the wines & were thoroughly impressed. Although it's almost impossible for my husband & I to agree on wines, we both walked out with our arms full of assorted bottles. Hubby even picked up some of their beer. I'd highly recommend stopping in here.
Written 29 March 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
david r
1 contribution
Sept 2024 • Family
This wine was great, but the server was even better. She was super friendly and told us heaps about the selection. We left with a few different bottles because we couldn't decide.
They are dog friendly and our pair of barky of JackRussles were fast friends with "the lady with the treats" (their words not mine). There was hand licking before our third tasting.
Next time in-laws come to visit we're 100% going back. Or when we run out of our current stock of wine.
They are dog friendly and our pair of barky of JackRussles were fast friends with "the lady with the treats" (their words not mine). There was hand licking before our third tasting.
Next time in-laws come to visit we're 100% going back. Or when we run out of our current stock of wine.
Written 5 September 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.
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