Community and culinary culture: Why Lovedale is the go-to Hunter Valley escape

Grapevine-smoked duck breast, artisan-baked sourdough with smoked butter, truffle-infused pork salami, chicken and pistachio terrine – is your mouth watering yet?

After 15 years perfecting his handmade charcuterie and smoked goods, Ben Sales knows how to keep customers coming back to Majors Lane, home to the Lovedale Smokehouse he runs with business partner Debbie Jenkins.

The formidable duo started out running a cafe and function centre before adding the smokehouse and cooking school. Today, they are two of the longest-standing members of the Lovedale business community.

Team effort

Sales says the small but dynamic community has proven how successful working together can be. The Lovedale Long Lunch, now in its 26th year, is a case in point.

“The very first lunch was around two or three hundred people – now it caps out at about 35,000,” he says. Held annually in May, the event sees some of the Hunter Valley’s top chefs team up with seven of Lovedale’s wineries to deliver a progressive-style lunch to patrons.

Sales says the lunch is a credit to the close-knit business operators who know each other on a first-name basis and catch up when they can at weekly street drinks.

With a glass of wine in hand, they share their highs and lows, give advice and celebrate milestones.

Sales describes the business as a lifestyle choice that provides plenty of benefits inclusive of the great food, wine and countryside. “People say, ‘gee, you’ve got a beautiful spot’,” he says. “It’s a constant reminder of how privileged we are to work here and connect with nature.”

Lovely location

Agent Shelly Jurd of Jurds Real Estate has been selling property in the region for more than 20 years. She says it has long been a magnet for buyers from Newcastle and Sydney who are looking for space, privacy and a bucolic lifestyle.

“It’s a really convenient and lovely place to live,” Jurd says. “A lot of the area has beautiful countryside and distant mountain views. Many people who have an interest in the wine industry will semi-retire here, and they might buy a guest house or a vineyard.”

Jurd says the property market has remained “quite firm”, particularly since the Hunter Expressway opened in 2014 which, in effect, made Lovedale the gateway to wine country.

She describes Lovedale as a great choice for anyone with an interest in hobby farming, bushwalking and horse riding, and a keen palate for some of the country’s best food and wine.

Top home in the area

Set on more than eight hectares, there’s a leased restaurant and tourist accommodation to go with this renovated, four-bedroom homestead.

The entertainer’s deck is perfect for a hot cup of tea in the morning or a quiet tipple in the evening.

Jurds Real Estate agent Cain Beckett leads the expressions of interest campaign, having quoted a $2.5 million price guide.