Hello, Welcome to our Blog about wine, wine tours and all the things that go with wine!
Kenny Escapes is the Illawarra’s leading food and wine tour operator with a strong focus on providing exceptional customer service.
We’ve been in business for almost 12 years, and we are even more passionate about it now than we were on day one. Why? We simply love showcasing the Illawarra and surrounding areas, it’s people, its food and its stunning scenery. It’s our home town and we’re proud to show it off. We also love wine tours!
Kenny Escapes is run by us, an Illawarra local duo, best friends, Mums and business women.
We work from home, or in the car on our way to or from the never-ending school run (how quickly does the day go?!), in between school concerts, canteen duty and assembly’s, with a cheeky toddler pulling at our legs, or whilst feeding a newborn- Leah just had a new baby, yay! – whilst getting dinner ready, or doing our share of the housework (although our awesome hubby’s are a huge help here), or if we’re super lucky in between tending to our edible gardens or hanging out with our beloved dogs and chickens.
Yes things are a little hectic – the daily struggle to juggle is real – but we wouldn’t have it any other way!
We absolutely love what we do, we get a buzz out of organising a great day out and genuinely want you to have the best day ever!
Receiving testimonials after our clients have experienced one of our tours really gives us a kick, we love hearing that your special occasion was a huge success – we’re all about creating memories that you look back on as a favourite day. You can see what our customers have to say about us on our Facebook Page Reviews.
We take customer service very seriously here at Kenny Escapes (we’ve even won an award for it) and we put our all into creating an unforgettable experience for you with our aim for you to have many moments throughout the day where you’re thinking ‘Oh WoW, This is amazing!” All the while laughing with your friends, drinking great wine, enjoying awesome food and really ‘living the good life’ – because that’s what life’s all about.
We’re also incredibly lucky to have the most amazingly committed, experienced and passionate team of drivers and tour hosts who really do make the day – they’re absolute superstars. (Check out our Facebook reviews where they get all sorts of special mentions).
Having an experienced driver and tour host is such an important factor to ensuring your wine tour is as perfect as is can possibly be, as whilst we can do everything we can behind the scenes before the day to coordinate a great itinerary and awesome day out for you, if there is a little hiccup on the day – our drivers know exactly how to handle all sorts of situations (we’ve all been working together for years). They are also great at working with you to try and accommodate for any special requests. A good or bad driver really can make or break your whole wine tour experience – and we’re lucky to have the best drivers in the biz taking care of you!
Our backyard and playground of the South Coast and Southern Highlands NSW wine regions, which are both within an easy bus drive from Illawarra or Sydney, are such a beautifully unspoilt and often undiscovered part of the world by those who live nearby…isn’t that funny how we seek adventure far and wide, only to find it was there all along right on your doorstep! We love life’s little moments like that, when you realise just how lucky and fortunate you are to have so much opportunity, access and beauty to explore so close to home. Don’t get us wrong, we definitely love to travel, but there is something pretty magical about discovering a gem in your own backyard.
Our guests are often amazed at how impressive both the South Coast and Southern Highlands areas wine regions, having only really previously considered the Hunter Wine Region as NSW’s big wine region. Yes of course the Hunter is fabulous! But the South Coast and Southern Highland Wine Regions also kick some serious wine butt too!
We often get asked – which wine region would you recommend? And we know it sounds like we’re trying not to play favourites, but we really can’t decide, we just can’t pick! Both the South Coast NSW and Southern Highlands wineries are spectacular for different reasons. So we think, especially if you live locally, you really should just try them both out. Make it an annual event and fun day out with friends, why not!
The South Coast Wine Region is a maritime climate wine region i.e. close to the water with warm temperate growing conditions. The “wine of the region” is Chambourcin although you will experience a great variety of wines at the cellar doors we visit on our wine tours which are grown by boutique and innovative winemakers. Many of the wineries are also situated overlooking the Shoalhaven River, which really does add a little sparkle to the scenery.
Top 3 Best South Coast Winery Experiences
- Our High Tea tour is very popular…check out the photos and you’ll see why – such a special and unique experience
- The wineries are quite close together and easily accessible if you’re staying in accommodation in Berry. So if you are staying in the area and are looing for things to do in Berry our ‘Berry our Afternoon Wine Tour’ is a good one to sample the wineries without having to leave your accommodation for too long – We know what it’s like on a weekend away when staying in a house in Berry, sometimes you’re so relaxed it can be hard to leave! But the area is just too special not to get out and explore , even if only for a half day wine tour.
- A trip to Silos Estate should definitely be on your list – Raj and his team are known around these part as putting on a pretty impressive wine tasting experience.
The Southern Highlands Wine Region is a cool climate wine region where wines like Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris thrive. But again, you will find a vast variety of wines to suit everyone here too! The Southern Highlands has that quaint country charm vibe. With its green rolling hills and winding country lanes the venues we visit look exactly how you imagine wineries to look like – but just even better in real life!
Top 3 Best Southern Highland Winery Experiences:
- Eling Forest Winery hosts an awesome ‘Behind the scenes’ tour which our clients absolutely rave about. Here you’ll really get to see wine making in action which is pretty cool.
- Bendooley Estate is famous for its impressive grounds, there’s definitely no shortage of country charm at this sprawling estate!
- Tertini Wines was voted the ‘Best Tasting Experience’ in the 2017 Gourmet Traveller Best Cellar Door Wine awards. In their warm and inviting cellar door you’ll be greeted by passionate wine professionals who will share with you their highly awarded wines. We were not surprised that Tertini took out 2017’s Best Tasting experience award, it’s a great little southern Highlands Winery!
Our range of tours can be found here: Wine Tours
So whether you’re a serious wine taster or just keen for a fun day out with friends. A trip to either of these impressive NSW wine regions is sure to put a smile on your face. Wine tours are an experience, they’re about getting out and about to explore, taste, smell, laugh and will have you feeling like its been a day very well spent.
So that’s a little bit about us. We’re excited to launch our blog – we could talk wine all day! If you have any questions or topics you would like us to cover please send us your suggestions to enquiries@kennyescapes.com we’d love to hear from you!
Cheers to good wine and good times,
Karli & Leah xoxo