The Perfect Mudgee Region Weekend Guide
We spent a weekend in the Mudgee region and came back with a list of recommendations longer than we expected. Between the wineries, the local pubs, and a few surprising finds along the way, here’s everything we got up to across Mudgee and Rylstone.
De Beaurepaire Wines
We started our trip at De Beaurepaire Wines in Rylstone, a family-owned, single-estate vineyard founded in 1998 by Richard and Janet de Beaurepaire. The property was chosen specifically because its limestone-rich soil and cool climate mirror the family’s Burgundian homeland in France, and that heritage runs through everything here.
We spent time with Will de Beaurepaire, the second-generation winemaker, who’s now at the helm alongside his parents. Will is deeply passionate about the family’s story and the property’s history, and it shows, he can talk for hours about the soil, the site selection, and the decision to plant vines in a region that had never grown grapes before. It’s the kind of place where the wine tastes better once you understand the story behind it.
Location: 182 Cudgegong Road, Rylstone
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29 Nine 99 Yum Cha & Tea House
In the small village of Rylstone, owner and chef Na Lan has been serving handmade yum cha and Chinese tea since 2008, a stop that surprises most visitors given the town’s size. Set inside the former Bridge Hotel, a heritage-listed pub dating back to 1871, the space doubles as a restaurant and gift shop, with more than 30 types of dumplings, steamed buns and desserts on offer, alongside original artworks and traditional goods from China lining the walls. It’s a favourite with locals and visitors alike, so it’s worth booking ahead.
Location: 28 Louee Street, Rylstone NSW 2849
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The Globe Hotel
Built in 1855, The Globe Hotel is the social heart of Rylstone, and it’s easy to see why. Owner Paul Flynn took over the pub after a career managing restaurants in Sydney, and he’s brought that experience straight into the Globe, transforming it into a true blue Australian country pub with great food, cold beer, and a room full of locals who clearly love the place. Between the fires lit on cold nights, the beer garden buzzing when it’s warm, and the Shed Bistro’s honest, seasonal menu, this is a pub built for lingering.
Location: 46-50 Louee Street, Rylstone
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Mudgee Rides
With so much ground to cover across Mudgee and Rylstone, we used Mudgee Rides for our transfers between venues, one less thing to think about so we could enjoy the wine without worrying about who was driving.
Alby & Esthers
We kicked off one of our mornings with breakfast at Alby & Esthers, tucked down a cobblestone laneway inside an 1873 stone terrace in the centre of Mudgee. The courtyard setting, shaded by a grapevine canopy, is reason enough to visit, but the food holds up too, think the famous Esthers Jaffle with smoked leg ham, free-range eggs, Swiss cheese and tomato relish, alongside a menu built around local, seasonal produce. It’s the kind of place locals linger at well past breakfast, and once you’re there, it’s easy to understand why.
Location: 61 Market St, Mudgee
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EBike Supply Co
For a change of pace, we hired e-bikes through EBike Supply Co to explore the Putta Bucca Wetlands, a beautiful waterbird reserve just north of Mudgee with an easy walking and cycling loop and purpose-built bird hides. EBike Supply Co delivers bikes directly to your accommodation, so there’s no need to arrange your own transport to pick them up, and the pedal-assist motors make winery-hopping easy regardless of fitness level. It’s a gentle, scenic way to see a different side of the region.
791 Wines
791 Estate, just outside Mudgee in Budgee Budgee, is run by Fiona, the owner, whose warmth is honestly the highlight of the visit. We were seated beneath a huge cherry blossom tree, alive with birds, bees and butterflies, and worked our way through a beautiful spread of wine and food, including salmon smoked in-house. It’s the kind of setting that makes you want to stay for hours, and with Fiona as your host, you probably will.
Location: 791 Ulan Road, Budgee Budgee
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Lowe Family Wines
Lowe Family Wines is a certified organic and biodynamic vineyard on the Tinja property, headed by David Lowe, who lives on-site and has spent decades pioneering minimal-intervention winemaking in the region. David’s approach to organic wine and produce is fascinating, and the farm tour we did with him was one of the most interesting parts of the entire trip, equal parts wine education and a walk through a working, sustainable farm.
Location: 327 Tinja Lane, Mudgee
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Zin Food and Winehouse
Right next door to Lowe Family Wines, Zin Food and Winehouse serves dishes built directly from the organic produce grown on the Tinja farm. It’s a paddock-to-plate experience through and through, and after ten years of evolving, Zin has settled into a relaxed, informal dining style with communal seating throughout the restaurant. Dishes are served grazing-style, all set out together, so you can either pop in for a swift, hour-long lunch or settle in and graze at your leisure. If you want the full experience, there’s a trio tasting of wines to pair alongside the food, matched to what’s on the table.
Location: 327 Tinja Lane, Mudgee
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Olive.a.Twist
For dinner, we opted for a hamper from Olive-a-Twist, and it took all the effort out of the evening. The hamper came with two ready-made cocktails, a full menu built entirely from local produce, and clear instructions on how to reheat everything so it tasted freshly made, right down to a dessert to finish the night. After a big day of touring, having dinner sorted and ready to go, cocktails included, was a welcome touch.
Location: 269 Henry Lawson Drive, Eurunderee
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Gigi’s Restaurant
The next morning, we had breakfast at Gigi’s, located on-site at The Clairfield Hotel. Gigi’s leans fully into farm-to-table dining, celebrating the region’s farmers, bakers and winemakers through a seasonal menu, and Head Chef Sam Potter brings over 20 years of experience from multi-award-winning kitchens in Queensland. It’s a relaxed, elegant way to start the day, whether you’re after a full cooked breakfast or something lighter alongside a coffee.
Location: 1 Sydney Road, Mudgee
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Jila Wellness
To wind down the weekend, we finished with a sauna and float therapy session at Jila Wellness, tucked discreetly behind The Clairfield Hotel. It’s genuinely a hidden gem, you wouldn’t know from the outside what’s waiting inside.
Jila is the vision of co-owners Jill and Joe Adendorff, the same couple behind The Clairfield Hotel itself, and float therapy sits at the heart of what they offer. Guests step into a private float room and experience complete weightlessness in magnesium-dense water, kept at a soothing 34.5–35°C, designed to calm both body and mind with zero external distractions. Alongside the float rooms, Jila’s infrared saunas use deep heat rather than just warming the air, helping the body detox and relax, with the added touch of Chromotherapy, a colour and light therapy built in to help balance mood. With four private treatment rooms in total, it’s a proper reset after a weekend of touring.
Location: 1 Sydney Road, Mudgee
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Where to Stay
For the perfect base to explore both sides of the region, we’d recommend staying at Wandarra Homestead in Rylstone. It gives you the best of both worlds, quiet, private luxury on a 25-acre property to retreat to at the end of each day, while still being close enough to dip into Mudgee’s town vibe, wineries and boutique shopping whenever you’re ready for it.
Location: 2666 Lue Road, Lue
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Boutique Shopping in Mudgee and Rylstone
Beyond the wineries and restaurants, the region has a great collection of small, locally-run shops and producers worth setting aside time for.
In Mudgee, Mixi Blu on Church Street is a boho boutique that’s become a local fashion staple, worth a browse for anyone after something a bit more relaxed and colourful than the usual high street fare. For something to take home from the pantry, Mudgee Olive Estate is a family-owned olive grove producing small-batch, 100% Australian extra virgin olive oil and table olives, though note it’s a working grove without a cellar door, so you’ll find their range at local stockists and markets rather than on-site.
In Rylstone, keep an eye out for The Creative Farmwife, a small family business run from a farm just outside town, producing handmade peanut brittle, Horner’s Honey and Rylstone Rubs, alongside embroidery and beeswax creations. Their brittle picked up three medals, including gold, at the 2026 Sydney Royal Fine Food Show. Also based on a farm just outside Rylstone is Rylstone Botanicals, who craft home and body products using native plants and essential oils grown and distilled on-site, the kind of thoughtful, farm-made pieces that make a great gift or souvenir from the trip.
Location: Mixi Blu, 98 Church Street, Mudgee
Mudgee Visitor Information Centre
Before you head off, it’s worth popping into the Mudgee Region Visitor Information Centre. It’s packed with little souvenirs and local produce to take home, and the staff are a great resource for tips on where to go and what to see across the wider region, especially handy if you want recommendations beyond what’s in this guide.
Be sure to check out Mudgee Tourism for more on planning your visit.
Location: 90 Market Street, Mudgee
More info: visitmudgeeregion.com.au
A Weekend That’s Great for Families Too
While this trip leaned into wine and relaxation, the region has plenty to offer families as well. Several of the wineries, including De Beaurepaire and Lowe Family Wines, have wide open spaces where kids can run around while the adults enjoy a tasting, and both properties have farm dogs on-site that were a hit with the kids in our group. It’s the kind of destination where everyone in the family finds something to enjoy.
