Tips for Surviving the Hunter Valley’s Lovedale Long Lunch

by Kathleen Ferguson on April 30, 2011

The Lovedale Long Lunch, if you haven’t experienced it before, is one massive day.  Not massive in the sense that it runs from 10am to 4pm but massive meaning the amount of alcohol consumption you will experience on the day! Sure, you decide to start the day off nice and slow, pace yourself through the vineyards to really experience the full body and textures of the wine but somewhere in the middle of the day you reach a turning point and there’s no way back!

If you don’t want to end the day completely schmozzled, take a look at these insider tips to help you survive and remember the Lovedale Long Lunch.

1. Start your day with a cooked breakfast.  It’s unwise to start any day without breakfast, you just don’t function to your fullest, according to the experts.  The LLL is one day you really want to be functioning to your fullest!  I mean, if you neglect or skip any of the steps below, at least there is food in your system to help balance the alcohol that will so inevitably be entering your system.

2. Water, water, water! It is recommended that you drink 2 litres of water a day and to drink to satisfy thirst - kind of ironic in this situation! But please, drink water not to satisfy thirst because the wine will be doing that, but to be wise.  Some may call this, responsible adult behaviour.

3. Eat food.  You are given a meal ticket for a reason, it’s called Responsible Service of Alcohol.  Besides, the food is fantastic because it’s cooked by some of the Hunter Valley’s finest chefs.

4. Go on a Sunday for a less full on day.  Yes, Sundays typically are the day of the older crowd.  So if you don’t want your LLL experience to be swamped with young adults acting anything but, Sunday is the day for you.

5. If you have missed out on an organised bus or simply don’t want to go in a big group, find yourself a willing individual to be your designated driver and hit the vineyards at your own pace.  You may just find that you are able to turn up at the vineyards in between the waves of people arriving from the buses.

6. Wear comfortable shoes and ladies, leave the heels at home.  If there is one look that really isn’t attractive in a female, it’s women who cannot walk in heels.  What’s worse than that is intoxicated women who cannot walk in heels - the combination isn’t glamorous.  Besides, you are typically on your feet all day and you really don’t need uncomfortable shoes preventing you from having a good time.

If you are experiencing the Lovedale Long Lunch for the first time this year, there is no doubt that you will love it and you will return again next year.  It’s kind of addictive in that regard.  Hopefully these tips get you through your day happy, practically and sensibly!