Usher Tinkler pours out of the original Church of Pokolbin, a small weatherboard building on McDonalds Road, and the cellar door is built around wine with salumi and cheese rather than a restaurant. Usher Tinkler is a third-generation Hunter vigneron who founded the label in 2015 after five vintages in Burgundy, and every wine comes from fruit the family grows: old-vine Chardonnay planted in 1978, Shiraz blocks put in by Lindemans in 1948 and 1965.
A tasting runs 45 minutes and costs $20 a head, waived on any per-person wine purchase. The salumi and cheese sitting stretches to 90 minutes and needs a slot between 10.30am and 3pm, with platters priced by size for anywhere from two to six people. Maximum group size is eight, and children and non-tasters count towards it. The vineyard is farmed with a ten-hectare nature reserve, cover crops between the rows and an organic spray program, with carbon-neutral and sustainable-farming certification in progress.
At this cellar door
- Tasting
- Cellar-door tastingWalk-ins welcomeBuy on site
- On site
- Events programme
- Getting there
- On shuttle route (Ben Ean)
Photos
Tasting experiences
- Wine Tasting$20pp
A 45-minute tasting through the estate-grown range, in the old Church of Pokolbin. The fee is waived on any per-person wine purchase.
- Wine Tasting with Small Platter$60pp
One meat and one cheese, recommended for 1 to 2 people. The platter price is separate from the tasting fee.
- Wine Tasting with Medium Platter$100pp
Two meats and two cheeses, recommended for 3 to 4 people. The platter price is separate from the tasting fee.
- Wine Tasting with Large Platter$150pp
Three meats and three cheeses, recommended for 5 to 6 people. The platter price is separate from the tasting fee.
How does this compare? See the Hunter Valley Cellar Door Price Index
The Society
Join ↗A dozen mixed-case wines every 6 months with 20% off wine, free delivery, and a $50 cancellation fee within the first 12 months.
- The Society
Every 6 months · 12 bottles a release
Every membership includes
20% off all wine purchases, online and at cellar door · Free delivery Australia-wide · Exclusive offers on museum release wines · Invites to members-only events and new-release wine dinners · Free tastings at the cellar door for members and their guests
The estate
- Winemaker
- Usher Tinkler
- Ownership
- Third-generation Hunter Valley vigneron; the family has farmed the valley for over 100 years
- 10 hectare nature reserve on the property
- Native grass cover crops in the mid rows
- Minimal cultivation
- Organic spray program
- Customised compost program
- Carbon Neutral Certification in progress
- Sustainable Farming Certification through the Australian Wine Industry Standards of Sustainable Practices in progress
Getting here & good to know
Usher Tinkler is at 97 McDonalds Rd, Pokolbin, in the Hunter Valley wine country. It is a short walk from a stop on the iHop Hunter Valley hop-on wine shuttle (Ben Ean stop), so you can visit without driving.
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Details last checked 2026-09-12.