After more than a decade of loyalty to Sobels, I’m genuinely shocked by how far the customer experience has fallen under the new management. For years, our membership orders were handled with a simple, reliable courtesy: Sobels would call, we’d discuss our next selection, and everything was transparent and straightforward. This year, that seemed to be far too hard to expect.

Without any meaningful notice, nearly $400 was debited from our account for our membership order. No phone call, no heads-up, nothing. When we queried this, we were told an email had been sent, one that later turned out to be sitting in our junk folder. But why would we have ever thought to search for it when the standard practice had always been a phone call? This shift alone made us question the new management we had already sensed during our last visit to the Hunter. The warmth, quality, and attentiveness we once loved had noticeably faded even then.

The real frustration, however, came afterward. We were told the order was an “automatic selection,” as though that justified anything. What made this even more baffling is that the wines took almost a month to arrive after we followed up, so clearly, there was time to correct the order or at least offer our usual selections. Historically, Sobels would tailor every box to our preferences or at least include varieties we’d previously purchased. Instead, we received a box almost entirely filled with wines we don’t drink and would never have chosen. Nearly $400 for a selection that feels random and disconnected from our entire order history, how is that remotely customer-centric?

When we explained this and requested either a credit, a refund, or some sort of reasonable solution, we made it clear that if nothing could be done, we would likely cancel our membership. Their response? They cancelled our membership, without a word. No explanation. No apology. No acknowledgment. After 10+ years as a loyal customer, this was the final confirmation that customer care is no longer a priority at Sobels.

And sadly, it appears we’re not alone. Other long-time customers seem to be noticing the same decline in service and passion, makes our choice to leave validated. Sobels used to be a business we genuinely loved supporting, one that cared deeply about its craft and its community. That feeling is completely gone under the current direction.

At this point, sharing our experience feels like an obligation. For us, this has been one of the most disappointing customer experiences we’ve ever had, and we’d strongly caution others before signing up for a membership. Honestly good luck to you Sobels. Thankfully, the Hunter is full of incredible wineries run by people who still care, and we’re looking forward to supporting one of them instead.

Visited today for a bar wine tasting and had a beautiful experience. Sophie looked after us, catering the tasting to each of our tastes. By the end of it, she knew exactly what each of us would love and was able to perfectly remember our favourites. Purchased a few bottles and will definitely be visiting again, thank you Sophie!

Visited for the second time today and will definitely return again! All the staff are so lovely and knowledgeable, especially Steve who really tailored the wine tasting to our group :) the best wines we tried in the region, would recommend the pinot grigio, thank you Steve !

The experience and scenery was lovely. The only issue was that most of the wines we were served had been open for far too long and had gone bad. I'm sure the wines would have been lovely, but unfortunately we did not get to enjoy to experience due to the metallic taste of off wine.

We came here often when Kevin and his wife opened the winery, the wines were amazing they had some amazing aged ports and sweet reds, however this is no longer the case. We tried different wines and most of these wines tasted old, something somewhere has gone wrong. Some wines smelt sour and almost musky. Their sweet and lovely was absolutely delicious however no longer the case. Their fortified wines were all zeros unfortunately as were their reds. Sobels use to be good but it’s changed it’s lost its charm. Cellar door super dated, especially considering this was considered among the top three with mcguigan and Petersons. It’s also lost all its charm with the people who were there. The fella we dealt with last week made a sexist and racial slur towards my wife and then made inappropriate comments to me. Gone are the glory days I would skip this place all together

Delicious wine and amazing service. The staff really cater to your wishes and deliver a lovely experience. We were celebrating a friends birthday and walked in on a whim - everyone in our 8 person group ended up buying at least 2 bottles because of how great everything was! Mike and Steve took great care of us and also offered our friend a special gift for her birthday. Thanks for such a lovely experience. Good service is rare to come by and they were fantastic. ☺️

Fabulous wines and fabulous experience with Anthony. One of the most pleasant wine tastings from an informative and personable, not pretentious, knowledgeable and lovely guy. A very pleasurable experience compared to some other wineries, you feel heard and valued as a customer. Great wines , and walk ins are welcomed :)

I went classic wine tasting Yesterday, 19th April, Saturday at 2pm. It was busy with the homemade market outside, they were Absolutely Understuff. I Understand the situation, however, reason why I am posting this is we were treated so bad by them. Until we were served, it took nearly 30min even though we booked, one gentleman with white hair was taking care of the table from before,he was totally ignoring new customers as we were invisible! Another young gentleman kept taking new customers, no one took care of us nicely. It was probably because we looked younger than other customers. I was really disappointed by their attitude, judging by book of cover. Later, they tried to serve us after the rush, but we were almost pissed by them, they were totally ignoring us for long time, needed to wait standing so long......... I recommend NOT to go there in busy time, we will probably never go back even though their wine was nicee. It was saying on website that it takes approx 30min, but we took 90min since we were waiting most of the time at the counter.The experience there Absolutely ruined our vacation, our first time here, Hunter Valley

My wife and I visited yesterday Thursday the 27th. We were greeted by 2 guys working the tastings. What a great experience we had. Thanks again guys.My Credit Card copped a battering but I am sure we will enjoys your wines. See you next time.

Had a great experience at Sobels Winery! They offer a fantastic variety of wines, with the Sparkling Shiraz being an absolute standout. The staff was incredibly informative and welcoming, making the tasting experience both enjoyable and educational.

This place is a real gem in the Hunter Valley!! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

We were surprisingly amazed by the service and quality of the wines 😍
We hesitated to go there as they haven't as many reviews as some others.
But don't be biaised by that, please visit them, you won't be disappointed!

Service is top-noch, we felt very welcomed from the moment we arrived in the cellar door👌

The owner has a genuine enthusiasm for sharing his knowledge and passion for his wines. He was friendly, funny and went above and beyond to make our tasting a great one 🤩

This is hands down the loveliest and most personalised wine tasting experience we have had in the Hunter Valley! We even tried a port at 200$/bottle and a Gewurztraminer which were not in the tasting menu! 😋

Not only was the service amazing, the wines were just divine🍷
A lot of people mention the quality of the ports but all the wines (whites, rosé, reds) we tried were above expectations. It was even difficult for us to choose one favourite to buy 😂

Each wine was very unique and that is exactly what we loved about Sobels Wines. If you want a genuine experience, I highly recommend you to stop and give them a try! 💖

While on our mini honeymoon after the wedding, my husband and I took a day tour with another company, but we both agreed this was our favourite winery of all. Not just because we loved the wine, but because of the warm hospitality and generosity of the staff. We ended up bringing home the most bottles from here! Thank you again for the champagne to celebrate our marriage. We can’t wait to join your wine club soon!

The staff at Sobels Wines were fantastic - enthusiastic, knowledgeable and accommodating for our large group. We had a wonderful time sampling their wines, which were all delicious (the trio was my personal favourite), and learning about the process to create them. I would highly recommend this to any travelers in the Hunter Valley

What a fantastic experience. They support local businesses with a makers market out front on the weekends. Then the great atmosphere at the cellar door with spectacular wines and had an amazing time shooting the breeze with Kevin. Really appreciate the experience and for a picky wine drinker, I hardly ever enjoy that many variants all in one place.

In my 9 month in Australia, I haven’t had a great experience with wines I tried. That was until the tasting we had with Kevin. His wines were all really good and the atmosphere in his winery was really nice as well. Thank you so much for theses memories, we’ll come back for sure :)

What an amazing experience! Michael and Steve were sooo welcoming and made our experience better than we could of ever imagined!! Thank you for making our visit memorable... we will definitely be back! We will be recommending your establishment to everyone (And to meet John Paul Young a bonus! 😂🤣😂🤣)

Thank you for such an amazing afternoon. We had a lovely tasting with some fantastic knowledge shared about the wines we were trying and what foods go with each wine. Cecile and Mike made our experience so enjoyable and memorable. Thank you for such a great experience.