Road tripping. In style.

Last week I had absolutely intended to chronicle my road trip with Porsche. However. The morning after my return Miss I staged the most substantial tantrum of her short career and the memory of any luxury faded. Fast. I spent the day subsumed with guilt that somehow my 36 hour absence had caused the aberration in her behaviour which, sadly, lasted far longer than my mini-break. As such, it was the only topic I could blog about. But. I am thrilled to report Miss I's equilibrium has been restored; she has been back to her delightful self the last few days and I've now got the mental space to revisit my slice of heaven in the Hunter. Halleluiah.

A while ago I was invited to take part in an initiative run by Porsche and Destination NSW called Women with Drive. The plan was for a few female journalists to go the Hunter Valley and tour through some wineries, restaurants and businesses run by successful 'women with drive'. Before I had even left there were a lot of things I loved about this trip. For one thing, I really liked that I was invited. For another thing, I really liked the bit where they organised a car to collect me from my home. Have you ever imagined something so civilised?

Now I had assumed the car collecting me would be of the Porsche persuasion. Not because I momentarily mistook myself for someone really precious important who is only transported in high-end performance vehicles but because I was under the impression we were being driven up to the Hunter in the Porsches. So I was only momentarily disheartened when I came downstairs and saw there was a perfectly lovely sedan of the not-Porsche-variety waiting, with a suited gentleman opening my door. I mean it wasn't a Porsche but it was a real life chauffeur. Collecting me!!

He took my luggage, I waved goodbye to Mr G and Miss I who were in their pyjamas and I stepped inside. There was a selection of glossy magazines, the driver asked my preferences for the radio and the temperature and we were off. 'Well, well well,' I though to myself. 'This whole driver business is pretty lovely.'

And things only got better. After meeting the other girls, being served coffee and divided into pairs, we were handed the keys. It turned out we weren't being driven out of Sydney – we were driving ourselves. I happily gave my partner in Porsche-ing the driver's seat first up. The dashboard honestly looked more complicated than a pilot's cockpit and frankly I was a bit terrified of being in control of a vehicle worth more than some houses. I got over that quite quickly once I was in the driver's seat.

Our first stop was Keith Tulloch's cellardoor for a winetasting and lunch at Muse Kitchen. I cannot picture a more delightful setting and the lunch – tasting plates ranging from potted pork to stuffed zucchini flowers to roast lamb with apple and mint jam to saffron mashed potato - was several thousand notches above my standard Wednesday fare. From there we popped over the road for an alfresco tasting of Lisa McGuigan's wines. Lisa set up Tempus Two and is now making wine under her own name. A brown snake meant we did the tasting in the vineyards at her parents' home which meant we had the great fortune of meeting her mum and dad who are two very special characters. Who were rather taken with my our wheels.

The next stop was The Hunter Valley Cheese Company where we caught a glimpse of the cheese-making process and then sat down for a structured cheese tasting. Now given the wonderful side project I'm working on my options at this tasting were limited. So. I made up in quantity what my new friends enjoyed in variety. Afterwards we hopped back in our very swish wheels and drove to our hotel in style. I arrived in my 'villa' at about 5pm and the next scheduled activity wasn't until 7.15pm. My room was plush, spacious and, oh, so quiet. At this point I reflected. Could I be any luckier? Hell. No.

I napped in my ginormous bed, watched some television and relished serenity that I very rarely experience between 5pm and 7pm. After meeting up with the gang before dinner I realised I wasn't feeling up for another big meal so I settled for room service and Offspring instead. Not a bad compromise at all. But I did have food envy the next morning when I heard what everyone ate at Majors Lane.

After a sleep in and breakfast in the dining room it was time for a Swedish massage in the spa. And I'm not even joking. It was every bit as heavenly as it sounds and I followed it up with a shower in the spa, using every single product they had on offer; shampoo, conditioner, body scrub, body wash, body cream, face serum, face cream, hand cream. I might have taken it a bit far but I was really in my element.

Glass blowing was next which was quite a hoot. I'm still waiting for my handmade treasure to arrive but am excited to show Miss I the high standard of craftsmanship I will expect of her. Our last destination was Margan Wines which features an expansive organic vegetable garden which is hand tended daily. The harvest, naturally, supplies the produce and direction for the Margan restaurant. We sat down on the outside veranda for a spectacular three course meal; the food was honestly out of this world. At the end we were each handed takeaway coffees, posed for some pictures and began the drive back to Sydney.

Of all the things I am, a car aficionado probably isn't one of them. However. I became very attached to the array of luxury vehicles I had the joy of driving and they certainly made our corolla feel a little different on my return. Aside from the incredible way they drive, I loved how impeccably clean the cars were. There was not a smidgen of life's mess or wear and tear on their pristine leather interiors which felt quite like the trip itself. A luxurious contrast with reality.

*If you're a more visual person you may not have read this far but I have created a Facebook album of the trip which can be viewed here.