Wine tasting. The axes around which our vacation pivoted were wine tours on the South and North Islands. Renwick, in the Marlborough area, was first up for us. Sun-drenched and summery, it was a terrific two-night stay.
We flew into Blenheim Airport, but never saw the town of Blenheim. Renwick was on the other side of town from the Airport, and we arrived late-ish in the evening. We must credit Diana, the B&B owner, though, with booking us a tour the next day on short notice. That tour took us round to 9 wineries. Yes, we were somewhat tipsy by the end!
But first, the B&B.
So, let’s see:
1. Spy Valley. Handsome new architecture there. We ran into other guests from the B&B, so that was nice, too. Marlborough is Sauvignon Blanc territory, but we bought an unoaked Chardonnay from this winery. Good start.
2. Seresin. My favourite. I think perhaps Conrad’s as well. I loved the design to the labels. I also loved that not only was the winery owned by a noted cinematographer, but that Conrad got separated from our group and found himself having a nice conversation with the man. The tour guide was a little mortified, which made it funnier.
But very good wines. Conrad liked the Pinot Noirs (which, we decided, are definitely NOT a strength of the district), while I liked both the Sauvignon Blanc and the olive oils muchly. The olive oil infused with lime may be the best thing I tasted on the trip, and I am excited to come home so that I can try it on fish or chicken or more! Also, their barrel-aged Sauvignon Blanc is THE BEST wine I had all trip (and as often as I could find it!). But that’s fodder for other blog entries.
3. Bladen. This was a little overhyped by the tour guide, though it was utterly cute. Kind of a Mom and Pop operation with a small tasting room surrounded by immense bushes of lavender outside, almond trees shading the yard. The Pinot Noir was, frankly, a little weird, we can't explain how. But the Sauvignon Blanc, unsurprisingly, has beautiful notes of gooseberry.
4. Framingham. Lovely Italian (or something) gardens (oh, and Jeph, you would have loved the roses in bloom and the lavender all around!). Run of the mill wine. Not especially friendly people. We encountered overwhelmingly friendly (but not cloyingly so) people all over NZ, but these were exceptions. Not rude, but a little off-putting.
5. Clifford Bay. We didn’t buy any bottles there either, but lunch was good. Smoked salmon for Conrad, a pumpkin savoury tart for me.
Funny thing we heard: when we asked why we encountered so much pumpkin on menus in NZ, we were told that Kiwis love it AND that the English HATE it, so double the reason to enjoy it!
6. Huia. Also a bit overhyped, especially the sparkling wine. A yeasty taste is something I rather like in beer, not in a Champagne-style wine, though I know that's my own preference. We bought something else there (I'm guessing it was a Sauvignon Blanc), I can’t recall what. Attractive label, though.
7. Drylands. Big operation, and I was a little confused by the profusion of labels. Some pleasant if not as remarkable wines there. Ice wine, though? Yeah, they really didn’t like admitting that it’s not the real thing as we know it.
Not a winery next: the Makana Chocolate factory. We could see product being made through a window, but other wise it was just a shop. Mighty fine macadamia toffee, though. Oh yes.
8. By this time, everyone else was done with their shorter tours. Conrad and I were dropped off at St. Clair. Nice place, and a welcome coffee break. We bought a couple of bottles there as well. CG, the poses were Conrad's idea - please don't hate us for a little tipsy fun!
9. Hunter’s. A rare winery with a woman at the helm, and our other big favourite of the day. We liked a greater range of wines there, including a red blend and a rose. No photos - I'm not sure why.
We finished a successful tour with a dash back to Seresin to buy more there. We then arranged to ship 12 bottles back to the US. From what we know, they’ve cleared the fist shipping hurdle, they’ll be with us early in March, and come mid-March or the end of the month, we’ll be ready to quaff some lovely souvenirs of the trip!
The night finished pleasantly with a good – not great – dinner at Gibbs. Pork for me
and lamb for Conrad.
The chilled cucumber soup
I had to start with was interesting, but I doubt I’d have it again. Far nicer was the conversation with a couple from Minneapolis at the next table. In the end, though, it had been an excellent day of touring, terrific weather, and we were in wonderful spirits.
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