November
12, Monday
Founded in 1979, it is now managed by his widow, Jane Hunter, who is considered to be one of the best vintners in the world, with over 160 gold medals and more than 25 trophies.
There are even cartoons about her !
The road marker is the same image for the labels on their wine bottles. Take a good look at the mountain outline, then check the photo below.
These vines are oly 33 years old, yet they look as ancient as others I've seen on my travels.
A bottle brush plant greeted us near the entrance. It looks so Christmassy.
Cloudy Bay: Made me think of the song "Chevalier de la Table Ronde" when he lies down under a barrel and opens the spigot. I'd be willing to give that a try.
We kept on driving to the next vineyard and on the way the driver stopped so that we could see a mechanized grape harvester, designed to drive over the row of vines.
Our next stop was at Wairau River, where we sampled more wines before having lunch
Oyster chowder.... YUM !
Newly planted grape vines. A whole new field !
There were workers in the field, trimming the vines prior to the appearance of fruit.
Our last vineyard today was Allan Scott: I have to admit that by the time we got to this one I could not taste more than two of their wines. Instead, while the others kept tasting I went outside to take photos in their beautiful gardens.
Beautiful rose tree, full of blooms and blossoms
Wow! Only a few barrels of "oak aged wine" the rest are all in stainless steel. I have to admit that I prefer the oak aged, the taste is so much richer.
Things I learned today: Pinot Noir grapes must be hand-harvested in order not to bruise the skins. Helps to explain why some of them are more expensive. Pinot Noir grapes are used to make sparkling white wines! New varieties of grapes are still being developed. Many family owned wineries are being bought out by big businesses.
And YES, OF COURSE I bought some chocolate: Cherries covered in rich dark chocolate (I'm getting my antioxidants any way I can !) and a crunchy caramel brittle covered in dark chocolate and sprinkled with nuts. DOUBLE YUM !
"J’ai du cuver mon vin" Hic-up!
It’s my wine tour of the Marlborough Region today.
Love the late start at 11 am. I was in a small van with other tourists: a
couple from New Zealand, a couple from Ireland and their daughter who just
finished her PhD here in NZ. A gentleman
from London England joined us when we reached Blenheim. I had a great time with
them and we talked and laughed all afternoon.
We could actually ask to visit specific wineries instead of having the
selection imposed on us. I wanted to go
to Cloudy Bay Winery and the Irish couple asked for a few others. The British
guy asked for a specific one as well.
We toured 5 different wineries (of the 42 in this area
that have a cellar door/wine tastings) tasting 6 wines at each stop:
Hunter’s: Recognized as one of the pioneers of the Marlborough wine industry and one of NZ’s best known family-owned wineries.
At the entrance to the vineyards sit these strange vines which have been trained to grow high up on supporting posts. It's amazing to see and the grapes hang down like they would on a grape arbor.
Founded in 1979, it is now managed by his widow, Jane Hunter, who is considered to be one of the best vintners in the world, with over 160 gold medals and more than 25 trophies.
There are even cartoons about her !
The road marker is the same image for the labels on their wine bottles. Take a good look at the mountain outline, then check the photo below.
These vines are oly 33 years old, yet they look as ancient as others I've seen on my travels.
Our next stop was at Cloudy Bay: My favourite Sauvignon Blanc ! Owned by an Australian
Cloudy Bay: Made me think of the song "Chevalier de la Table Ronde" when he lies down under a barrel and opens the spigot. I'd be willing to give that a try.
We kept on driving to the next vineyard and on the way the driver stopped so that we could see a mechanized grape harvester, designed to drive over the row of vines.
Our next stop was at Wairau River, where we sampled more wines before having lunch
Oyster chowder.... YUM !
Our next stop was at Spy Valley (of “Falcon & Snowman” fame)
There were workers in the field, trimming the vines prior to the appearance of fruit.
Our last vineyard today was Allan Scott: I have to admit that by the time we got to this one I could not taste more than two of their wines. Instead, while the others kept tasting I went outside to take photos in their beautiful gardens.
Beautiful rose tree, full of blooms and blossoms
Wow! Only a few barrels of "oak aged wine" the rest are all in stainless steel. I have to admit that I prefer the oak aged, the taste is so much richer.
Things I learned today: Pinot Noir grapes must be hand-harvested in order not to bruise the skins. Helps to explain why some of them are more expensive. Pinot Noir grapes are used to make sparkling white wines! New varieties of grapes are still being developed. Many family owned wineries are being bought out by big businesses.
I tasted quite a few Sauvignon Blanc, Gewurztraminer, Riesling,
Chardonnay, Sparkling (white and rosé), Pinot Gris & Pinot Noir. I tasted new varieties: Viognier &
Pelorus (which I had never tasted or heard about before), as well as some
blended wines. That was A LOT of wine
tasting and I was sloshed by the time we got to the Makana Confections shop, a
factory where they sell hand-made chocolate.
YUM ! ! !
Makana Confections
Blenheim is the capital of the Marlborough Region, is
located in the Wairau Plains, is surrounded by vineyards and is supposedly one
of the sunniest towns in NZ. The oldest
vineyards in this area are only about 40 years old, so it is a relatively new
wine region, but it produces some of the best New Zealand wines. We actually didn’t
even drive in to Blenheim since the vineyards are located along the southern
banks of the Wairau River, between Renwick and Blenheim.
I was back in Picton by 5:30 and needed to drink A LOT OF
WATER to re-hydrate."J’ai du cuver mon vin" Hic-up!
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