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Wine tasting in New Zealand

Classified as a “New World” wine region, New Zealand has an abundance of great wine growing regions, and the climate is perfect for creating some world class Pinot Noir. Yeah, you probably know this already. It is a good drop. There are also bold Bordeaux style reds. Big, robust cabernet grapes. And we couldn’t talk about the wines of New Zealand without mentioning the ubiquitous Sauvignon Blanc of the Marlborough region. The cooler climate helping to create the apple crisp, zesty savs from the South Island that are now found everywhere, with bottle shops and supermarkets worldwide saturated with it. A good wine, but it wasn’t the focus of this trip.

Unlike many wine tasting regions I have visited around the world, wineries in New Zealand tend to charge a “tasting fee”, almost without exception. Some even still insisted on collecting the fee even when we made a purchase at the cellar door, which is something that will not help encourage future, thirsty oenophiles.

New Zealand is a great country to travel around. Small. Outrageously scenic. And whilst you are there, point your campervan, or car in the direction of the following vineyards.*

*I use “winery” and “vineyard” interchangeably. However, they have different meanings. A winery is somewhere that wine is made. A vineyard is somewhere that grapes are grown.

Waiheke Island – Auckland

Known as “wine island”, Waiheke Island is only 40 minutes from Auckland on the Fullers Ferry service, leaving from the downtown ferry terminal. To get in the mood for a day amongst the vines, why not start the journey with a glass of bubbles on the way over. Arriving at the island, the Explorer Hop on-Hop off bus meets you, to transport you around the island. The consistently high temperatures means that the island produces some great red wines.

Batch – our first port of call and where we also had a very good lunch, avoiding the showers that had started to threaten the day. When the skies cleared, we had the best vantage point on the island, with uninterrupted views across to Auckland. For a $12 tasting fee we had the Thomas’s Bach wines tasting flight. It wasn’t until I had been in New Zealand for almost a week that I learnt that “Bach” (pronounced batch) means a small crib, or beach house. Not often the standard way of doing a tasting, the flight is a good idea as it allows you to try your wines side by side, comparing the flavour profiles

Wines of New Zealand, including an excellent Pinot Noir. — Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, Rose

https://www.batchwinery.com/our-wine.html

Te Motu – Named for the original Maori name of Waiheke, “island of long shelter”, Te Motu serves up Bordeux style wines, sat overlooking the verdant Onetangi Valley. For a $20 tasting fee (yes, it was getting more expensive) we got a tasting of the premium selection, the Te Motu Heritage Flight. The Dunleavy “The Shed” rose, Merlot based and made in the Provence style. A 2016 Syrah, “The Grafter”, and a 2015 Cabernet Merlot, “The Strip”, named after the old airport runway, preceded our final wine, which was the Te Motu 2009. Good for cellaring up to 2025, this was one that I enjoyed there and then.

Our Wines

Stonyridge Vineyard – Specialising in premium red wine, Stonyridge has been described as :

“The vineyard that caused the wine world to wake up to Waiheke” – Lonely Planet 2015.

Stonyridge is a short 5 minute walk across the fields, and through the vines, from neighbouring Te Motu. So we HAD to visit, didn’t we? Following a brief tasting at the cellar door, we purchased a full glass and took it to sit amongst olive trees, drinking our wine in the courtyard that has a distinctly French flavour. Great wine, great views, and great company. Do days get any better?

The vines of New Zealand, enjoying the glorious sunshine.

http://www.stonyridge.com/

Hawkes Bay – North Island

Nestled on the east coast, and by the city of Hastings, Hawkes Bay is fast becoming a must visit wine destination. The “Bridge Pa triangle”, which is a cluster of conveniently located vineyards and cellar doors, Hawkes Bay is set up to satisfy all your wine needs, whether you want to visit in your campervan, or if you prefer to pick up a bike locally and pedal your way around.

Ngatawara – easier to find, than to pronounce, we had our first tasting here, in the old stables. We had an unstructured tasting, which means there isn’t a set list, but you get to taste whatever takes your fancy. After a rather uninspiring sauvignon blanc, then a Pinot Gris that failed to match the heights of earlier vineyards we decided to move on rather than work further through the wine list. It can be a tough job, this wine tasting lark. Wine is a very subjective thing, and the beauty is that all our palates are different. Good wine, whatever the price, won’t always be to your liking.

Ngatarawa. New Zealand. Hawkes Bay. — Easier to find than pronounce.

http://www.ngatarawa.co.nz/wine/

Oak Estate – conveniently located just next door to Ngatawara, we were back to a structured tasting, for a $5 charge per person. This tasting fee was refunded when we left with a bottle of wine. We needed something to go with our fish and chip dinner later that evening. The wines in the tasting included a Chardonnay, spoilt for many due to the proliferation of mass made, over oaky variations in the 90s. However, this wine is currently undergoing a renaissance in the New World. The one served at Oak Estate was another great example of how good Chardonnay is fighting back. At cellar doors, when asked if I want to try a chardie, no longer do I reply with a screwed up face.

Through the rustic, red cellar door, the courtyard, in amongst the vines, was a perfect spot for us to fill our hungry bellies. The wine tasting was complemented with a very good lunch platter. The Oak Platter, which was more than enough for two. Now, I just needed to find somewhere for an afternoon nap.

The Oak Platter. Oak Estate. Bridge Pa. Hawkes Bay. — Lunch is served. The Oak Platter.

http://oakestatewines.co.nz/

Marlborough – South Island

We travelled through the Marlborough Sounds by ferry across to Picton in the South Island. Despite our earlier decision to bypass the Marlborough region, and head straight down the west coast, the blue sky and the sun glistening on the vines as we drove through proved too strong a temptation. And so we found ourselves swinging the campervan into the car park of the nearest vineyard.

Giesen Wines – Giesen is a wine brand that I am sure I have heard of, but for the life of me can’t remember why. It is a name that I now won’t forget due to the excellent Pinot Gris I tasted. Paired up with another family for the tasting, paying the standard $5 tasting fee, we were taken through the history of the vineyard, which I always find fascinating, and through a structured tasting, sparkling, to white, through to red, and ending on sweet wines if you so wished. I did so wish.

https://giesen.co.nzP

Peregrine Wines, Central Otago – leaving Queenstown was always going to be hard. The ultimate destination, whatever time of year, I am afraid that our 3 days did not do it justice. Mountains. Lakes. Great restaurants. Oh, take me back. What better way to perk ourselves up, as we headed north in the campervan, than to call at the renowned Peregrine Wines vineyard. An architectural wonder that catches the eye as you walk to the cellar door. And the wonders don’t stop there. The wines produced here are nothing short of excellent. Cue, more bottles purchased.

Peregrine Wines. Central Otago. New Zealand. — Central Otago, simply stunning

http://www.peregrinewines.co.nz/

Come to New Zealand for the scenery, and stay for the wine. I challenge you to visit the above vineyards, and not leave with a boot full of wine. What are you waiting for?

Let me know what your favourite vineyards in New Zealand are. What are your go to grapes? What vineyards should I check out on my next visit?

There are times you find yourself in the middle of something and you think to yourself, now this is a situation I hadn’t planned for. This was one of those times. Kayaking, slowly, in the pitch black, in a torrential downpour, across a lake in Bethlehem. No, not Jerusalem, but a little suburb in the town of Tauranga, in the heart of the Bay of Plenty. Some 200 kms south of Auckland, on New Zealand’s north island. Quite an apt town though, as it was Christmas.

In the almost silence, only punctuated by the rhythmic rowing of the paddles, I thought, “what am I doing here, in the cold, at night, steering a 2 person sea kayak towards a very dark canyon?”

As it happens I was on a glow worm tour with Waimarino Kayak Tours. A tour that I would highly recommend. If you like being out in the heavy rain, in the dark, paddling across a lake into the unknown, hoping you don’t suffer the same fate as our lead guide, who discovered a spider crawling up his leg, which was entombed in his kayak.

Am I selling it to you? Are you on the website right now, booking? In all seriousness, you should be, because the whole experience was excellent.

Nineteen of us left the pick up point in a bus driven by one of the guides, Josh, whose hybrid accent told me he wasn’t a local. The phrase “going oot in a boot” gave it away for me. Originally hailing from Victoria Island in Canada, he is a long way from home, following a time honoured template. Travel. Meet girl. Fall in love. Stay. He is not the first, and he won’t be the last.

After a short 20 minute drive, up through the lush green hills surrounding Bethlehem, we were parked up, and on the shore of Lake McLaren. The first part of the tour was quaffing a selection of local wines and nibbling on delectable cheeses, and fresh fruits. The wines were very good, and from the Mills Reef winery, literally next door to where we were. We were soon joined on the shore of the lake by some very inquisitive ducks, hungrily eyeing up the selection of crackers we had.

I had planned to kayak in just my lightweight hoodie, thinking that as I wasn’t planning on tipping the kayak over then I wouldn’t be getting wet. Yeah, I know. Naive. How thankful was I that I was talked into making full use of the gear provided on the tour! The waterproof jacket and spray deck, that seals you into the kayak, were lifesavers. Between the spray from the paddles, and the deluge of rain, I would have been completely drenched without them.

As dusk turned to dark, we got fitted into our kayaks, told how the feet paddles worked the rudder, and were slid from the launch onto the lake. It couldn’t be easier. Left foot to go left. And right foot….well, you get the picture. That said, I am not sure the mother and daughter team did, watching them paddling around in manic circles. I think they may be confusing their left from right.

Once we were all in, and our guides were strategically placed around us in formation, we slowly made our way up to the canyon. Even on the way there, glancing at the trees around the lake, we could see the unmistakable sights of the glow worms, like a string of fairy lights festooning the trees. But this was nothing compared with what was to come.

Guided by only the red light on the back of the heads of the guides, and the constant tidbits of very useful information, we slowly paddled up the lake, and into the canyon. And what a sight greeted us. Hundreds, nay, thousands of little shimmering lights adorned the walls of the canyon. Across both sides, and seemingly everywhere. A moment to take in. As we all rested in our kayaks, and enjoyed the silence, but for the sounds of birds, and whatever other creatures were out there. This was why I was here.

The interesting thing is, glow worms don’t really exist. Not really. What we were seeing were fungus gnats (arachnocampa luminosa). Don’t sound quite as appealing do they? And so the tour companies rename them as glow worms, knowing that this would sell more tours. The fungus gnats are bioluminescent, which is the blue/green light you can see when it is dark. The brighter the light, the hungrier the glow worm, as this is what they use to attract prey. What you don’t see, thankfully in my opinion, is the sticky webs they create, and drop down like hanging mucus, to catch their food. Fascinatingly, the glow worms can even turn off their light to preserve energy, such as when there is too much light, or if they feel threatened.

As the glow worms are essentially the larval, or maggot stage of the fungus gnat fly, there is a natural lifecycle, which results, after a period of between 9 and 12 months in the fly hatching. The bad news for the fly is that it is born without a mouth, meaning it can not feed, and has a lifespan of only 4 days. The good news is that those 4 days are purely for mating, and producing eggs for the whole cycle to begin again.

In my awe, I had almost forgotten it was raining. That was until we exited the canyon, and had to make our way back to the kayak launch point. Getting a little wet was such a small price to pay to see such a natural wonder. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat.