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On the New Zealand Wine Trailby Julie Register
If you have a minimum of two weeks—more if possible—you can see most of New Zealand via its wineries. Here are just a few of them, a few highly recommended places to stay, as well as some not-to-miss experiences along the way: By the way, Spring/Summer 2001 is a great time to visit. The value of the US dollar has been worth over twice as much as the New Zealand dollar! NORTH ISLAND1. Kaitaia Okahu Estate This winery is at the southern end of Ninety Mile Beach and is the northernmost vineyard and winery in New Zealand. The first vines were established in 1984. Their wines include Chardonnay, Cabernet, Shiraz, Semillon, Riesling, Pinotage, Cabernet/Merlot, Chardonnay/Riesling, Pinotage/Chambourcin/Merlot, and Semillion/Chardonnay. Its wines have won numerous awards including gold medals for their Chardonnay and Shiraz. Additional awards have been garnered from/at Air New Zealand, the Royal Easter Show, Wine Society Royal Show, International Wine Challenge ~ London, Cuisine Magazine, and the National Wine Show. 2. Kerikeri Marsden Estate Reverend Samuel Marsen set up the first mission station in New Zealand in 1815. He planted the first vines in Kerikeri in 1819. Marsden Estate now offers lakeside dining complimented by wines from their vineyards. Cottle Hill Winery Where to Stay
Villa Maria Petit Hotel Don't Miss This Swim with Dolphins in the Wild Learn about Maori History at Waitangi National Reserve 3. Waiheke Island Just a short ferry trip from Downtown Auckland, Waiheke Island offers more than twenty small vineyards spread across this beautiful, hilly island. Many specialize in red wines.
The 1999 Forte (60% franc, 20% Merlot, 20% Sauvignon) ($29NZ) was awarded 4 stars by Bob Campbell in the New Zealand Wine Annual—a guide to over 300 New Zealand wines. Camana Farm Vineyard features works of local artists on their label.
Te Whau Vineyard More wineries on Waiheke Island and in the Auckland area, including the award-winning and popular Villa Maria and Corbans, can be found at Bob Campbell's site. Where to Stay Giverny sits high on a hilltop amid lush flowering vegetation and offers a 200-degree view of the bay and gulf below. Host and hostess Louisa & Cliff Hobson-Corry set a lovely, elegant breakfast table with fine china and beautiful silver. Breakfast includes just about everything one could desire to eat in the morning. Don't miss the passion fruit curd made by Louisa from Giverny's own fruit. Cliff and Louisa will ensure you have a great time on the island and can help make arrangements for touring the wineries.
4. Tauranga Mills Reef Winery Established in 1989. The winery complex was completed in 1995 and the vineyards expanded to 40 acres. Wines include Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Gewürztraminer, Merlot, Merlot Cabernet, Pinot Noir, Riesling, Rose, Sauvignon Blanc, and Syrah. Mills Reef Wines have won 100+ medals at national and international competitions. 5. Hawke's Bay Hawke's Bay's warm, sunny climate and favorable soil conditions create an ideal location for vineyards which explains the 28 vineyards that call it home. C J Pask Winery Ltd Founded in 1985 with a winery expansion in 1991. The winery now owns and manages 60 hectares of established vineyard and produces about 35,000 cases annually. Wines include Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon. CJ Pask Winery has enjoyed great success in wine competitions throughout the world. Gold medals started with the Air New Zealand Wine Awards for the Reserve Merlot 1991. Among the long list of gold medal winners since then are the Reserve Merlot 1999 and Gimblett Rd Merlot 1999 (Air New Zealand Wine Awards 2000) and Reserve Chardonnay 1999 (Intervin Wind Comp. Canada 2000). More Hawke's Bay wineries can be found at Bob Campbell's site. 6. Martinborough Martinborough enjoys a cool dry climate and loamy, free-draining soil help to produce outstanding wines. Toast Martinborough, an annual wine event, will be held November 18, 2001. For details: Contact Rosemary Fletcher - Tel 06 306-9183, fax 06 306-8183 or visit the Martinborough website. Martinborough Vineyard Ltd Started with 16 acres in 1980 based on a 1978 study that concluded the area was much like Burgundy, France. Martinborough Vineyard is ISO 14001 certified which means there is a clear and audited environmental policy based on the principles of minimum impact on the land and air. Award winning wines include Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling and Late Harvest Riesling. Palliser Estate Wines of Martinborough Palliser produces two labels: Palliser Estate (Chardonnay, Methode Champenoise, Noble Chardonnay, Noble Riesling, Pinot Noir, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris) and Pencarrow (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc). In 1995, Palliser Estate was the first winery in New Zealand to achieve ISO 9002 certification. In 1998, Palliser Estate, along with Martinborough Vineyard, C.J. Pask Winery and Vidal Estate, were the first in the world to be certified to International Environmental Standard ISO 14001. Its wines have won numerous awards and many gold medals including one at the London International Wine Challenge. SOUTH ISLAND7. Nelson/Marlborough Touring the 32 wineries of Nelson's Waimea plains, the wine growing area of the Moutere Hills and Marlborough will keep you busy for days. Nelson's 2400+ hours of sunshine a year and cool autumn nights produce wonderful wines. Marlborough has become the largest wine growing region in New Zealand with more than 3000 hectares of vineyards. Predominant varieties grown Are Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot. February brings the annual Wine Marlborough Festival. Montana Wines Ltd Montana has vineyards in three of the major grape producing regions of New Zealand. In 1973 Montana planted the first commercial vineyard (producing Sauvignon Blanc) in the traditional sheep-farming region of Marlborough. Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is well-known on the international market. All of Montana's vineyards are managed using New Zealand's recently developed Integrated Winegrape Production (IWP) program. More wineries in Nelson and Marlborough can be found at Bob Campbell's site. Where to Stay
Cathedral Inn Don't Miss This Abel Tasman National Park 8. Waipara Waipara's latitude is the same as that of the South of France. A broad range of soils, including shingle, river stones and pockets of clay loams over limestone and a unique climate provide a great place for the dozen or so vineyards in the area. Waipara Springs Wines LtdPO Box 17, Waipara, North Canterbury Ph: (03)3146777 Fax: (03)3146777 E-mail: shenderson@xtra.co.nz Originally, 4 hectares of Chardonnay vines were planted in 1982. Now there are 20 hectares (50 acres) of grapes in production. Varieties include Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir, with young Merlot vines producing small quantities. The winery opened in 1990. Waipara West Waipara West was purchased in 1989. Planting started in 1990 and there are now 50 acres of producing vines. Wines include Chadonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, and Pinot Noir. A number of awards have been won. Barkers Winery specializes in elderberry and other berry wines. Te Moana Road, Geraldine, 9. Central Otago
Chard Farm Gibbston Valley Wines Ltd
Mt. Difficulty Wines Most of the grapes were planted in 1992/93. The Mt. Difficulty brand started in 1998 with a very small production of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. This Pinot noir went on to win a Gold medal at the 1999 Air New Zealand wine awards, with the Chardonnay attaining Silver. Wines include Pinot Gris, Chardonnay and Riesling. Two Paddocks Ltd Two Paddocks is a small family vineyard owned by actor Sam Neill. Started in 1993, Two Paddocks is only about five acres. It's first vintage was in 1997. A second small vineyard, Alex Paddocks, was planted in 1998 and is 30 miles away at Alexandra. These are dedicated to premium quality Pinot Noir wines. Two Paddocks will produce two single vineyard Pinots in 2002. Expansion is planned for 60 acres in Earnscleugh Valley for more Pinot Noir and possibly Riesling or Chardonnay. More wineries in Central Otago can be found at Bob Campbell's site. Where to Stay
Queenstown House Don't Miss This
Gantley's Historic Restaurant Queenstown Extreme If you don't want to bungy jump, ride a jet boat or river surf, you can watch!Shotover Jet: E-mail: reservations@shotoverjet.co.nz A J Hackett Bungy: E-mail: bungyjump@ajhackett.co.nz Serious Fun Riversurfing: E-mail: sfun@voyager.co.nz More Queenstown activities Don't miss the chance to see New Zealand's fjords. More Information
If you would like help creating your own wine tour of New Zealand, HOME AT FIRST can help you plan and arrange all the details. HOME AT FIRST's "Welcome Home" program is perfect for the independent traveler who wants to explore New Zealand on his/her own. HOME AT FIRST can help you design a unique itinerary based on your interests (visiting wineries included!). HOME AT FIRST packages include:
The lodgings mentioned in this article participate in HOME AT FIRST's program. 800-523-5842 in U.S. by Julie Register |
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New Zealand has had vineyards since the early 1800's, but the last two decades have seen an explosion of new vineyards and wineries from the tip of its North Island near Ninety Mile Beach to the lower part of its South Island in Central Otago, home of the southernmost vineyards in the world. The climate, terrain, soil, and wine style varies tremendously from region to region. Lots of New Zealanders are betting their futures on New Zealand finding its place among the world's finest wine producing countries. Many of the wines I tasted were young. Some were quite nice. Most were fairly expensive. However, it was great fun to sample - particularly at the wineries.
Villa Maria Petit Hotel in Kerikeri offers three separate Mediterranean-style villas decorated in themes of the hostesses' favorite artists: Salvador Dali, Paul Gauguin, and Toulouse Lautrec. Each villa is situated so that it has complete privacy from the other two. They each have queen and twin bedrooms, private bathroom, living/dining area, kitchen, and covered outdoor terraces overlooking the Kerikeri Inlet. A hearty and delicious breakfast is included. Perhaps the best feature among many nice ones is the opportunity to meet the hostesses, Mieke and Catharina Van Dyck. The sisters are happy to talk about the Bay of Islands area and help you make arrangements for wine tasting, sailing, fishing, swimming with dolphins, kayaking, flying, horse trekking, golfing, etc. They also offer in-room massage and a saltwater swimming pool.
Camana Farm Vineyard
This 11 hectare winery was started in 1993 and a 3-story winery and restaurant was built in 1998 at the tip of Te Whau Peninsula. Two hectares of red grapes (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec) are grown on a 20 degree, steep, north-facing slope requiring a special tractor to negotiate the slope safely. However, pruning, cane training, leaf plucking and canopy trimming are done by hand. The vineyard was the first in New Zealand to be established from the outset according to the Integrated Winegrape Production approach dedicated to environmentally sustainable vineyard management practices that seek to protect the vineyard and surrounding ecosystem through minimal-impact viticultural techniques. The vineyard is now in the process of converting to fully organic and bio-dynamic viticulture. There is also a small vineyard of three clones of Chardonnay. Total production is between 500 and 800 cases a year, depending on the seasonal conditions. The restaurant offers one of the largest wine selections in New Zealand.
The Cathedral Inn commands a great view of Nelson from the top of the hill that it crowns. Host and hostess Peter and Lesley Cavanagh make you feel right at home. The Cathedral Inn has the softest towels and the best raisin scones in New Zealand. Breakfast is bountiful and delicious. Enjoy nibbles and wine before you head out for dinner. The Cathedral Inn is close enough to walk to all the shops in Nelson and makes a great base for touring the Marlborough wine country.
A gold miner from a French winemaking family planted the first wine grapes in the region in 1864. The vineyards of Central Otago (four distinct sub-regions based on the towns of Alexandra, Cromwell, Wanaka and Queenstown) are the southernmost in the world and home to 13 winereries and 35 wine producers. The vineyards are the highest altitude vineyards in New Zealand and the most distant from the sea. Many lie on tiny strips of land between large hills and rushing rivers. Soil varies but altitude and climate are the same. The area is at latitude 45 South and finds many similarities to the wine growing regions of Oregon. Most of the planting is Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
Vines were planted in 1981 and the first commercial vintage was produced in 1987. The winery and restaurant were built in 1990. Wines include award-winning Riesling, Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir. A unique feature of this winery is the wine cave that has been carved from sheer rock in the hill behind the vineyard and winery. This cave provides a perfect cellar for the wine offering a constant temperature and humidity. Wine tasting and wine cave tours are offered.
Queenstown House commands a wonderful view of Queenstown and the lake beyond. Yes, another lodging on a hill! Hostess Louise Kiely is a natural wonder of organization and management skills. She can arrange just about anything you want to do. She must know everyone in Queenstown, possibly all of New Zealand, (and they must all owe her favors!) for no request goes unanswered or unfulfilled. She can definitely help you arrange a wine tour of the area.
Gantley's Historic Restaurant offers an extensive wine list with over 250 selections showcasing some of the most outstanding wines produced in New Zealand. New York's Wine Spectator magazine has honored Gantley's for five years as a winner of the Award of Excellence for "having one of the most outstanding restaurant wine lists in the world"—making it the most awarded wine list in the country. Don't miss the six course (tasting size) Degustation Menu with specifically and carefully matched wines to each course. For a special treat, have it in the private Wine Library where you will be surrounded by almost 1000 bottles of wine and have your own private waiter.
