RIGHT. Let’s clear this bloody drafts folder, shall we?
Way back in February, as you may recall, I spent a week in the South Island of NZ. I ate everything in Queenstown, and while I did not drink everything in Central Otago, I gave it a fair crack.
A bit of background: Central Otago is all about the pinot noir, baby – in fact it makes up 85% of vineyard plantings. It’s the most southerly wine-growing region in the world, and apparently has a climate very similar to Burgundy in France. (You can read more about the region at the Central Otago Winegrowers Association website, if you’re so inclined.)
Day 1: Bannockburn
We tasted some excellent single vineyard pinot noirs at Felton Road, and snickered at the saucily-named Nipple Hill Pinot Noir at Olssens, before heading to Mt Difficulty for tastings and rather a tasty lunch. Finished up the day with some rather magnificent pinot gris at Bald Hills.
Day 2: Gibbston Valley
The Gibbston Valley area of Central Otago is only 15 minutes or so out of Queenstown, so we managed to fit in quite a few tastings. Started with Waitiri Creek, whose tasting room is a very cute little chapel, but whose cellar door staff weren’t particularly friendly and charged a tasting fee. Moved on to Peregrine, whose winery is rather spectacular, and some jolly good pinot gris and pinot noir too – I particularly liked the limited release Karearea Pinot Noir.
Lunch was at Brennan Wines, where they offer a nifty little picnic hamper full of cheeses, meats, crackers and fruit, which you can take into the gardens with a glass of wine. And play a bit of petanque, if you are so inclined.
But no rest for the wicked! On to Gibbston Valley Wines, which seemed to me to be all about the merchandising. How many ways can they part the punters with their money? There’s a cheesery, and an icecream shop, and a wine cave where you can pay for tours, and wine “flights” which all cost moolah, and the gift shop, and the restaurant… bleah. We did a vertical tasting of their pinot noir over four vintages, and it was interesting, but to be honest I found the wine quite pricey for the quality, in comparison to others we’d tasted.
Finally, Chard Farm. Make sure your skipper is sober for this one as it’s quite a hairy drive up a narrow road that’ll have you tumbling down a ravine if your steering is, ahem, under the influence. Fortunately I was the designated booze hag, with J as the skipper, so I was the only one tasting here! Alas, none of the wines really floated my boat.
Day 3: Rippon (Wanaka)
Actually this was the very first winery we did, as we drove back to Queenstown from Franz Josef Glacier on the west coast via Wanaka.
I’m going to go out on a limb here, and say that Rippon, on the banks of Lake Wanaka, may well have the most spectacularly beautiful vineyards in the world. And it’s not just a pretty face – the riesling is to die for, the pinot noir is spectacular, and the gewurztraminer is pretty delicious too.
Ahhh… fun times. Get yourselves to Central Otago, kids. Tell ‘em Kate sent ya.
KATE