Nelson and Marlborough Wine Country, NZ

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We did a little wine touring on our drive to Nelson across the top of the south island. Golden Bay is one of the up and coming wine regions in NZ. We hit Rimu Grove, Himmelsfeld, Neudorf, and Seifeld Estates. And by Neudorf, everything tasted like the best stuff on earth. Coincidentally I think it's also one of the more established wineries in the region. We stopped for lunch at Seifried but their ginourmous antipasta plate pretty much incapacitated us for the rest of the afternoon. We then cruized into Nelson, a cute little artsy-fart town, and checked into our hostel at Custom House. It's a great space and a fun spot for new years eve. They had a bar downstairs and it was tango nite. So for the last day of '08, Audwin went ATV riding while I bummed around town and checked out some galleries. A local potter, Charles Shaw, showed me around his studio and we talked about glazes and the economy. Haha, deep thoughts. Jens Hanson, the goldsmith who crafted the ring in Lord of the Rings, is also located in town. New years night, we hung out at the hostel and miraculously made it to midnight and even caught a mini fireworks display on the water just down the road. Happy New Year! We continued our winetour east into the Marlborough wine region and hit the few wineries that were still serving by the time we got there- Huia, Wairua River, and Cloudy Bay which is the winery that put NZ on the map for Sauvingnon Blanc. They are also making their mark with Pinot Noir. Some wineries produce late harvest Chardonnays and Reislings, nectar of the gods! The next day we continued on to Montana, Villa Maria, Fromm, Spy Valley, and Herzog. Montana was huge and had a lot of different labels and vineyards under their brand. I was a bit overwhelmed so just ended up with a $26 bottle of olive oil. It's good stuff! And this region makes a lot of it too. I liked the Seddon Valley single vineyard pinot from Villa Maria, I actually broke down and bought a bottle. So much for traveling light, but that's one they don't export to the US. And Herzog was kind of stuffy and overrated. There were a few others we wanted to check out but they were still closed for the holidays. The whole town of Blenheim where we stayed was pretty much still shut down, so for dinner we made a hearty beef bolognese paired with a lovely medium-bodied Wairua River Pinot Noir. Bon appetite!

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Comments

[Ching]

Heaven on Earth
omg! amazing. wine tasting in NZ...love the pictures! Happy New Year!