We flew into Nelson, New Zealand on Monday and drove 90 minutes to the Marlborough wine region on the South Island where we will stay for five nights in a cozy cottage nestled amidst vineyards in all directions. It is relaxing and peaceful here in Renwick, NZ.
This Marlborough region is one of the wine capitals of the world and 80% of the grapes grown here are Sauvignon Blanc, but they also grow grapes for Pinot Noir and lots of other good cool climate wines. We are here to ride bicycles to tasting rooms (or cellar doors, as they are called here) and learn about this marvelous region. It is the height of summer here, but we are visiting during a chilly week which will also include some rainy days. When we arrived on Monday evening (after our flight from Melbourne) we experienced gale force winds. Tuesday, our first of three days of cycling, brought us a beautiful, cool, and sunny day.
Today we visited four wineries: Forrest Winery, Wairau River Wines, Sugar Loaf Winery, and Winterhaven Winery (Gallo bought a 25% share in Winterhaven and we learned that other small wineries are being courted by corporations). We especially loved the wines at Forrest and enjoyed a tour of the vineyard and a private tasting to learn more about the differences here in vineyard management and winemaking due to the uniqueness of this valley.
We are renting our bikes from a local company — Wine Tours By Bike! — and they pick us up in a van at our cottage, take us to their bike store, provide us maps and helmets, and take us back to our cottage in the late afternoon after our exploring is completed. Fun! There are several dozen wineries in this region surrounding Blenheim, NZ., and we intend to make the most of our time here this week. Cheers!
