Central Otago Winery Tour

The tour was absolutely fantastic! In 2 days, we went to 8 vineyards (out of the 32 in Central Otago) and a place called The Big Picture. The region is known for its Pinot Noir - it's almost the only red wine produced in the region with 85% of the plantings being Pinot Noir, and there were sooo many good wines! Other common wines are Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc and Gewürtztraminer. I ended up with 7 bottles...1 Sauvignon Blanc, 2 Rieslings and 4 Pinot Noirs. We pulled away from the university about 7:20am saturday and got to the first vineyard, Black Ridge, at 10am. The owner of Black Ridge is a story-teller and extremely entertaining; I bought his favorite...2001 Riesling. Then just down the road we stopped at William Hill, where I bought their 2003 Pinot Noir. The Big Picture was a unique experience...they have an aroma room, where you smell different scents and try to figure out what they are...I suck at that game! Their tastings consist of wines of the same variety from different vineyards, so we got to compare 6 different Pinot Noirs...there wasn't a single one I didn't like but a couple stood out, Gibbston Valley (which we were going to the next day) and Mt. Maude. We also had lunch there - platters full of meats, cheeses, spreads, olives, bread, crackers. Mt. Difficulty, with it's incredible views and equally incredible wines, was next. We sat outside for the tastings; it was a difficult ;) decision, but I left with their award-winning 2006 Riesling. Then off to Chard Farm that had sooo many great wines! I splurged here on my most expensive bottle of Pinot Noir they call the Viper, 2006 vintage...it was definitely worth it and will be saved for a special occasion! We spent the night in Queenstown...got a cabin with 6 rooms, kitchen, sitting area, right along the edge of town by all the trees - I was seriously kicking myself for not bringing my binoculars! We hit Gibbston Valley in the morning - definitely one of my favorites. For the tour, they take you through the whole process from vineyard to bottle, and the tastings take place in their cave cellar. (All the male vineyard owners love telling stories of blasting away rocks and through mountains with jelly-mite! ) All their wines were fantastic! I bought the 2004 Pinot Noir. There's a cheesery there as well so, of course, I bought some - Balfour. Peregrine was unique with it's modern architecture. They had a few good Pinot Noirs. I walked off with their good and spicy but cheapest one, Saddleback Pinot Noir 2006, as it's named after an endangered bird and they donate to it's conservation...yes, I'm a sucker! I loved their Sauvignon Blanc 2007 so I bought that as well. At this point I stopped buying wine as I went just over my budget with that Saddleback bottle. We made a spontaneous stop at Bald Hills, and I loved their 2006 Riesling and the 2006 Pinot Noir - the 2004 Pinot Noir was good as well but that 2006 was outstanding! Last stop, Carrick, where we had lunch, again platters of meats (including mussels), cheeses, spreads, olives, breads, oil and balsamic. And we enjoyed the tastings outside in the sunshine with the fabulous view! Again, I liked all but the Chardonnays, but then I'm not a fan of Chardonnay - Mindy, I'm sure, would have loved them. Then the drive back to Dunedin and the gloomy skies and rain! I'm now well prepared to take visitors to some of my favorites, and there's 24 more I haven't visited! I got back and was telling my flatmates about the trip...my new French flatmate kept asking me if I was French...telling her about the wines she says "Are you sure you're not French?", bought some cheese...again "Are you sure you're not French?", then got my brie out of the fridge..."Can't believe you're not French..." - finally I admitted that I do have some French in me and this, I guess, was a satisfactory explanation for my love of wine and cheese! :P