New Zealand – Almost Heaven

Our Airbnb

It’s difficult to believe that our just completed trip to New Zealand and Australia was in the planning process for nearly one year. The Wine Media Conference (formerly the Wine Blogger’s Conference) scheduled its first conference outside of North America in the Hunter Valley of Australia.  The conference was set for October 2019 and I made our conference reservations on October 31, 2018.

As my daughter, Hilary, and I excitedly began planning our trip, she made it clear that we would be visiting the Marlborough area of New Zealand, home of her favorite white wine in the world, Sauvignon Blanc.  She didn’t need to do any arm twisting as I couldn’t imagine traveling that far and not spending some time in New Zealand.

We chose Marlborough as our first destination.  The travel from Los Angeles was much easier than I anticipated.  It’s about a 12 hour flight and our experience on Air New Zealand was outstanding.  We were not willing to waste a minute of our precious three days, so after connecting from Auckland to Blenheim, we took a short taxi ride (no Uber here!) to our Airbnb in Renwick.  Immediately, we knew we had arrived in paradise.  Our adorable two bedroom cottage was located in a bucolic setting, populated with sheep, chickens, dogs, and countless birds.  Wineries and tasting rooms, known as cellar doors, were within easy walking distance. We began with a lovely lunch at Wairau River Wines – my Marlborough mussel chowder was delicious – and then sampled additional wines at the tasting bar.  We especially enjoyed their classic 2019 Sauvignon Blanc and 2019 Pinot Gris.

Moving on, we walked over to Nautilus Estate Wines where our Airbnb host, Katrina, works.  Nautilus makes some impressive wines, particularly sparkling and Pinot Noir.  The Southern Valleys Pinot Noir 2016 was my favorite, deep ruby in color, fragrant with floral notes, dark berries, and cherries.  Elegant with a long finish, this is an excellent food wine and will age well.

Later in the afternoon, Katrina took us grocery shopping at a small store in the area.  We stocked up on breakfast items and decided on lamb and roasted vegetables for our first dinner. Nautilus Vintage Rosé 2016, a gorgeous 100% Pinot Noir sparkling wine, and the Southern Valleys  Pinot Noir 2016 accompanied our meal. Turned out to be the only one we home cooked during the entire trip!

Impressively, we had gotten through our first day, after an overnight flight and twenty hour time change, without a nap!  Early to bed in order to be ready for another full day.

Cheers!

Our First Dinner

The Chickens!