Marlborough

Marlborough

Leaving Nelson, SH6 was as spectacular as ever, this time with conifers on either side of the road.  We were aiming for a small, privately-owned campsite in the Wairau Valley, just south of Blenheim, that some friends had recommended so that we could take in the Marlborough wineries.

The owners told us that there would be a social event as it was Saturday, so we joined our dozen or so fellow campers drinking wine in the sunshine.  Great way to meet people!

The following morning, the owner picked us up to take us on our own, personalised wine tour.  He does this for his guests in return for lunch and a contribution to his fuel – and he only has one glass of wine!

We started at Highfield Teravin, which is in a Tuscan style building, with a very knowledgeable guy who works there at weekends to finance his bachelors in wine making.  In this area you have to try the Sauvignon Blanc, but we also sampled a sparkling rosé, a surprisingly good Chardonnay and an even more surprising Riesling, among others.

Next was Villa Maria, set in a far more modern, even minimalist building.  Our host there knew just as much about the wines, but his spiel was rather too polished for my liking, and he had to keep breaking off as other guests came and went.  But there were some good – and surprising – wines here as well.

Our third stop was Saint Clair; we’d bought a bottle of their wine earlier in the holiday that we’d really enjoyed, so we were happy to visit them.  The setting was again modern, but far nicer than the previous place.  They also had a very neat system for storing and serving the wine.  The bottles were all upright in what looked like a coffee machine, and the wine was automatically syphoned out at the press of a button.  Our host here was a Brit who’s been here for six months; she has no background in winemaking, but was able to answer all our questions.  We also had a very pleasant lunch here, in the sunshine at a table nestled between two rows of vines.

Hunters came next, in a little complex of buildings that also included an artist’s studio.  The tasting here was done round a large wooden table – or it would have been around if it hadn’t just been Diane tasting the wine.  Being unable to taste anything by now, I went for a walk around a little nature reserve at the front of their grounds.

Finally, we just had to visit Cloudy Bay.  This had by far the largest tasting area – a long bar – and the most staff, but it was also the most expensive and commercial operation of the day.  It was very impersonal and there was no deviating from the set wines on offer. We left with the impression that they were trading on their reputation.

An interesting day, and I think my find of the day was the St Clair dessert wine, a honey-flavoured Riesling.

Back at the site it was 30C, so time to sit by the pool and chill!