Finally caught up on sleep(10 hours whoo!) before we packed up and left the Albatross, walked across town, and back to the train station. I really didn't want to leave Kaikoura, I feel like I could have spent eternity just watching the ocean/mountains/sky/everything. Alas, that is not an option, our destination for today is Blenheim, set smack dab in the middle of wine country.
The train took is back along the coast and through gorgeous rolling green pastures-filled with sheep of course. If you needed a break from watching the waves crash in to shore you could turn and watch the sheep scattering away from the train on the other side.
One hour and 40 minutes later we pulled into the Blenheim station. After watching acre after of acre of grape plants wiz by, I was expecting Blenheim to be another cute little NZ town. Maybe it still is, but the part we are in is definitely not. Off the main road, down past a lot of mechanics(who's main hobby seems to be whistling at backpacker girls) we finally find our hostel. The Grapevine. It sounds cute right? Not quite.. The entire place reeks of smoke and it just feels kinda dirty. Oh well, it's just for one night. We rented bikes from the manager and set out on our grand Wine tasting adventure!
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| Safety first! Really, it's the law, $55 if you forget your helmet! |
Our first plan was to head to the very end and then work our way back. However, we had no idea how far away it actually was! A third of the way there we stopped for a water break and decided to revise the plan a little bit, i.e shorten it.
Our first stop was Highfield. The hostess told us we should first walk up their tower and check out the view- and what a view it was! Grape vines rolled out from under us and spread, row after row off into the distance. Shadowing over this grape valley were mountains criss-crossed with a building cloud mass.
However, we weren't just here for the view. Back downstairs for our first wine tasting. We tried 6 different wines; some where strong and dry, others light and fruity, the last one was a Riesling, a very sweet white wine that was Katelyn's absolute favorite.
After Highfield it was a 10 minute ride to Isabel Estates for our second tasting. Isabel was supposed to be much smaller then Highfield. However the wine was still superb. Though I must say their Pinot Noir wasn't quite as good as Highfield- just a touch to oaky for my taste. We met a couple from CO and NY and our hostess was from WI. It is definitely a small world, and very interesting to hear what brought everyone to New Zealand. But the best part of Isabel is their huge black great dane- who could open any door she wanted too. Sad to leave such a beautiful girl, we had to keep going if we wanted to beat the rain back to Blenheim- and maybe stop at a couple more wineries.
Our next stop was Villa Maria Estates. This hostess gave us a lot of information about each wine and what they would be most suited for. We ended with another dessert wine that was simply divine. I also quite enjoyed their 2009 Chardonnay. Slightly concerened that I really hadn't found a favorite, or even a preference for either white or red. I was happy to head that it's actually a very good thing because it means I won't get stuck in a rut like many wine drinkers, and I will enjoy a much wider variety of wines.
After Villa Maria, Katelyn and I were feeling a little...giggly.. and decided we should probably skip the last tasting and just bike back.
On second look our hostel didn't seem quite so bad. Most of the people who are staying here are actually vineyard workers. The pay is supposedly excellent- a new job perhaps? Katelyn and I commandeered the TV and watched Love Actually with three guys- who all seemed to be more in to the movie it then we did.
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