My idea of wine country (4/23)

Woke up to beautiful sunshine and only mildly chilly temperatures. Docked at the far end of the harbor, we knew it was a good hike into town (about 2 miles), but wanted to get in and get the car early – so set off about 8 am on our morning exercise. There is also a ship’s shuttle here that will take you into town for $5 roundtrip (a bargain since the others were each way!), but it didn’t start until late and we wanted to make an early start.

Made it into town to the rental car agency by 8:30 or so. Hopped in the little Holden Viva and off we went. Excellent directions to the motorway – we were on the highway by 8:50 and on our way. The highway turns into a 2 lane road with traffic lights then narrows down to one lane and traverse the Rimutaka mountains up and away from the coastline and into the Wairarapa region of New Zealand. The drive over the mountain is another twisting turning road where Ed got his driving exercise. He is a pro at driving on the left now, so much so, I’m beginning to worry about driving in Hawaii when we get there!!!

Took about an hour through the mountains, including photo opp stops, then another 15 minutes or so through farmland stocked with cattle, sheep and horses, until we reached Martinborough, the heart of the wine country here outside of Wellington.

Martinborough is a sweet little town with a few shops and cafes, one hotel and all the quaintness of a small farming town. Although it’s now a hot spot because of the wineries surrounding the town, it still has all the flavor of a small little village, which is exactly what I think of when I think of wine country! We stopped at the visitor center right at the beginning of the town before the “Square”. Chatted with the representative there who gave us places to have lunch and a guide to the open wineries, then walked through the town window shopping and just soaking in the atmosphere.

Stopped in the Village Café for Cappuccino, got talking to our waitress who had just moved here from Minnesota! Her husband just finished cooking school and wanted to do something completely different and experience different things, so here they are. She said they love it, settling in and think New Zealand is great. We can’t argue that!

Headed off for the wineries – there are 30 boutique wineries in the area – all locally owned and run mostly by families. Only a few are open year round, so we headed to the Martinborough vineyard, which I had heard of – or at least thought I had seen their wines at home (now I think I was mistaken and it was Marlborough – but whatever!). Two other couples were already at the tasting shop when we arrived and turns out they are on the ship too. They had hired a private driver to take them around – and were interested in the fact that we were doing it ourselves. Ed’s my private driver since I’m the one tasting and he’s the one driving!

The wine at Martinborough was very good – served by a lovely woman who obviously owned the place. Had a nice conversation about cruising and season (not as busy as it is in the summer months) while tasting a good Riesling, not too sweet, and Sauvignon Blanc not too tart. But what surprised me most was the Pinot Noir. Since it’s a specialty of the region, figured I’d better try it (not to mention we had to pay for the tasting – 5 NZ – so figured I’d get my money’s worth!). Not being a red wine drinker, I figured I wouldn’t like it – but found it was quite good, not as dry and heavy as other red wines I have tried.

Next we headed to Winslow wines – a very small little cellar door almost hidden behind bushes and a wrought iron fence. Made friends there with the owner’s son, who was just adorable. He told us all about the wines, the area, and how they have underage drinking issues there as well. Told us some great stories about customers and trying to be nice and service friendly when they didn’t really deserve it! Also served an excellent Riesling, which we ended up buying, a cabernet I didn’t particularly care for, and their special champagne (can’t remember the name now) that was incredible. Very little bubbles (he told us that sometimes a lot of bubbles in the champagne mean that the glass is dirty – lovely!) and a very nice taste – not at all like typically champagne. Then he convinced me to try their cabernet liqueur – of course both Ed and I said no, “Cathy doesn’t like liqueur”, but he convinced us and it was surprisingly good. Cinnamon and clove tastes – and like he said, a little Christmas-y tasting. Ed even sipped and enjoyed it. Decided it was time for lunch so I would be able to stay awake long enough to navigate us home (and not throw up on the twisting mountain roads!!!). Took advise from the Winslow son and went to Alana vineyards café.

Turned off the road onto a one-lane dirt road alongside the vineyard. It led us down through a gully and into a car park area with the restaurant and tasting room alongside a large open patio. Sat outside and had a fantastic meal of grilled vegetable stacks (portabella, zucchini, peppers topped with melted brie) and Grouper with a lemon aioli sauce served with avocado and grilled tomato. The setting, the food, the wine and beer couldn’t have been better.

It was getting on toward afternoon, so we decided to head back to town so we could go to the Te Papa museum which we had heard was excellent. Made it back into town with little effort and no traffic. Found our way to the Car rental return and started to head to the museum when Ed noticed he had lost his Princess card. Needless to say Te Papa was now out! We hoofed it straight back to the ship to try to figure out how to replace the card and get back onboard.

It was actually very seamless. Security asked us if we lost the card in Wairarapa – which of course we did – they said it had been found but was still up there – so someone at the restaurant or one of the vineyards or somewhere must have found it – but of course couldn’t get it back to us. Didn’t matter – ship’s security checked our ID’s and then let us aboard where we had a new card re-issued. Not as dramatic as we had anticipated. Gave us plenty of time aboard too – so we got to see the local Maori cultural show that we otherwise would have missed.

The show was a great little insight into their culture – and the showroom as usual was packed! We got there ½ an hour early and could barely find a seat. Pretty funny! Afterward, did our usual deck walking, sail-away and then dinner. Also went to a “who’s Cuckoo” show where the staff told you lies about previous jobs they held and you had to guess who was telling the truth. Uh huh - well – it was what it was – but at least we gave it a shot!

Relaxing sea day tomorrow……