ldsant
Nov 3, 03, 1:22 am
Finally, after my adrenaline and sailing time in Queenstown, I decided once again, it was time to move on. I was flying to Blenheim or New Zealand's premier wine country (Marlborough region). This was the only part of the trip I had done any research on (mjm will definitely understand this!).
A few months ago in Seattle the Madison Park Cafe had one of the quarterly wine dinners (or as I call it, wine FOR dinner dinner) where New Zealand was the featured region. The presenter who was from New Zealand and works for New Zealand Pure presented all of these lovely wines. Explained that when I go to NZ I should definitely visit the Marlborough region.
I flew from Queenstown to Blenheim on Air New Zealand once again. Had a bit of a hassle since when I got to the airport I was charged an additional $15 processing fee. I asked what that was about and they said that since they had to issue the electronic ticket as opposed to be purchasing it on the web they charge $15. When I explained that their website wouldn't work when I tried while in QZN and it said to call their 800# which I did, the agent called the web support desk and finally refunded my $$. She said that I was the first person that ever asked for a refund. I chalked it up to being "American." http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
Went to the Air NZ lounge where once again I was astounded as to the amount of food and drinks they had available. Had lunch there with pasta salad, marinated olives, Danish salami, and fruit. Had a local beer and a small diet coke. Walked out of the lounge downstairs to walk onto the airplane (another SMALL one). Flight was uneventful and I didn't get to see any sheep since there was such cloud cover. Arrived at the Marlborough airport. Took a taxi to the visitor's centre which is in the center of town (as opposed to the other ones that had a centre in the airport). After being helped by a MOST gracious (of course!) Rachel, I finally got a room at a bed and breakfast that was in town. LESSON LEARNED: Rent a car in Blenheim - life would have been a tad easier. . .first place I felt this way in the country. Didn't want to really rent a car here since my main purpose was to do wine tasting. However; many places were on the outskirts of town i.e., in the wineries themselves and required a car to get there. Luckily, like everything else, things turned out well. I stayed the next three nights at Henry Maxwell's Bed and Breakfast with the indomnitable Rae as my "hostess." It was great. Beautiful room with private bathroom. Gardens and a gorgeous breakfast each day. Rae was a trip! Lively, very well travelled, and gracious beyond belief. I HIGHLY recommend this place if you're in Blenheim. Cost was $65 NZD per night. I was able to walk right into town each day.
While at the visitor's centre I also booked my wine tour for the next day with Barry's Wine Tours. For $100NZ Barry took me from 10 AM - 6 PM to various wineries (at noon we picked up 3 English people who were a total hoot!) to join in the tour. It was lovely not to have to drive and to be able to spend as much time as we wanted at the winery. Visited 9 wineries during the day. My favorites included Fairhall and Bander (sp?). It was spring in NZ so most of the vines were just planted and not very full. However; the driving through the vineyards and the roads was lovely. The sun was starting to peek through, the air was slightly chilled by not overly, and the day going from winery to winery was nice. Lunch was eaten at Saint Claire's winery which has a nice restaurant inside the tasting room that looks out onto the vineyards.
At ever winery we got to meet the owner or winemaker which was great. Most of the wineries I went to produce <10K cases per year, so they're more the boutique wineries. I bought LOTS of wine. For presents, for drinking, for later. Wonderful wines that I haven't seen in the US or had before. I am not a wine conneisseur at all; I just enjoy having wine. The Savignon Blancs produced in this region deserve their awards. I am not usually a white wine drinker, but must admit that these wines have great flavor and go down smoothly. I asked for some names of some of the wineries distributors. I also picked up some awesome virgin olive oil with lemon at S winery (forget the complete name). All in all, a wonderful day! Of course, when I returned to the B/B I crashed (read passed out) at 6 PM only to awake again at 2 AM (too late for dinner in Blenheim!) http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
Next installment to follow. . .
A few months ago in Seattle the Madison Park Cafe had one of the quarterly wine dinners (or as I call it, wine FOR dinner dinner) where New Zealand was the featured region. The presenter who was from New Zealand and works for New Zealand Pure presented all of these lovely wines. Explained that when I go to NZ I should definitely visit the Marlborough region.
I flew from Queenstown to Blenheim on Air New Zealand once again. Had a bit of a hassle since when I got to the airport I was charged an additional $15 processing fee. I asked what that was about and they said that since they had to issue the electronic ticket as opposed to be purchasing it on the web they charge $15. When I explained that their website wouldn't work when I tried while in QZN and it said to call their 800# which I did, the agent called the web support desk and finally refunded my $$. She said that I was the first person that ever asked for a refund. I chalked it up to being "American." http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
Went to the Air NZ lounge where once again I was astounded as to the amount of food and drinks they had available. Had lunch there with pasta salad, marinated olives, Danish salami, and fruit. Had a local beer and a small diet coke. Walked out of the lounge downstairs to walk onto the airplane (another SMALL one). Flight was uneventful and I didn't get to see any sheep since there was such cloud cover. Arrived at the Marlborough airport. Took a taxi to the visitor's centre which is in the center of town (as opposed to the other ones that had a centre in the airport). After being helped by a MOST gracious (of course!) Rachel, I finally got a room at a bed and breakfast that was in town. LESSON LEARNED: Rent a car in Blenheim - life would have been a tad easier. . .first place I felt this way in the country. Didn't want to really rent a car here since my main purpose was to do wine tasting. However; many places were on the outskirts of town i.e., in the wineries themselves and required a car to get there. Luckily, like everything else, things turned out well. I stayed the next three nights at Henry Maxwell's Bed and Breakfast with the indomnitable Rae as my "hostess." It was great. Beautiful room with private bathroom. Gardens and a gorgeous breakfast each day. Rae was a trip! Lively, very well travelled, and gracious beyond belief. I HIGHLY recommend this place if you're in Blenheim. Cost was $65 NZD per night. I was able to walk right into town each day.
While at the visitor's centre I also booked my wine tour for the next day with Barry's Wine Tours. For $100NZ Barry took me from 10 AM - 6 PM to various wineries (at noon we picked up 3 English people who were a total hoot!) to join in the tour. It was lovely not to have to drive and to be able to spend as much time as we wanted at the winery. Visited 9 wineries during the day. My favorites included Fairhall and Bander (sp?). It was spring in NZ so most of the vines were just planted and not very full. However; the driving through the vineyards and the roads was lovely. The sun was starting to peek through, the air was slightly chilled by not overly, and the day going from winery to winery was nice. Lunch was eaten at Saint Claire's winery which has a nice restaurant inside the tasting room that looks out onto the vineyards.
At ever winery we got to meet the owner or winemaker which was great. Most of the wineries I went to produce <10K cases per year, so they're more the boutique wineries. I bought LOTS of wine. For presents, for drinking, for later. Wonderful wines that I haven't seen in the US or had before. I am not a wine conneisseur at all; I just enjoy having wine. The Savignon Blancs produced in this region deserve their awards. I am not usually a white wine drinker, but must admit that these wines have great flavor and go down smoothly. I asked for some names of some of the wineries distributors. I also picked up some awesome virgin olive oil with lemon at S winery (forget the complete name). All in all, a wonderful day! Of course, when I returned to the B/B I crashed (read passed out) at 6 PM only to awake again at 2 AM (too late for dinner in Blenheim!) http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
Next installment to follow. . .