Monday, February 9, 2009
Today started out as a difficult day for Mike as his driving deteriorated with him running over a curb. It was a great day for everyone else. We started with Silk Oak Chocolate and picked up a good selection of truffles and other delights. Next we went to Brookfields winery, which was fantastic! On our way to Brookfields, we even had the opportunity to herd some sheep. Farmers were moving sheep with a 4-wheeler and a truck and we followed behind. As the driver, Mike wasn’t very comfortable with the herding activity. Anyway, Brookfields is a boutique winery and the owner spent a great deal of time with us. It was our first case of wine for purchase and shipping of the trip. Yeah!
We then headed to The Filter Room for lunch, which has mainly fried foods. They also have beer, cider and wine tasting. We each had some beer, but didn’t try the cider. We then headed to C J Pask winery, which was average. It was another hot day (around 90 degrees) and the wine was too warm. Interestingly, they were fermenting Chardonnay in the same, sweltering hot tasting room we were standing in. We tried to like it because it received so many rave reviews, but simply could not understand the allure.
After CJ Pask we headed to Telegraph Hill Olivery, but again didn’t find anything we liked. We headed on to Te Mata Cheese for what turned out to be a great tasting of delightful artisan cheeses. We purchased a few wedges and headed out to re-locate the fish market we had passed earlier. We found the place and bought some Snapper for the grill. It was a good thing we purchased a cooler (chilly bag) and some chilly packs yesterday so that we could store our purchases safely as we drove around.
Back on the road and back to wine tasting. We stopped at Matariki, which was okay. We liked some of their wines, but the Manowski’s did not. Troy picked up a decent blend to take along. As we departed, I mustered up the courage to drive and took the group to Trinity Hill. This place was really very good! We tasted and purchased our second case of wine for delivery. After my successful execution of driving, I took the group back to Olea Cottages. I was sure to point out that I experienced none of the problems as the boys (no curbs, no wipers for signals).
Although there seems to be little haggling for price or discounts on wine in NZ, the barter system is in effect. We seemed to have gotten a number of free things today in return for purchasing cases of wine: Brookfields – 1 bottle Syrah, Trinity Hill – 2 ½ bottles which were opened for tastings including a Gimblet Gravels Bordeaux blend, 1 T-Shirt, and a NZ Wine Country Magazine.
Thoughts: Two days in Taupo was good, we could have added a third day in Hawke’s Bay to explore Napier and Hastings. Hawke’s Bay is all about the Syrah. Great northern Rhone styles, balanced with dark fruit and very peppery. A good thing! Also the sun is very strong. We are using a lot more suntan lotion than we expected to.
Question: Why is the average age of the wine tasters 65+?
P.S. Mike says he didn’t have a bad day today!
