Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Today was all about the wine. We started off with breakfast at a local café. On our way through the city centre to the café, there was a bottling facility that was in production, bottling wine. It was pretty fun to watch. Our plan after breakfast was get to the farther reaching wineries by car and then tackle the wineries closer to City Centre by foot.
After breakfast we walked back to our place, picked up the car and drove to Te Kairanga winery for our first stop. The wine hostess who greeted us came across as though she wondered what we were there for, as if we were inconveniencing her morning. For the most part, she wasn’t too talkative. Also, her bra strap was hanging out and she was a bit disheveled – perhaps we were interrupting. The tasting continued to be a bit uncomfortable until a delivery truck stopped out front and the driver brought in some boxes of cheese. Distracted the wine hostess fixed her bra strap, opened one of the boxes, signed the manifest, thanked the driver and for whatever reason became a little more interactive. Perhaps the cheese arrival was worrying her.
Begin Day 2 of Martinborough strange.
Next we drove to Murdoch James. Troy had researched this winery and indicated it was the primary target in Martinborough, particularly the “Blue Rock” Bordeaux varietal line of wines. As we arrived, we noticed that there was a tour bus visiting. We went in and decided to join them in their tasting. It started out really fun. The winemaker was dynamic and he worked the room and we listened as he talked about the wines and their practices. As the tasting ended for the bus tour, Troy thought it was time to get down to business. After all he came for the Cab Franc. He approached the wine hostess and asked to proceed into the Blue Rock red wines. What happened next was almost inconceivable. The wine hostess told Troy that she thought he had enough – after all we never pour more than six tastes in a single session. Troy’s mood went from excited to unhappy in less than 30 seconds. Not knowing how to react, Troy walked out the door. Day 2 Martinborough reaches the peak of strange.
We returned to our lodging, dropped the car off, and headed out on foot. As we reached the end of the road, we had to make a choice of directions and decided to head towards Schubert to the left. The tasting room was a small shed that was stupid hot inside, but the wines were being kept in a small wine cooler. The charm of the little tin can of a tasting room was a trophy line-up of exhausted wine bottles. The bottles were from all around the world, many coming from some of the very first vintages of wines in Oregon. Alas, Schubert did not live up to its accolades and we moved on. The owner, however, definitely had a taste for some excellent wines.
We continued on past Schubert but quickly came to realize this was not the best of directions. We back tracked past our intersection and headed on to Ata Rangi. The cellar door hostess was wonderful and the wines were pretty good here. We knew in advance that Ata Rangi was one of the well known, rock-stars of this region, so getting these wines in the states was no big deal. After a fun session, we headed on to lunch.
Our last stop for the day was a late lunch at Alana Estate Winery. As we trekked along the wine trail, we had good cause to become a little nervous. The day was getting better but in no time our fate looked to turn for the worse when the tour bus that had been at Murdoch James whisked past us, gradually slowing down near what we knew was the entrance of our destination. After a photo opportunity, a long walk among the vines along the driveway, then a steep trek down a curved road our fears were subsided. The bus tour group was simply enjoying a tasting and not settled in for lunch. The day was back on track. The food was very good here! We stayed for a very casual lunch that mended two very strange days and ultimately saved this leg of our trip.
Walking back to our lodging Mike began to pine for lamb. Troy, Rita and I being quite full from lunch and tired from walking the wine trail were not at all receptive, which made cause for whining and tantrum. Troy gave in and accompanied Mike back to a butcher just off the square in City Centre. The shop was fantastic and chops were looking fabulous. On the way back to the lodging Mike picked from the many fresh, wild rosemary bushes in the courtyard of our bed and breakfast. Getting back into the room, Rita and I had already laid down for a rest. Troy opened a bottle of Syrah from Brookfields and prepared a marinade for the lamb. Mike and Troy promptly finished the bottle of Syrah, setting pace for a strange evening. Troy took advantage of the grill in the courtyard and grilled bread along with the chops. Later, after more wine, the lamb, and then more wine we “ousted” Mike’s fear of the ostrich by preparing a shrine to the fine bird. Mike figures this honoring will protect him from being eaten by the creature.
Observations: Many places in Martinborough charged for tastings. Rita and I commented on the social economics of being charged for a tasting. Both feel more at ease and less obligated to buy wine nothing is compelling. Troy agrees. There were more people out today tasting and not all of them were retired tourists. Martinborough is a very small town that is pretty much shut down on Monday’s and Tuesday’s. It was good to pass through, but no need to stay any longer – could have made it a single day stop.
