Exploring the Martinborough wine trail

The plan was to cycle around the Martinborough vineyards and taste wine at a leisurely pace. We'd stay in the town centre, pick up a wine map and head out on two wheels each to explore the best of Martinborough's wine trail. The weather forecast had other plans, though. Heavy and steady rain was forecast all day - and if the early morning downpour was anything to go by, it wasn't going to be fun riding in the rain. We'd experienced soggy wine tasting before, but this was looking to be much worse. Plan B was devised.

We decided to replace two-wheeled transport for two sets of four wheels. This meant we could head out to some of the wineries that were slightly further away than the ones we'd managed to cycle to before. After two or three tastings, we'd return to our accommodation and walk to nearby wineries until the rain got the better of us. Luckily, our drivers were happy with this arrangement.

Te Kairanga Wines

Making the most of our transport, we started furthest away at Te Kairanga Wines. The cellar door is in The Cottage, a classic farm house cottage built in the late 1800s. The picturesque grounds were resplendent on an autumn morning. Our host was welcoming and informative, giving us the background to each wine we tasted. Given that 70% of Te Kairanga's vineyard is pinot noir, three of these vintages were included in our tasting, something which is lost on those of us who are white wine drinkers.

Te Kairanga wines

White wine tasting notes

• 2016 Sauvignon Blanc. Although I'm usually a sav drinker, I found this style particularly forward and acidic, overpowering the tropical fruit palette. Maybe.
• 2015 Riesling. This very dry wine gave off a kerosene smell. I learned that this isn't offensive to note; it's a result of the terpene produced while on the vine. This is more prominent in New Zealand and Australian wines as there is a higher concentration of UV rays on the canopy. Too acidic for me. No.
• 2016 Chardonnay. Barrel fermented on 15% new oak for 10 months, this chardonnay blend was not too forward or oaky. Maybe.
• 2014 reserve Chardonnay. A much fuller flavour - far too oaky for me. No.

Poppies

The sun had started to shine and more people were venturing out for wine tasting. We made a smart decision to visit Poppies before the crowds and rain arrived. Poppies is phenomenonally popular in summer. Their wines are only available from the cellar door and the venue is simply beautiful.

A warm welcome from Poppy

We started with wine tasting by the roaring fireplace. It was hosted by winemaker Poppy Hammond, while husband Shayne Hammond (viticulturist) prepared an outdoor table for our lunch.

Wine tasting notes
We were served teeny tiny samples, which made it a hard to get the full flavour of each wine, while Poppy explained her tasting notes.

• 2016 Rosé. This rosé is 100% pinot noir and its pinkish colour came from two hours of contact with the skins. Maybe.
• 2016 Riesling. I didn't quite know what to make of this Riesling. It was extremely dry with a limey aftertaste, which some of our group loved. Maybe.
• 2016 Sauvignon blanc. This very smooth wine is the last time Poppy will make a pure Sauvignon blanc. In future, it will become a Sauvignon blanc and Semillion blend. Not overly sweet. Maybe.
• 2016 Pinot gris. Very smooth and sweet. Maybe.
• 2016 late harvest Riesling. These grapes were harvested 6 weeks after the regular Riesling. Usually I find late harvest or dessert wines far too sweet but, surprisingly, I kind of liked it! Maybe.

By now the sun was well and truly out and Poppies was almost full. We were enticed to a table outside and offered warm blankies to cuddle up with (it is autumn, after all). Poppies is not a restaurant but is known for its excellent seasonal lunch platters, which offer all sorts of goodies including rosé poached salmon, pork belly slices, stuffed peppers, mushrooms, olives, brie, pumpkin hummus, rare beef, crostini ... the list goes on but our vegetarian was also happily catered for.

Lunch platter at Poppies

Luna Vineyards

No sign of the promised rain - far from it, in fact. We moved on to Luna Vineyards. Situated on the former Alana Wines site, Luna Vineyards has a lovely cellar door setting and restaurant.

Luna Vineyards tasting bar

Wine tasting notes

• 2015 Riesling. This off-dry Riesling had around 30g residual sugar and a pleasant finish. Maybe.
• 2016 Sauvignon blanc. Very smooth and not too fruity. Maybe.
• 2015 Rosé. This orange-tinged rosé is made from 100% pinot noir grapes that had spent five hours on skins. Maybe.
• 2015 Chardonnay. Not too oaky. This chardonnay spent 10 months aged in 40% new French oak barrels, leaving it with a smooth finish. Maybe.

Non-events

We drove out to two final vineyards on the way back to our accommodation. Both are slightly off the wine trail but we stopped at neither before calling it a day. Here's why:

• Colombo Wines. Only four wines available for sampling but still with the usual $5 tasting fee. This usually gets 6-8 samples elsewhere.
• Cambridge Wines. $10 tastings. Enough said.

Back at the bach, I checked the weather forecast status. Still no sign of the heavy rain we'd apparently had all day and were currently experiencing, so we could have cycled after all. Oh well, next time!

Pure fiction

Biking the Martinborough wineries

There is something incredibly romantic about the idea of cycling idly through acres of picturesque vineyards on a summer's day. The bicycle has a basket and a bell (practical and fun), it's sunny, the air is fresh and there are pretty spring flowers everywhere. Ahhh.

The reality is a little different. Getting a group of fourteen novice riders together and keeping them together between multiple venues along various stretches of road can be challenging. Still, it can be done and that's exactly what we managed to achieve last weekend in the wine village of Martinborough. Five vineyards, lots of laughter and several more additions to the wine list made for an excellent day out.

Our first stop on Saturday morning was at The Cabbage Tree Vineyard. We enjoyed meeting the vineyard owner and winemaker, David Bull, for a free wine tasting session. Cabbage Tree is a boutique vineyard set on 3 acres with 4000 vines, meaning 4000 bottles in a good harvest. All their wines are cellared before sale, which made for noticeably smooth drinking on all four samples. We also cleaned out their supplies of quince jelly and bagged walnuts. I love walnuts!

• Semillon 2013. This is the only semillon produced in Martinborough. It has quite an up front acidity that I didn't like.
• Chardonnay 2013. Apparently chardonnay will grow almost anywhere. This chardonnay is fermented in barrels for almost a year then bottled. Too much oak for me.
• Pinot Noir 2009. This dusky red wine was barreled for nearly two years (sooo oaky!) but the finish was smooth because it had been cellared for five years.
• Merlot 2010. Not often grown in Martinborough, the merlot vine flowers for just four days in November but a strong wind can blow off the pollen and destroy all the crops for that year. Gosh! It had a beautiful, rich red colour and was smoother than other merlots I've tasted, making it onto my maybe list.

Next up was Palliser Estate Wines. This was an elaborate and informative wine tasting experience hosted by manager Sara Benton and cost $5. I knew from our Wellington on a Plate dinner with Dai and Dal two weeks ago that the Palliser Estate Methode Traditionelle 2009 is becoming a firm favourite of mine and had this confirmed once again. We then sampled eight more wines across the Pencarrow and Palliser Estate labels - two each of pinot gris, sauvignon blanc, chardonnay and pinot noir.

• Pencarrow Pinot Gris 2014. Described as a "gentle wine with some richness", I actually found it very tart and fruity.
• Palliser Estate Pinot Gris 2014. This pinot gris was much smoother and more pleasant than its Pencarrow counterpart. A maybe for me.
• Pencarrow Sauvignon Blanc 2014. This was very nice. Dry and with just the right amount of fruitiness, this jumped onto my yes list. 
• Palliser Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2014. Strangely enough, I didn't like the 'better' reserve sauvignon blanc. This is probably healthier for my bank balance. ;-)
• Pencarrow Chardonnay 2014. This chardonnay was a bright yellow colour and not tooo oaky. It had a big, heavy aftertaste.
• Palliser Estate Chardonnay 2014. A definite no. Way too much of everything for me: up front fruit and all French oak.
• Pencarrow Pinot Noir 2013 and Palliser Estate Pinot Noir 2013. Way. Too Much. Oak.

Just around the corner is Muirlea Rise, a boutique vineyard specialising in reds. I'm not much of a red wine drinker so sat out this tasting but hung around for the entertainment from host Shawn Brown. He was full of good advice. For example:

"You wouldn't trust a skinny cook, so why would you trust a sober winemaker?"

Good point. We noticed that the labels on some of the wine bottles were upside down. Apparently this is because their wines should be cellared - and it can be hard to see what you're storing when you pull wine bottles out from a rack, so an upside down label suddenly becomes the right way up. Bam!

Across the road is the appropriately named Martinborough Vineyard. We tasted seven wines for $5 and I added one more wine to my yes list.

• Te Tara Sauvignon Blanc 2014.This is a juicy, fruity style wine. Less up front than a Marlborough sauvignon blanc, it had a soft, smooth finish.

Other wines we sampled but were nos for me but some found favour among our group:

• Te Tera Pinot Gris 2014. Super sweet.
• Martinborough Vineyard Chardonnay 2013. Heavily oaked.
• Te Tera Pinot Noir 2013. Much fruitier than some other pinot noirs. 
• Martinborough Vineyard Pinot Noir 2011. A more savoury, smoky finish.
• Martinborough Vineyard Syrah Viognier 2013. The 5% viognier blend took away some of the syrah's heaviness.
• Martinborough Vineyard Late Harvest Riesling 2014. The sticky is sweetest wine this vineyard has ever made, weighing in with 200 grams of residual sugar. Smooth but soooooo so sweet - which appealed to someone who drinks his tea with two sugars.

After lunch in the village square, we headed in the opposite direction towards Poppies Martinborough. Poppies is a boutique winery operated by wife and husband team Poppy and Shayne Hammond, formerly of Dry River Wines just across the road. This picturesque venue was hectically busy by mid-afternoon, with several large groups either waiting for $5 wine tastings or enjoying their famous platters.

Poppy the winemaker was our host and we sampled all six of her wines. It's important to note that Poppies wines are only available at their cellar door, so you won't find them at a wine distributor or supermarket. None of them made it onto my yes list but I enjoyed hearing about each wine's nuances from Poppy and learning more about how they were produced.

• Rose 2015. Very light and subtle in flavour.
• Sauvignon Blanc 2014. Quite different in style to other savs. Subtle flavour but too sweet for me.
• Chardonnay 2014. This old-style chardonnay made from the Mendoza clone is just about to sell out. Oaked in larger 350 litre French oak barrels, it makes for a slightly more subtle oaky finish.
• Pinot Gris 2015. This newly bottled wine was only into its second day of tasting. Very, very sweet, it was made from a Mission clone from Hawkes Bay.
• Pinot Noir 2014. This wine had a beautiful ruby colour and is made from 33 year old vines that were there before the winery began producing for Poppies.
• Late Harvest Riesling 2014. Not as sweet at some other sticky wines with 55 gram of residual sugar. Still far too sweet for me.

A few tips if you're thinking of biking the Martinborough wineries:

• Start out by grabbing the latest wine map from the Martinborough Information Centre or download a copy before you head out. While most of the wineries are situated close to each other along one road, there are others just a few blocks away that are well worth visiting, too. 
• Check out the cellar door hours. Most are open 10.30-4 on weekends but winter and weekday hours vary.
• If you're planning to buy bottles of wine along the way, wear a backpack or make sure your bike has a basket. Some wineries do free deliveries to your accommodation later in the day but not all offer this service.
• The cost of most tastings averages $5; some are more, some are less and a few are free. Some wineries will refund your tasting fee if you buy a bottle from their cellar door; others won't. Not all will accept credit cards or EFTPOS for tasting fees so carry some cash.

Girls' weekend away

Tis the season for birthdays. After last Sunday's pamper session for a friend's 40th, this has been a girls' weekend away to celebrate another friend's birthday. Having had quite. a. week., I was really looking forward to a change of scenery with friends. Martinborough was the chosen destination for nine of us to enjoy a weekend of relaxation and fun. Following on from our fun weekend away touring the wineries in Marlborough last December, another wine trail was planned.

The beautiful Tirohana Estate was our first stop and lunch venue. It began with a wine tasting.

• 2009 sauvignon blanc - this had quite a soft, sweet taste. The sav was my pick from the wines we tasted at Tirohana.
• 2008 pinot noir - described as "dangerous", the incredibly strong flavour was a bit to much for me. Aptly named!
• 2007 pinot noir - this was the remains of a heavily frosted crop, resulting in its only being sold in half-bottles. While still having quite a strong, intense flavour, I found it more drinkable than the 2008 vintage.
• 2008 dessert wine - described as a "non-sticky sticky". (Apparently dessert wines are referred to as "stickies" - my useless fact for the weekend!) Far too sweet and sickly for me, I'm afraid, sticky or otherwise.

Tirohana Estate

Tirohana Estate wine selection

A two-course lunch menu was served. I had a delicious cranberry and brie salad, followed by lamb shanks which practically fell off the bone. Only a couple of our group had room for dessert after that!

Entrance to the beautiful Tirohana Estate dining room

An elegant lunch setting

Martinborough is home to many boutique vineyards and wineries, many of which are situated next to each other along Puruatanga Road. They are within moderate walking distance, and even easier to bike to. We each tried out our hired bicycles of various sizes and descriptions and eventually settled on suitable matches ... all except one person who is somewhat "vertically challenged". After discovering that she couldn't reach the ground on any of the eight bikes we'd hired, we found some children's cycles in the garage of our accommodation. The sight of her zooming along to each vineyard on a child's BMX bike kept us laughing all afternoon!

It was interesting to discover that most of the Martinborough wineries charged a service fee ranging from $2 to $6 for wine tastings. Some, but not all, would waive this fee if a bottle of wine was purchased from their cellar door. I was quite surprised, as we had not encountered charges during our tour of the Marlborough wineries last year. As someone who does not usually drink alcohol, and only ever samples a tiny taste of wine each time, I didn't feel it worth my while to pay $5 for what would equate to 4-5 sips. I sat out of the tasting at the first winery we cycled to, Schubert Wines.

Ata Rangi was just along the road. Their small tasting room was crowded; we were the first of three groups of eight to arrive at the same time, so our timing was just right. At $2 a tasting, I gave it a go.

• 2009 summer rosé - this merlot rosé was supposed to have a strawberry aftertaste. My friends really liked it; I was reminded of drinking vinegar.
• 2008 sauvignon blanc - a light, delicate wine which I enjoyed sampling.
• 2008 Petrie chardonnay - the lighter variety of two chardonnays produced in 2008. This was very easy to drink.
• 2008 crimson pinot noir - produced in support of Project Crimson, which aims to protect the native pohutukawa and rata trees (whose flowers are crimson), this pinot noir was a perfect crimson colour. I found the oak flavour a bit overbearing.
• 2007 Celebre - this red wine is a blend of 40% merlot, 30% syrah, 30% cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc, producing a very strong taste.
• 2008 Kahu Botrytis riesling - an incredibly sweet dessert wine. Once again, I just couldn't do it, but the birthday girl bought a bottle!

Ata Rangi tasting room

Vynfields is a boutique vineyard which produces organic certified wines. The setting is absolutely idyllic. The rain that had been threatening all afternoon started to fall as we left Ata Rangi, and by the time we reached Vynfields it was raining quite heavily. We took refuge inside their beautiful stately homestead, which they had transported from Lyall Bay in Wellington and restored on its current site. Vynfields is home of the Mad Rooster, a certified organic wine of an unknown big red grape variety. We were told that there are around 3500 unknown grape varieties in the world, and wine or grapes cannot be exported without a name. However, the costs involved in naming a grape are apparently quite exorbitant, so Vynfields settled on Mad Rooster and enjoy producing wine that is unknown to almost every other vineyard in the world.

There was a $6 charge for tasting here, so I sat out of the rain and enjoyed the scenery instead.

Vynfields gardens

A wind turbine in the garden

Front entrance to Vynfields

A majestic entrance

... leading to a majestic tasting room

Nestled behind Vynfields is another tiny boutique winery, Haythornywaite, our final vineyard before the rain finally got the better of us. All their wines are named after the female members of their family, and apparently there were quite some "discussions" during the decision-making process about which wines were best suited to certain personalities! Wine tastings here cost $5. While I was waiting outside for the girls, who should randomly turn up but a cousin of mine whom I hadn't seen for a couple of years! We had a great, impromptu catchup. :-)

Gosh, this is getting long. So, quickly now ...

Our accommodation was nothing short of exquisite. Nine of us stayed in a brand new four-bedroom house which was finished only a month ago and we were their first guests! De Vine Martinborough has four luxury holiday houses available for rent right in the centre of town. The facilities are nothing short of amazing and the colour scheme, a series of deep reds, silver/grey and black, is simply stunning. Nine of us relaxed in the big outdoor spa pool while the rain drove down, and miraculously there was endless hot water available for nine females to have showers afterwards - no arguments about using up all the hot water! We cooked dinner in their brand new kitchen and enjoyed a relaxing evening. Oh, and I had made cupcakes with blue flowers for the birthday girl.

Birthday cupcakes

After such an exerting day on Saturday, Sunday was understandably slower and more low key. We had brunch at a local café, spent a minute or two browsing through the cutest little craft market next to a local bar, then lounged in front of their fireplace (yes, in October!) for an hour or so before finally heading back over the hill and home to Wellington.

There is something utterly refreshing about a change in scenery and spending time with friends, even overnight. I arrived home tired after a full-on weekend, yet with my batteries slightly recharged and a little more ready to face whatever this week throws at me.

Martinborough Fair

The Martinborough Fair is held on the first Saturday of February and March each year. Martinborough is a cute little wine growing town in South Wairarapa, about an hour north-east of Wellington. The town centre is set out in the shape of a union jack and is named after an Irish immigrant who, in the 1800s, purchased a large sheep station and subdivided it into enough plots to make a town. Streets are named after various places he travelled to on the way to New Zealand; I always find it hilarious to drive up New York Street in such a tiny town.

We usually go to the Main St Deli in Greytown for brunch, or at least a coffee, on the way. It makes for a good day out and means that you can miss the worst of the traffic. (Well, only just.)

Anyway, the fair is a huge event, bringing thousands of people and 450+ stallholders to this little town. After you've been once or twice, it's easy to become familiar with the positioning of each stall, and they remain largely the same from year to year. I knew exactly what I was after today and quickly found most of it: fair fudge (cos you can't go to a fair without buying homemade fudge), a straw hat, a merino wrap for my friend who is about to have her second baby, and some earrings (I always buy a pair of earrings somewhere). I didn't manage to find anything for my nephew's first birthday next weekend, so I guess that means another shopping trip. I picked up a lovely printed wooden block of two daffodils on a blue background for just $5 - gorgeous. I also found some relatively cheap sheepskin slippers, even though it is sooooo not the right weather to be trying them on. (It was scorching hot in Martinborough, with just the tiniest breeze.)

Hmm, I can't believe I went out of town on an incredibly hot day and bought sheepskin slippers. Oh well, we had a great day and it's another thing done that I wanted to do: #51 - Go to the Martinborough Fair.