Cloudy Bay Blenheim

This morning our plan was to visit as many wineries in Marlborough as possible but still make time to get to Nelson so Dan could drink beer and we could watch the opening ceremony of the Rugby World Cup!

Started off the day with mushrooms on toast, cooked expertly by Chef Daniel Weaver in the hostel kitchen. Well, we had to line our …

... get a little more wine in the next day. That afternoon we squeezed in tastings at Wither Hills, Villa Maria, River Farms, and Cloudy Bay. While I am far from an expert at this tasting business, I must say I really liked the style there -- the tastings ...

... for coffee and pie! and a wander round the cathedral and town, then onwards over yet more lovely hills to reach Blenheim. Which winery should we try? Cloudy Bay seemed the natural choice , and so good it was. we came away with a bottle and a t-shirt! ...

... of their excellent Gewurztraminer which was a cellar release so not to be found anywhere else. The afternoon saw us visiting iconic Cloudy Bay where the wines were excellent as is to be expected and we were amongst the first in the world to taste a ...

... (almost) and off on our bikes to visit as many wineries (vineyards) as possible. 1st stop and the best, Cloudy Bay. Brilliant! sampled their "Champagne", Sauvignon Blanc, Fumee, Reisling, Gewurtztraminer, Pinot Noir and late season Reisling. Across the ...

... who do a good bubbles, (surprise) sauv blanc and pinot but whose iced riesling leaves a lot to be desired, and finally Cloudy Bay. It seemed ridiculous to not stop here, and they didn't disappoint, with a particularly impressive oaked sauv blanc (Te ...

... out of the pretty shells. I'm pretty sure you usuallly cook the insides though. Good grief! Really, the photos say it all. New Zealand is an endless stream of beautiful scenery and endless adventure. Please can I take this country home in my pocket? ...

... point it would have taken a lot of wine to get over the pain of cycling! We managed to make it to 5 vineyards - Cloudy Bay, Allan Scotts, Hunters, Drylands and Rockferry. At Hunters Johnny bumped into his old managers that ran a restaurant is Brisbane. ...

... before pulling into the start point of the walk. The walk is sold by the tourist authorities as 'the best one day walk in New Zealand'. It is just short of 20km long and goes from Montepopo car park (1,100mtrs), past Mt Ngauruhoe approx 2,300 mts high ...

... a sensible speed, of course) through the wide straight roads with miles of vineyards and wineries either side we went to Cloudy Bay first (apparently owned by Louis Vuitton) and purchased a tasty Sauvignon Blanc - the Marlborough speciality. Our second ...

... !! On to Blenheim and Renwick where we visited plenty of wineries (Lawson's Dry Hills, Highfield Estate, Seresin, Allan Scott and Cloudy Bay), sampled all and bought some as well, then we had a compulsory stop at Makana Confections, where we sampled hand ...