fingers
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It's about a seven minute read, but I tried to make it entertaining, at least.
New Zealand is full of spectacular scenery, awesome natural resources, and some amazing features that have to go on anyone’s “Best Of – “ lists. We have seen so much drama in the landscapes that our camera lenses could not capture, you’ll be stunned when you see the little bit (about 1000 or so!) pictures that we did take. The people are friendly and open and have good reason to be so. The quality of life here seems terrific, even though everywhere has certain tradeoffs. Sales tax is 12.5% and personal tax is also high. Petrol is expensive, but you rarely need to cover much distance by car. Their television is from the Dark Ages with about 3 regularly available stations, two of which carry rugby most of the time and cricket the rest. But I don’t think there’s much concern for TV anyway in such an outdoor-connected country. The weather has been extremely fortunate for us and we can even imagine how nice it will be in the coming spring months. Almost everywhere is green, or snow-white, or dramatic rocky colors. Most of the rocks you see in the middle of green are sheep. But there are still a lot of real rocks. Just more sheep than rocks. More sheep than anything. Sheep, sheep, sheep.
We started in Auckland and had a full day taking in the city. Very Seattle-like. Especially along the waterfront, where we enjoyed an nice lunch of green-lipped mussels, tempura oysters, and white wine. This turned out to be of significance because the Chardonnay (n1) that I selected turned out to impress me to no end. I had found my mantra and quest for the trip: exposing my olfactory bulbs to the splendid wines here in a very serious effort. I know, it sounds like a daunting task, but I had the confidence and ambition for it. As I start writing now, halfway through the trip, I am pleased to update that my journey has been outstanding. We finished the night with dinner at the top of the Sky City Tower in Auckland and I know we had wine there, but the chardonnay from earlier was still on my mind.
Day two we flew to the southern island city of Queenstown, which sits along the shore of Lake Waikapitu and is nestled high in the Southern Alps. This might as well be Vail, or Tahoe, or Sundance as it has those features of any great ski area but it is also the headquarters for experiencing all the incredible outdoor and extreme activities that New Zealand is known for. Truly one of the most beautiful locations anywhere, which pretty much goes for anywhere in NZ’s mountain areas. For many of the tourists here, this is the only destination on their itinerary because there is so much to do here. The Quest was satisfied in a most delightful evening at the best wine bar I’ve ever seen. This place in downtown Queenstown was called the Wine Tasters and was beautifully decorated in the “casual but elegant” stance where you can flop in a cushy chair around a fireplace and they’ll bring nice little platters to compliment your wine. But here’s the real catch: there are over 100 New Zealand (and some others) wines available by the taste, half-glass, or glass and we’re not talking house grog here. They even had Penfold’s Grange at $30 per taste up to the bottle for $600. This is all accomplished utilizing some wonderfully designed wine-dispensing system from Italy that works like this: you receive a card from the counter that keeps track of all the wine you drink. You insert the card into the machine above the wine you wish to try and it shows you the price of each taste, half-glass, or glass. Place your glass under the spout and press the desired quantity and out comes your wine. The wines are all kept fresh with inert gas pressure and the machines stay very clean and worry-free. Brilliant. What a great way to check out a variety of wines without the awkwardness and pressure of normal tasting rooms. The manager told us that this is the only one of these in the Southern Hemisphere and the only one in the US is in San Francisco, naturally. We drank our fill of some really excellent wines and had a nice cheese and cracker platter and were only damaged about $50(us). We closed the place with the manager due to my mantra.
After the sensory overload at Wine Tasters, the Quest was temporarily pacified. The Mantra was on hold during our overnight stay aboard the Milford Mariner, in spectacular Milford Sound. We had a nice buffet dinner with a good wine but nothing, even Central Otago Pinot Noir, can distract from the grandeur of what you’re seeing. What wine can do for your palate, Milford Sound does to your eyes. Actually, your other senses are in awe as well, for your breath is taken away by the jagged cliffs mixed with lush rainforest, waterfalls, snow-capped mountain peaks, penguins, dolphins, birds of prey, and “majestic tranquility”, as I put it. Even the bus journey to and back is one of the greatest visual experiences I can think of. In this 24 hour period, we saw over 1000 waterfalls.
Headed east out of Queenstown on Day 4 and lo and behold, the first winery we see is Chard Farms. This was the Chardonnay (n1) that I enjoyed in Auckland! Quest Destiny! Mantra be served, I felt obligated have a bottle to go with us. Lasted all the way to Greymouth where we dusted it off with fish & chips at our B&B. In between Queenstown and Greymouth, we have two days of touring the Otago countryside and a homestay on an Alpaca farm outside of Christchurch. Lovely creatures, those Aplacas, that produce superior wool fabric. We leave Christchurch via the Tranz-Alpine Railway, which takes a spectacular route through the Southern Alps to Greymouth. We made a mess in the mud there with the assistance of some ATV’s.
Into our second week and now it’s back to the North Island and 3 days of living like corporate rockstars at the finest resort you can imagine. Known as Wharekauhau (pr. Furry-ko-ho) it is a 5000 acre country estate with our own chef and wine steward. The Quest is now in the hands of people much better equipped than I to fulfill the mission. Last night may have been the Valhalla of culinary delight and sophisticated decadence. For appetizers we started with another nice Chardonnay, (unknown) and canapés followed by Persian feta wontons (r u kidding me?). This really rocked our palates. Next, a smooth and light Riesling (n2) with crispy prawn entrée, and then it came: the Pinot Noir (n3) that released its assault on what you thought was real wine. Holy smokes, what a fat bomb. Thick and dark as black blood, huge nose. In fact, we just took in the aroma for several minutes before having the nerve to taste such a beast. If the scent of this wine would be every human’s first exposure to wine, conversion would be a certainty no matter what you’re selling. Could not finish a whole glass, it was that good. Possibly criminal, I know, but it will be gone by tomorrow, I promise. The teammate of the wine was the rack of local (and I mean like right here from the estate) lamb, – the best thing to pair, of course. Oh, and the decadence? That came later when dessert was introduced by our host. Accompanying our caramelized lemon tart with limoncello ice cream was a Sauvignon Blanc/Riesling late harvest spirit (n4) that worked so, so well. In the Quest, you are blessed by revelations. Here was one. Probably the best dessert experience either one of us could remember.
Next day and I’m not letting up now. Last night inspired us to play on the beach, hike around the lodge, swim in the 25m indoor pool and generally be treated like royalty, including being given our own dog, Dutch. He’s a happy fellow that just guides us around the sheep and cattle so we don’t get lost. He understands my Mantra. He sees us safely into the main lodge for another dinner and I’m hoping I can comprehend what the Quest brings forth tonight but, thankfully, the gods gave us the junior staff. This will relax some of the sensory creations we received from the Masters of the evening before. We start with, again, incredible hand-passed bites of oysters, cheeses, olives, and the thinnest sliced venison carpaccio in the world. Seared and topped with something like a mole’ sauce called Albinao. This came with a dusty Merlot (n5) so the food was able to still remain the focus. Snapper on top of lentil Du Puy and roasted baby beets paired to another fantastic Chardonnay (n6) made us feel like we were actually doing something constructive with our lives at the moment. It speaks well that this wine was from the same winemaker, Alana, as the Pinot Noir monster a night earlier. Dessert brought us to another Noble Late Harvest Chardonnay (n7) blend with pavlova and cream fraiche. Very good, but less so than last night’s finale.
Third day in paradise and we’re exploring the vineyards of Martinborough. Rough stuff. The tasting rooms that are open this time of year welcome us nicely. Friendly staff and no charge for tasting pours, buying or not. The first winery we stop at is Tirohana. We try all the whites. The dessert wine was excellent and I bought a bottle. When we got back to the lodge, I realized it was the same dessert wine they served to us on day 1! The magic of the Quest, you see. We also visit Alana, Te Kairanga, and some others. Will be really tough to leave our estate tomorrow but at least there’s another dinner tonight. Started with a delicious celeraic soup and prawns to go with Riesling - again, Alana Estate (n8). This winery is clearly Quest oriented and I am hoping it is available in the States. Our main dish tonight is filet mignon and the Cabernet/Merlot Franc (n9) pairing was a natural. Dessert was a chocolate soufflé and hokey pokey ice cream (very popular down under) that matched with a very interesting Cabernet Liqueur (n10). Described as “Christmas pudding in a bottle”, I’ve never tasted anything quite like that and I think it’s great that this little wine producing country comes up with it’s own twists on the standards.
Alas, we cannot stay in culinary heaven another day but must move on to more earthly work. And I mean geologically, for we are on the way to Rotorua, which I nicknamed Roto-Rooter. This is the home to the famous geothermal valley and Mount Terawera volcano that erupted in 1886 and buried dozens of towns in about 4 hours. There is the odor of sulpher and bubbling mud pools all over this area, hence the nickname. Nevertheless, it is similar to Queenstown in that it is a recreational haven. Many lakes, dozens of extreme-style activities like the Zorb, bungy, fly-by-wire, and we especially enjoyed several runs on the street luge. All this activity and stinky steam works up quite a thirst for Mantra expression. Another nice Marlborough Pinot Noir (n11) will see us through the next two days as we move to Lake Taupo.
Lake Taupo is a nice resort area, like Lake Tahoe, with beautiful homes adorning the lakefront and this seems to be a popular vacation and spring break place. Quest magic was again at work as we find another wine cellar that has the special tasting machines like Wine Tasters in Queenstown. How about that? The only two stores in the Southern Hemisphere with these machines and we found them both by chance! This greatly facilitated our selection of a superbly crafted Syrah (n12) from the Hawkes Bay appellation. This one and the dessert wine have to make it home through customs.
Moving on from Lake Taupo, our 14th day was spent in the caves of Waitomo. Abseiling, tubing, waterfall climbs, and generally being very wet and cold in the darkest bowels of a mountain. Lit only by our helmet lights and the glow-worms throughout the caves. “Yo-ho, Yo-ho, a pirates life for me” kept going through my head. The activity of the day meant we needed real-man food, so for dinner it was bangers & mash and beer. Couldn’t just leave it all to wine, right? Anyway, Lion Red is pretty good NZ brew and I liked that the Quest was flexible.
This brings our time in New Zealand to an end, but trouper that I am, I carry the Mantra on to Fiji. This time, to our own island. No kidding. There’s us and five or six “caretakers” and that’s it. Our bedroom patio empties on to the beach where one must be careful to avoid the falling coconuts. Meals are being prepared at our request and the wine is hosted. A lunch platter of meats, cheeses, veggies, fruit, salad, peppers, and bread was great. I mean, great for the Quest because another Martinborough Pinot Noir (n13) was poured. And it continues to show that the Kiwis are coming up on Burgundy the way Napa pushes around Bordeaux. After lunch, a pleasant walk around our “rock” with sweeping ocean views followed by snorkeling and swinging in hammocks. No phones, no TV, no mosquitoes. Roll Corona commercial. Bliss.
Final day, Fiji. Torrential rain overnight carries into today but that doesn’t stop us from kayaking around our island. The Chardonnay (n14) before dinner pleases nicely and our native Fiji hosts inform us that we’re having a traditional dinner with chicken, beef, fish, lamb, etc. And most worth noting is traditional Kava. How will this affect the Quest? The Kava won out. Asleep by 9:30. Our bon-voyage lunch from the wonderful Fijian hosts was an awesome shrimp salad. I picked a Riesling (N15) that was very nice, but it was from Australia, not New Zealand.
All in all, a great vacation and there’s more memories than could be recorded here. Some things that I didn’t mention in detail:
- The Beautiful views from Auckland’s Sky City Tower at dinner
- The exciting and fun jet boat ride in Queenstown on the Shotover River
- The exhibits and sheep show at the Agrodome in Rotorua.
- A town in the middle of nowhere called Ranfurley where we stayed in an old main street hotel, built in the 1890’s. It had been updated to “art deco”? Real local flavor here where the kids stayed up all night watching the Rugby World Cup.
- Jumping 20’ off a cliff inside the caves of Waitomo with an innertube strapped to your ass into a pitch dark cold underground river.
- Visiting the extremely well-done national museum, “Te Papa” in Wellington. A must stop if you go.
- Petting the cheetah’s at the Wellington Zoo. Very cool.
- An amazing little 1-room chocolate factory in Greytown (not Greymouth) that was the consultant for the movie “Chocolat”. We bought as much as we dared to.
- The Gypsy Festival in Roturua. The most bizarre camper and vehicle conversions I’ve ever seen which can only be described with pictures. Wild.
- Also in Rotorua, 6:00am watching the Irish rugby team get beat while having breakfast at Hennessy’s Irish Tavern.
- Watching “Broken Arrow” on a 13” TV during a rainstorm in Fiji
- Driving on the wrong side of the road. It’s not as hard as you think.
- It seems like everything in New Zealand is remarkably clean. From big cities to rural farm areas, facilities are in spotless conditions and well-designed.
- By contrast, Fiji is extremely poor and the rural areas are very third world. Lots of politics and cultural backwardness.
All in all, there’s a lot to do here and I hope you get the chance to visit New Zealand!
Wine Notes:
N1) Chard Farms 2005 Chardonnay “Judge & Jury” Central Otago/Queenstown. Beautiful tropical amber color and a sweet honeysuckle and tangerine nose. Fine peach and lemon palate and the oak expression comes through with toast and mixed nuts. Yum. Finish lasts like Bolero. (5+12+17+9) = 94
N2) Julicher Estate Riesling 2006, Martinborough. Light yellow/gold color and nice grapefruit, citrus, and honey nose. Taste is sweet lime cordial and minerals balanced by pleasant acidity. A dash of earth on the finish helps pair it with veggies. Still young and a little tight. (4+10+17+7) = 88
N3) Alana Estate Pinot Noir 2004, Martinborough. This was the “wow” wine of the trip. Color is black on top of burgundy. Bouquet alone is worth the price. Huge par fume, black plum, cherry, a little overcooked bacon. Consumption brings more cherry, plum, mushroom, mulch, pepper. Best is the tannin “feel” and structure – just awesome. I cannot estimate how long the nice fruit finish lasted because I lost track of time. (5+14+18+9) = 96
N4) Tirohana Estate Noble Spirit 2003, Martinborough Riesling/Sauvignon Blanc blend. Shiny gold liquid. Big stone fruit and mango nose. Flavors of succulent orange and lemon drop with perfect acidity. Long, beautiful finish. Holds well on its own and shines with desserts. (5+12+17+8) = 92
N5) Mudbrick Merlot 2001, Hawkes Bay. Dark ruby color. Modest currant nose and palate with some blackberry. Acidity and tannins a little understated but smooth as velvet. Wimped a little against the venison entrée. (4+13+15+7) = 89
N6) Alana Chardonnay 2004, Martinborough. More lemony yellow than gold. Bright nose shows nice apricot and flowers. Acidity is understated allowing fruits and oak to blend nicely. Can drink easy and quick with reasonable time to finish. (4+12+16+8) = 90
N7) Palliser Estate Noble Chardonnay Late Harvest 2005, Martinborough. Pretty dark gold with fresh nutmeg and tropical fruit aroma. Lemon and lime, sweet apple, and honey glycerin, with some wet rock taste. A little change as it finishes and the food makes a big difference. (4+13+15+6) = 88
N8) Alana Estate Riesling 1999, Martinborough . Lighter gold than previous Riesling’s but with a nice shimmer. Just light scents of pears and oranges. Lime, apple, beeswax, a little kerosene, aging nicely. The fruit seems to magically “cook” as it lasts and the acidity holds firm. Great food wine (5+11+17+8) = 91
N9) Benfield and Delamare Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot Franc 2005, Martinborough. New Zealand’s poke at Bordeaux. Well done. Aroma of very good meritage. Ripe plum and cassis and well crafted oak notes. (5+13+17+7) = 92
N10) Winslow “William Ross” Cabernet Liqueur 2002. Deep red blood color and smells a little too overly-sweet licorice. But it’s not. Dates, prune, raisin, aniseed, and some clove. Really is like “Christmas Pudding in a Bottle” and raises chocolate soufflé to new heights. (5+11+17+8) = 91
N11) MillsReef Elspeth Syrah Gimblet Gravels Hawkes Bay 2005. Bought after one taste from dispensing machine. Who knew New Zealand was producing such a star. Watch out Aussie’s. Will probably cellar at home for awhile and it will be a special day when this one goes.
N12) 2006 Mud House Wines 2006 Marlborough Vineyard Selection Pinot Noir. Lighter style with nice grip. Nose of cherry and toast. Cherry, plum, and black fruits. Light body, medium acidity, slow and bright finish. Very easy to drink (4+11+15+6) = 86
N13) Palliser Estate Martinborough Pinot Noir 2003. Deep burgundy color indicates this is no “lighter-style” pinot. Stewed prune, fig, and wet sneakers wafting around. Dates, tomato sauce, wheat bread, black cherry, basil – I swear it’s all in there. Finish could be a little longer but is probably best where it’s at. I think we’re seeing the crest of this wave with maybe a year or two to go before wiping out. (4+13+18+8) = 93
N14) Cloudy Bay Chardonnay 2005. Average gold liquid. Fresh clean peach on the nose. Oak start to finish with the citrus lime and kiwifruit riding in the backseat. Finishes appropriately in about 10-15 sec. Wise house choice. (3+11+16+7) = 87
N15) Brown Brothers Crouchen Riesling 2005, Milawa, Victoria, Australia. Almost as gold as late harvest. Passion fruit nose. Papaya, mango, lime- a real fruit salad. Nice acidity for vinegar-based entrees. Went quite well with shellfish and has a nice ending that doesn’t feel too sweet. (4+12+17+8) = 91
< Message edited by fingers -- 11/10/2007 7:59:10 AM >
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