Wining and dining

New Zealand's wines are rapidly growing in popularity and stature, so of course we had to fit in some wine tasting during our journey around NZ.  One of my vacation beliefs is that vacationing anywhere in the world  in wine country is bound to be good: beautiful geography (lush, rolling hills), relaxed days drinking wine either in cute cellars or in sunny patios, and generally good food.  It's hard to go wrong.  I've had many fantastic days drinking wine in South Africa, Napa/Sonoma, Croatia, and even Southwest Michigan.

Today we headed over an unexpectedly treacherous pass to Martinborough, known primarily for its Pinot Noir grapes. Very cute little town where we had a tasty lunch before heading off to the wineries.  It's Monday here, so it was a little sleepy, but we could see how popular the town could be on a bright, sunny weekend in the summer.

At the first winery we visited, the tasting room manager plied us with wine and regaled us with stories of the folks he met as he hiked the Appalachian Trail and the fun times he has going through American customs/immigration ("yes, I live on a farm;" "yes, I take medication not approved by the FDA;" etc).  Perhaps my favorite part of that winery was the herd of sheep grazing between the vines.  Ah, New Zealand...

A few wineries later, we came across another unique wine tasting host (who was also the owner/vintner).  He had us laughing the whole time with his irreverence and clear disgust for other wineries who dared to used screw top caps instead of wine.  Erin probably liked this place the best, as the tasting room also came with a very friendly black lab friend....Oh yeah, there was some tasty wine along the way too.

After navigating our way back across the mountains to Wellington, we met up again with Alida who introduced us to Malaysian cuisine, which we all gave a big thumbs up.  We're now full, happy and sleepy, ready to hit the hay before the big Cook Straight ferry crossing tomorrow.