Our first stop on the afternoon of wine tasting was at Nobilo Winery in Huapai. They are one of the largest distributors of wine in New Zealand. They have several wineries and many, many vineyards throughout all the growing regions of NZ.
They sell TONS of different labels and brands. I was not happy at all with this stop- a group of 20+ people pulled in on a bus & made our whole tasting quite a ruckus. We sampled at least 12 wines, but we rushed and the woman describing them was at least two or three wines ahead of what we were actually sampling.
It might have been a fine experience without the large group, but it certainly was disappointing to taste wine with that many other people. I'd much prefer to go to small winery & vineyard, where they are doing their own thing & not just a large wholesaler.
Our 2nd stop was at Matua Winery and was much more enjoyable. They winery was located on their vineyards & they had a nice, airy tasting room.
Lots of snacks and other nick-knacks to be bought, including some light snacks.
I really appreciate having a tasting list to view while the wines are poured- I like to see all the names & different varietals.
I didn't find the vineyard to be as picturesque as some place I've been to because of the trunk protectors they had in place & many had netting to protect the grapes against the pesky birds.
It was still great though- to be outside, walking in the green hills, smelling the great outdoors, seeing the grape vines.
My husband was attempting to get all artistic with this shot...
Our third and final stop of the afternoon was at ...., a gorgeous winery and vineyard.
There was a lovely lawn area leading down to a small pond, and a group of people were playing a game that reminded me of bocce.
The woman who was serving us was one of the owners- such a great lady to visit with and some wonderful wines.
I'd love to have had time to play giant-chess game on their front lawn
I'd kill for this to be my view out the window everyday.
All in all, we were pretty happy with the full day tour. Kare Kare beach & the waterfall were great (but I'd have probably been less impressed with the waterfall at the end of the trip after I'd seen dozens of others that were much more grand). Two out of the three wineries were enjoyable and fun. Our guide was just so-so... We had such fantastic guides everywhere else in NZ & he just seemed to lack some 5-star tourist skills that we enjoyed throughout the rest of our trip.
GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Big day for our house tomorrow- granite counter tops arrive, plumber is hooking up the fridge, sink/disposal, shower & other faucets, painters are going to make some good progress.
The woman who was serving us was one of the owners- such a great lady to visit with and some wonderful wines.
I'd love to have had time to play giant-chess game on their front lawn
I'd kill for this to be my view out the window everyday.
All in all, we were pretty happy with the full day tour. Kare Kare beach & the waterfall were great (but I'd have probably been less impressed with the waterfall at the end of the trip after I'd seen dozens of others that were much more grand). Two out of the three wineries were enjoyable and fun. Our guide was just so-so... We had such fantastic guides everywhere else in NZ & he just seemed to lack some 5-star tourist skills that we enjoyed throughout the rest of our trip.
GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Big day for our house tomorrow- granite counter tops arrive, plumber is hooking up the fridge, sink/disposal, shower & other faucets, painters are going to make some good progress.
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