Marlborough Country (and I'm not talking about cigarettes)

As most of you know, Laurie and I enjoy wine.  From the beginning of our relationship, living in California, to our wedding day at a vineyard in Rhode Island, to the many trips to California grape-growing regions and now even to Europe.  The world of wine is magical; part science, part art, and an amazingly important part of cultures from all over the world.

So, when I was planning for this trip I stumbled upon the Marlborough Wine and Food Festival, which just happened to be taking place during the time period we were going to be in New Zealand.  I immediately knew we had to check it out and bought tickets online that night.  This region is known worldwide for producing some of the finest sauvignon blanc wine but it also produces other quality varietals including chardonnay, riesling, and pinot noir.

For our stay in Marlborough country we found a bed and breakfast place called Ugbrooke Country Estate.  We arrived at the estate at about 10:30 pm after our dreadfully long drive.  The owners of Ugbrooke were unbelievably kind.  When we arrived they helped us with our bags and then offered us a drink to relax for a while after the hard ride.  They poured us a nice glass of sauvignon blanc from a local winery and it was delicious and quite needed.  Our nerves were frayed from the journey and this greeting and sitdown with the hosts was a wonderful welcome.

Here are some photographs of their magnificently restored house built toward the end of the 19th century.  The restoration that the current owners have done is nothing short of remarkable.  The hallways of this home have 14 foot ceilings!  Incredible woodwork and period pieces furnish the place and you really feel like you are stepping back into another era.

This is by far the nicest place we have stayed on this trip.  You can see the vineyards in the distance below the house.

So on Saturday morning we made our way to the festival, taking a shuttle bus from the center of Blenheim to Brancott Winery about 15km outside of town.  They did an excellent job providing this service so that people do not have to drive after the festival is over.  Very smart.

We arrived a bit late for the start of our "Bubbles Seminar," which was a nice introduction to the state of the local sparkling wine industry.  The presenters were excellent and described the process very well.    And, as part of the seminar, we sampled six different sparkling whites!  The festival was off to a smashing start.

Vineyards of sauvignon blanc, presumably.

Enjoying the fest.  Note the wine glass lanyard around my neck.  What an amazing invention!

I think there were over 70 local wineries at the festival and quite a bit of good food too.  I had a fantastic lamb and pork burger - gourmet indeed.  Laurie had a salmon pizza.  Later in the day, we had a bacon and avocado sandwich and, for dessert, strawberries and ice cream with a dash of chocolate drizzle on top.  I don't want to know how many calories we had today.

At each winery booth, you could choose from a selection of their wines and choose a tasting (40ml) or a full glass (120ml).  There were fill lines on our glasses for each pouring size.  I didn't have too many glasses but lots of tastings.  Prices ranged from $2-$5 for a tasting and $5-$10 for full glasses.

In addition to all the great wine and food there were bands playing throughout the afternoon.  This really made the event lively and enjoyable.

Upon returning to Ugbrooke, Laurie swam a bit in the pool to give her back some nice exercise (and, to start her training for upcoming triathlons too!).

After our dip in the pool to cool off we were treated to an outstanding meal prepared by Alex.  It turns out that she is an excellent chef.  I had a local whitefish called Wharehou that was to die for (and I'm not a big fish eater by any means).  Laurie had lamb and she enjoyed that as well.

All in all, I would HIGHLY recommend Ugbrooke Country Estate to anyone traveling to New Zealand.  It is located in the heart of beautiful wine country.  But, the main reason to go is to experience a really relaxing time at a truly unique estate with the nicest hosts you could ever want.  

Here we are with Alex and Peter the morning we checked out.  Sad to say goodbye.  Sweet as! (the kiwi phrase for "awesome" or "cool")