Wonderful Wines of Waiheke

Well, I have to admit, this country is growing on me quickly. Though I have only been here a full day, it is something quite amazing. Yesterday was ok food (though my SOUP was good), rainy and umbrella-less. But today was a beautiful offshore island, with wine, beaches, and the most gorgeous sunset. We're off to a good start.

I spent today on Waiheke Island, about a 40 minute ferry ride from Auckland city. I took the 10 am ferry and managed to squeeze in a few photos and have a lovely chat with a family from Bangladesh.

The ferry building and ferry:


The boats at the entrance to the harbor:



After making my way down to Oneroa Bay, I had to wonder, how on Earth do they have wineries here?!!
Shells etc washed up on shore:









The island is tropical and lush, with aromatic flowers and palm frawns all around.



And in my walk, I hadn't seen any vineyards to this self-proclaimed "Island of Wine", so I assumed that they were just confused. Well, was assumption was happily wrong as I found my way to Goldwater Vineyards.



Goldwater was the first winery established on the island in 1978. And they are so popular that they have run out of their Bordeaux style blends from previous vintages and are anxiously waiting for their 2010 to be released. Luckily for me, the rest of their wines that they have available for tasting were exceptional. They had their Goldie Estate Chardonnay and an Island Rose that was off the charts. In addition, it was a very nice location and the pourer, Collene, was very nice, and had been to California. A great way to start.






I meandered my way ( and I mean trekked aroud a bay and then up a giant hill) to my second place Mudbrick.



I started with the Standard tasting menu, but upon evaluation from the tasting room employee, he graciously bumped me up to the premium wine tasting list. They had a fantastic Chardonnay that was grown on the island. When I reach for a white wine, I normally go for a Sauvingon Blanc or a Pinot Gris and try to stray away from the Oak-strong buttery Chardonnays. But this one was light and delcious and very easy to drink as it was 2/3 in oak barrels and 1/3 in stainless steel blend. Yum! Another delicious wine was their 2009 Reserve Syrah, grown on the island. well balanced with white pepper spice on the nose and big plum on the palate this was a delicious wine. Plus the vineyard had fantastic views and a quiant little greenhouse to boot, making it an ideal destination.









My last vineyard was the more commercial Cable Bay Vineyards, just down the hill from Mudbrick.



But being more commmercial did not mean their wines were any less superior then the others, it just meant they have a distributor in California! Again, I was pleasantly surprised with the Chardonnay, grown on the island. They had a yummy Pinot Gris as well, not too sweet, and just about right on in acidity. Also in their tasting lineup was a Pinot Noir from Central Otago, which makes me very excited to go down and visit there, and a delicious blend they called Five Hills. It had an interesting green pepper nose to me, and a yummy plum and cedar palate. Before I jetted down to catch the ferry, I tried to grab a photo of their fantastic view of the Auckland skyline.



And made it just in time for the ferry, coming in just as I made it down the hill.






As I said, we're off to a fantastic start.


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