Tuesday, November 19th - Day 71 - Sampling Marlborough Wines near Blenheim

For our last full day in Picton, we decided to head to the Blenheim area (about a 30-minute
drive away) and sample some of the world-famous Marlborough Sauvignon Blancs.   Views of the vineyards with high hills in the background were stunning.

As luck would have it, Munroe's old friend from his California days, Steve Erfle, emailed him about another matter.  Steve is a huge wine buff and collector and teaches International Business at Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA.  Munroe responded, asking him for some recommendations.  He suggested trying small wineries but added that Cloudy Bay wines were great and very high quality.  So we thanked our lucky stars and headed to Cloudy Bay.

Also, Deb texted sommelier Katie, a sommelier back in Canada, and discovered that she used to represent Cloudy Bay at a former job.  Such coincidences!

The first thing we noted as we approached Cloudy Bay Vineyards was the presence of some familiar brands in the vineyards.  Matua, for example, was just down the street - as was Stoneleigh, whose Chards we've been enjoying while here in New Zealand.  

The estate of Cloudy Bay was beautifully manicured and the buildings were architecturally striking and very modern.  We ordered the cheese plate and the "Cloudy Bay Experience" (4 wines from the Marlborough area, a sparkling, the 'signature' Sauv Blanc, a Chardonnay, and a Pinot Noir).  

Everything was simply exquisite but the Sauvignon Blanc was the star performer!  It was fruity and citrusy in the Marlborough way on the nose but the finish on those flavors was muted somewhat, creating a balanced and tasty wine.  We had the 2024 vintage - it has fermented only 5 months and I don't think spent any time in oak barrels.  The sparkling wine that started was similarly light and fruity - the chardonnay didn't make much of an impression!  The pinot noir was nice and light with some earthy undertones on the finish.  The cheese tray, all sourced in Picton, was delicious and varied - the perfect accompaniment to the wines.   

We learned that the 'secret' to Marlborough's Sauv Blancs was simply the weather.  The warm, dry days (it's the sunniest region in New Zealand) and cool nights that slow ripening, combine to produce that kiwi/passion fruit/guava/citrus flavor that is distinctive to the region.  Our server said that all grapes at Cloudy Bay were harvested within a 12-mile tractor ride radius, so as to minimize time in the sun after harvest!

That was a real treat but having eaten and drunk some wine early in the afternoon, we were both tired. So we decided to take a little hike at a nearby farm in the hills just outside Blenheim (Wither Hills Farm Park).  It was lovely to stroll along the paths through the hills.

We returnred to Picton after about an hour of walking - Munroe had a little snooze and then we had lamb chops for dinner with carrots, rosemary potatoes, and some asparagus.  We had to use up the remaining veggies as we were in a hotel overnight at Christchurch, and then were flying to Auckland.  That was tasty, and we watched a couple more episodes of Season 12 of MKR!

The first half of MKR's 12 season had Minu Feildel (left below), a chef from France who was part of the original season of MKR that we watched in Ocean Grove, joined by British chef and food expert Nigella Lawson.  The second half of the season saw the introduction of a whole new cast of competitors and a new co-judge with Minu - Matt Preston.  Not sure how they're going to combine the two sets of 6 teams in the competition - the first six episodes saw the elimination of only one team! Nonetheless, we're enjoying the return to Aussie cooking and cuisine!