Wairarapa Wine Tour

Hello All!!!

Well it wasn't long after I got back from mid-semester break that I decided to do another fun outing near Wellington. Amy, Brenda, Lauren and myself decided to take a day trip to the Wairarapa region to do a wine tour. Seeing as we live less than an hour away from the best wine in New Zealand, it was perfect. AND we also thought it would be perfect to learn about the wine making process and what makes a good wine.

Although the day started off interesting, with all the rain and storms, it turned out to be a great afternoon in the Wairarapa area. We took the train in Wellington to the town just outside of Martinborough where our tour guide was going to meet us. The tour included stops at 4 vineyards, tastings, lunch and afternoon tea. Just like every other tour you take in New Zealand, and I'm sure anywhere else in the world, you get to meet very interesting people. On this particular day we toured with people from France, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and I'm trying to remember the last one, but it was a very unusual place like Iceland or somewhere like that. It was fun to hear everyone's different thoughts on their favorite wines.

We started off the day at Murdoch James Vineyard, with about 4-5 tastings. I personally liked the Trafalgar here even though I don't know much about wine haha. We also got to see a lot of behind the scenes making of the wine, seeing as it was just around harvesting time. Next we headed to lunch in the town of Martinborough, where one of my flat mates, Nina is from. Her family actually owns a vineyard in this area, but we weren't able to stop at their particular place. I did however buy a book at the end of the day, which ended up having Nina's dad and their vineyard in!!! After lunch we headed to our second vineyard, but really can't remember the name of this one. It was owned by one man, which was passed down from his parents. Here, we got to see the bottling process and the fancy-shmancy machine they use to bottle and cork the wine.

Seeing as we had tried a good 10 wines by now, we were all feeling a little bit more friendly with each other. Which made the third vineyard visit a lot better because we were all cramped in a little room for around 30-40 minutes. Amy especially loved this place...why is that? It is German owned!! lol The vineyard was called Schubert, and they more of desert wines, which Brenda really liked because she is not a huge wine fan.

Our last stop of the day was at Te Kairanga, which is famous for their Pinot Noir. After spending a long time taking pictures and tasting their wines, it was time to head back to the bus and train station. Overall, it was a successful day with some souvenirs in hand. Can't wait to start traveling again.

Until Next Time

OH and, we found a little gem in the train station in Wellington!! Gotta love Harry Potter references!!