Not a good picture due to reflection on the glass....but here is Texas who comes calling for each guest, waits for them at their door, and then escorts them to the breakfast room .....leaves the guests there and proceeds to the kitchen to fetch his treat (there are only 2 rooms for him to fetch....still pretty remarkable). By the way, Texas is call Texas because when Bill and Nettie adopted him, their only daughter moved to Texas with her husband and two children....AND because the state and the dog are both huge!
This couple, Dale and Lisa, are on their honeymoon. They were married in NZ and are on a 3 week tour of both islands.....and they are moving from Chicago and Charlotte to their mutual favorite place: Mt. Pleasant, SC!!!
This is "bike day" to tour surrounding wineries. There are about 30 wineries in the Marlborough region, the largest in NZ. Needless to say, we are going to those closest....and no hills!
We start on an asphalt road....for a few hundred meters.
That's it....most of the way we are on a "shingles" (gravel) road....vines, vines, vines.
A gas gun.
I did not know what "bird scare" is; Tom did, back in the rice fields of Arkansas during the 60's. Some of the vineyards choose not to cover their plants; rather they "shoot" guns to scare the birds away. The latter being a less expensive, less time consuming, but less effective method. They are propane fired noise machines with a timer or motion control.
An even cheaper, even less effective is this flying hawk kite...which looks very authentic, but which only flies in one small space. He is tethered to a narrow pole and just flies all day and night (it is very windy here). Further down the bird-scare chain are strips of tin foil tied to various stakes which shimmer in the wind....presumably scaring birds away??
More shingles track, some of it on a "stop bank" (levy). The stop bank keeps the river out of the vineyards in the wet season.
Hmmmm.....which way? Nettie didn't tell us about any forks in the shingles....Tom opts for the "road less traveled"....and I am quite certain of that....a god forsaken route which supposedly followed the river and would be more scenic....we rode for about 4 miles, seldom saw the river, dodging rocks, not shingles....remember those weight loss machines of the 70's where you wear a belt and it supposedly shakes all the fat off?........that's what this felt like....shimmy, bumpy, shaky, dusty.
The name "Nautilus" was selected because the nautilus shell when sliced lengthwise reveals a mathematically perfect spiral. Their wines are also perfectly balanced.
The entrance to the cellar door.
A helpful fantail comes into the winery to free them of stray bugs.
A very bike friendly area.
Good wine, but not great wine....off to lunch....on a paved road! with wide shoulders!
This is a 5 star restaurant, widely acclaimed and very popular. We go to 5 stars when possible...for lunch....never for dinner, way too expensive. NZ is expensive to begin with....would imagine that dinner here would be approx $150-200 PER PERSON!! So we go for lunches.....
This is their tasting room....$10 PER PERSON to taste EVEN THOUGH we are staying for lunch. Astounded. She explained that they are a very "small" winery.....well, I think to myself, perhaps that is WHY!
The wine on the left is a new creation of Herzog winery. It is a kinda, sorta Rose Pinot Gris....it doesn't look good and it was not good.....keep trying, Hans!
Doesn't even LOOK good! Looks like it is covered in soap suds!
I'm ashamed to tell you what we paid for this plate of salad with a few pieces of salmon! So I won't! Herzog's is highly OVERRATED. We have had much finer meals in roadside cafes......We will only pay so much for ambience.....Au revoir, Hans!
For the beer club members, more NZ humor....read the fine print....from a brewery in NZ.....beer takes a distinct second to all the wine.
Perhaps some of you know "Cloudy Bay".....we know the label, but not the wine. It is another 4-5 miles out of town to get here, parts of which are on a well-traveled road. (Can't say highway...there really isn't any such thing here)
The tasting room is much more casual, popular and inviting than dear ole Hans's....and the cost is only $4 for 6 different wines....
We sat outside to taste, spending an hour or so, enjoying the good wine and the beautiful day.
As I mentioned before, these flowers grow like weeds everywhere! We estimate our ride to have been 25 miles, round trip.....not too far....but took 7 hours!! Bill, Jane, Nettie and Texas were all in the driveway, waiting...just a tad bit concerned about us.....we stayed in for the evening and nursed our sore, bike worn crotches. We finished the delicious "platter" which Jane had prepared for us on our arrival.....Sorry I did not get a picture of it....we had two dinners from it: smoked salmon, beef, turkey, salami, 3 delicious cheeses, berries and kiwis, bread, butter, crackers, chutney, olives, their own olive oil and various cookies.....
