Wine

Two days ago we started off for some shopping, oh boy. We ended up at the factory outlet mall. Forget it, it is not worth the effort as prices are too high. Part of the problem is that NZ has 12.5% GST and it is built into the price. Australia has 10%. After doing the mall we headed to an ancient Maori settlement sight. The area goes back 800 years and it is called Stone Field. However on the way there I noticed a sign for Villa Maria Winery. Since this is one of the wines we drink back in Canada I made a detour. It has attractive grounds and a nice but small restaurant. I asked about wine tasting and they told us we had to buy it by the glass. This ticked me off right away but I decided stay. It was our lucky day. They have tasting where they pour 3 white and 3 reds. You order from the menu as to the quality of wine you wish to try. The ordinary was $10 and the reserve was $15. We ordered one of the $15 tastings. Andrew, one of the staff, brought out 3 whites and three glasses. Beth said it was not worth it for her. Andrew then proceeded to give us a history lesson on NZ wine and Villa Maria. He also talked about the wine and the region where they were produced. After three very good whites he brought out 3 bottles of red. A Pinot, Shiraz, and a blend of Cab and Merlot. The reds retailed at $50 or so. They were excellent. My brother in law would say that the pinot was not pinot but it was a new world product and more to my liking then the old world. Anyway we had a very pleasant time with Andrew and an hour and a half passed quickly. Andrew indicated that we were lucky as there were only two other people there. He said that he did not normally spend this amount of time with the clients as it was not worth his while as they usually only spend $6 on a glass of the lowest priced wine. After we had finished he brought out two glass, with a good pour, for both of us of their premium dessert wine. he indicated that it was good to have people who were interested, asked tough questions and knew wine so he was pleased to treat us. We finished up and purchase 4 bottles of wine for home. I recommend this for anyone that has a few hours to spare while they wait for their plane as the airport is only 10 minutes away.

We headed off to Stone Field and found it 10 minutes down the track. It is located in a very lovely area. There are all kinds of stone fences made from lava rocks from past volcanoes. We had a quick walk around and then went into the avocados orchard where you are permitted to pick 5 Avos each. However this was not the season as they were still small and very green.