We headed back to the vineyards around Blenheim today (Thurs 16th) for some tastings at their Cellar Doors, as they call their tasting areas. It was cloudy, hot and very humid; the cloud were clinging to the slopes of the mountains in the distance. First stop was at Villa Maria where the tasting was free, and the sales lady was very friendly. James purchased a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc. Next stop was Nautilus were for a small charge (10 NZ dollars) James was able to taste four wines. His favourite was the Albariño, so he purchased a bottle of that too. Hunter’s Wine’s were next, again for a small charge, and again very friendly and informative. Their sparkling wines are called Miru Miru, the Maori names for bubbles. Needless to say, James bought another bottle of wine. We had a platter of cheese and charcuterie at Hunter’s; many of the vineyards have small restaurants attached. It really was a very peaceful and pleasant day.
In the evening James booked Gramado’s Brazilian restaurant, apparently Blenheim’s top restaurant. It was indeed excellent, with unusual and delicious dishes, many of which were liberally infused with chilli. In fact one of the staff even brought us a plate with all the different types of chilli to try, laid out in order of sweet and a wee bit spicy, through very spicy, to lethally spicy. With my cough issues I didn’t dare try any but the mildest, however James is made of sterner stuff and tried even the strongest. He managed to stay mostly inscrutable until the last one, which made him swiftly reach for his wine glass to quench the burn! The restaurant was very busy but the service was still excellent, and we had a lovely evening.
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