Author: richwest3

December 2012 – March, 2013

As you head towards Kerikeri, it is easy to spot the sign for the Cottle Hill winery. You turn up the small, pine-tree lined road leading to the “cellar door,” a small homey structure that overlooks the vineyards around it.

It can be intimidating at first turning off onto a small road leading to a winery. Will there be parking? Will it be easy to find the tasting room? Will you be accosted by attack-trained Jack Russell terriers when you exit your vehicle? Will you have to pull someone away from stomping grapes to give you a tasting and then be obligated to buy? Will they be annoyed to have to come out and deal with pesky customers?

We soon found that visiting wineries and tasting is a very easy and pleasurable experience.  The parking is well-marked and right in front of the cellar door (tasting room). The hours are clearly stated (but you can check with Google to know the hours ahead of time), and on days they are open it’s usually all day. You may encounter a dog or two, but they are welcoming and will gladly accept a pat or belly scratch.  The tasting rooms are beautiful, and there’s always a friendly person or two behind the counter to do the pouring and tell you about the wine.

Generally there’s a nominal fee if you just want to taste (NZ $5 is about average) and you will taste at least 5 wines, but if you buy a bottle the tasting is free. Thus for us, the tastings were free because there was always at least one wine that was special enough to buy.

Here in the Northland climate (New Zealand north of Auckland), you will generally find chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, pinot gris (aka pinot grigio), cab/merlot blends, syrah, chambourcin and pinotage (we weren’t familiar with those last two either, but they’re pretty good). The famous New Zealand pinot noirs are generally grown in the colder, more southerly areas as are the better sauvignon blancs.  (In our opinion, the very best wines in Northland are the chardonnays—I still can’t figure out what their magic secret is.)

And so back to the Cottle Hill Winery.  The tasting room was lovely and run by a former cruiser who arrived in New Zealand and never left (there are actually quite a few cruisers who do this).  The wines were all good, but our favorites were the ports and grappas, specifically the white port and the white grappa (an Italian brandy-like alcohol). We also loved their Pheasant’s Walk, a red blend that’s light and perfect for summer. Sadly, they were out of their famous Dolcetto by the time we went, but maybe we’ll get back to try it next year. We made a few visits to Cottle Hill and always enjoyed them. -Cyndi

December 2012 – May, 2013

When I came to New Zealand 26 years ago, it was all about sheep and tea kiosks.  Now, it’s all about coffee and cafes and good food and wine, lots and lots of wine.  Aside from the famous big vineyards in the South Island and the lower part of the north island, there’s an abundance of small vineyards and wineries throughout both islands. New Zealand doesn’t just have a wine country area: it is wine country, all of it!

My first surprise in coming here was in seeing just how many small wineries there are.  Every region has a “wine trail,” a list of wineries you can visit while you are there, aka “cellar doors,” that are open for tastings and sometimes a talk with the owner. These cellar doors range from small out-buildings behind a main house to large operations that feature a fine restaurant.  In the north part of New Zealand where we were originally, there are 10 cellar doors.

Rich and I managed to visit most of the far-north wineries during our stay in Opua, plus several on our later visit to Waiheke Island, and it was during this time I got my biggest surprise.  Over the years, New Zealand has become famous for its sauvignon blancs, which are second to none in the world, and its pinot noir, and these were the wines I looked forward to drinking.  The surprise has been the chardonnay!  At first I thought it was a fluke, an anomaly, that a few seemed to be really, really good.  After all, I’m from California, and we do chardonnay.  (OK, not me specifically but I’m loyal to my home state.)  France, of course, also does fine chardonnay.  And OK, Australia.  We are the Big Guns here; this is our wine.

I tried, but after a time I couldn’t deny it any longer: New Zealand’s chardonnays are better than California’s.  My next question: why is this a secret?  Why are they hiding this? They must be up to something!  Maybe they are afraid of pissing California off (You can trump our sauvignon blancs, but don’t mess with the chardonnay!).  Or maybe they just want to keep it all for themselves.  I don’t know the answer, but we will continue to investigate this by visiting as many wineries and drinking as much chardonnay as we can.  We will work undercover and report back our findings. -Cyndi

December 19, 2012

On our first visit to Russell, we went to lunch at the the Duke of Marlborough Hotel with our friends Brad and Gloria from Kindred Spirit.  It’s a historic hotel, dating back to 1827, and it has a beautiful location on the waterfront.  The view was lovely and the food was excellent.

I will note that we were here about a week before Christmas.  It was a classically beautiful summer day: people were sunbathing on the beach, strolling down tree-shaded lanes, and enjoying alfresco meals with their friends while kids played in the water, gleefully jumping off the pier.  Boats where everywhere, just like Catalina at the height of summer.  The only thing that seemed out of place here were all the Christmas decorations, and poor Santa must get awfully hot working here in his winter suit!

Being from Los Angeles, it wasn’t too hard for us to adjust to a summer Christmas, and I have to say it’s a nice thing for families to have Christmas at the height of summer when everyone’s on vacation and out having a fun.  It’s all very festive, just in a summery way. -Cyndi

December 2012 – March 2013

There are two ferries that go to Russell: the car ferry that leaves from Opua, and the passenger ferry that leaves from Paihia.  The car ferry takes you to a spot about 5 minutes from Russell, but then it’s a nice drive to the town.  The passenger ferry from Paihia drops you right off at the wharf in Russell.

Rich and I preferred the car ferry, and not just because it’s right next to the Opua marina, but because there is just something so fun about sitting in your car as it glides across the water—it’s like being on a ride!  We never got tired of it. –Cyndi

December 2012 – March 2013

Technically, the town of Russell is on a peninsula, but because of its isolation and the fact that you need to take a ferry to get there, it feels like an island.  There are a couple of ways to actually drive to Russell, but because one is a 3-hour loop from Opua and the other has miles of unpaved road, it’s not something you do simply to get to Russell.  The ferries–car and passenger–take only five minutes and they run back and forth constantly during the day.

Russell is to the Bay of Islands what Avalon (Catalina) is to Southern California.  In fact, it even looks like it!  It’s a tourist town, a summer getaway destination, but there are also a good number of people who live there.  It’s a little more quaint than Avalon, less energetic and more low-key, but it’s pretty in the same ways Avalon is.  We very much enjoyed our visits there. -Cyndi  (Click to enlarge and scroll through photos.)