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
