Lovely Waiheke is developing a name for itself as a wine island. The USA Today actually did a large write up about New Zealand wine and Cable Bay Vineyards was the one vineyard from our region mentioned. Wooo hoo! Last time I checked, you could get there by clicking here. (Let me know if the bookmark is not right.)
In keeping with the need to check out the ‘island of wine,’ I plotted a route. Before adventuring around the vineyards, I checked out Onetangi Beach. It’s fantastic. I started out by stopping by Saratoga Estate. I peeped my head around, they were busy harvesting. They weren’t open to the public, but I still enjoyed the view. I’ve sent them an email hoping to work out an appointment to stop in another day. We’ll see.
Second stop was Onetangi Road Vineyard. Onetangi Road was very different but still enjoyable. They have several merlot blends (which is what Waiheke Island grows best!) to sample. They also have a microbrewery on-site so I was able to sample all four of their microbrews. I’m glad I stopped in when I did because Onetangi Road has just been sold and is closing to the public. While I was there, the lady was not sure if they would continue to harvest the grapes and have a label or not.
Up third was Te Motu. Te Motu makes a very few Cabernet Merlot blends. Their “tasting” was simply trying ½ glasses. They were by far, the most expensive place I’ve visited. Their bottles of wine start at 45 dollars and go above 300. They have a nice little shed which has a laidback feel, but there was no one else around and so I felt a little lonesome. Oh well.
Moving right along, I finished my Friday evening with Stony Ridge Vineyards. Stony Ridge has a very laid-back and casual atmosphere. (Cable Bay and some of the other vineyards are more up-scale and straight-laced.) I’ve met Shauna twice, who’s an Californian girl doing the events at Stony Ridge. They had been closed all day for a private event and I was just hanging out with the laid back staff. I got to meet Steven, the owner, and he’s the fun type of guy that never really grew up. Apparently, he has a bit of a reputation …
Saturday being a new day, I took a totally different route. I stopped into Kennedy Point Vineyards, which has a lovely view over Kennedy Point. (I know you’d have never guessed.) Kennedy Point has a very lovely little building that juts out so you can see the point. They also make some olive oils at Kennedy Point which you’re able to snack on between the wines. It was very enjoyable!
Next stop, Goldwater Estate. Goldwater & Stony Ridge are the two oldest vineyards on Waiheke – dating back to the late 70s. (Waiheke is a young wine region.) Goldwater had a very robust groupings of wines and I enjoyed the tasting very much. It was also a free tasting (vs. about $8 on average at the others), which was spectacular. The lady working in the tasting room was also American and extremely friendly.
And the final vineyard for the lovely weekend was Peninsula Estate. They are the 3rd oldest vineyard. They had a very lovely Rose that I enjoyed and the lady in the tasting room was extremely friendly. Another import – she’s from England – she was giving me lots of info about the area and what was going on. Overall, an extremely successful and fun weekend. I can’t wait to go out and try some more …
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