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- Dec 15, 2024, 11:05 AM
- ☁️ 25 °C
- Altitude: 44 m
New ZealandMarlboroughMarlborough DistrictKaitunaOpawa River41°29’12” S 173°49’7” E
Marlborough wine tour

Today we got pissed while having a guided tour through several of Marlboroughs finest Vineyards. We were on a bus with our guide Vic a couple from Canada and an annoying lady from SE London who was cycling the length of NZ.
We started the day at 10 in the morning with the first glass of wine in the gardens at Nautilus estate, where we tasted some Pino Gris, Chardonnay, pino noir and new one to us called Albariño all of which were delicious but nothing jumped out at us as anything that we wanted to buy.
We then moved on to Lawsons estate where we learned a bit more about the Marlborough wine region, and its different soils and weather which effects the tastes of the wine. We had a delicious Pink Pinot rose which we bought a bottle of.
We then moved on to our lunch stop, and on the way we picked up another couple from Manchester. We went on to Saint Claire estate which was one of the first vineyards in Marlborough. We had a really tasty lunch Derry had the fish of the Day and Freya had a Lamb dish and more wines throughout the Lunch.
The next vineyard was Freya’s and my Favourite. Gibson Bridge vineyard was run by a husband and wife duo who grow all their own grapes for their own wine. A small vineyard in comparison to the the others that we have been to. Both in their 70’s the husband tends to the vines and the grounds mostly by himself while his wife runs the cellerdoor and tasting rooms. The way they talked about how they set up and looked after the property showed in their wines- they were all delicious! They had even won loads of awards for the qualities of their wines. We ended up buying 2 bottles from them- a Pino Gris from 2024 and a bottle of their Gewürztraminer 2018 desert wine which after first sip we both turned to each other and said that we were getting a bottle.
Our next stop was No1- method traditional- a winemaker from champagne who moved over and set up shop here making a sparkling wine in the traditional French champagne way. We weren’t too fussed with the sparkling wine we tasted there.
Our last wine stop of the day was Whitehaven a large family run vineyard and winemaker. Here we had lots of delicious wines and came away with a bottle of the Sauvignon Blanc.
On the way back to the campsite the guide stopped at Makana boutique chocolate factory here we got to sample some really tasty chocolate and came away with a box of toffee macadamia brittle something or other.
Yes that was a lot of vineyards and a lot of wine was consumed. It’s a good thing that we weren’t driving anywhere tonight.Read more
Forget the wine. The macadamia sounds good though. X [Grandma]
Traveler Ahaa knew you would like the sound of that
Traveler It all looks amazing! 🧡