On the coastal highway between the new, glitzy Elephant Hill Winery and the somewhat cluttered yet revered property of Clearview Estate one will find an incongruous, traditional South Western adobe house. This house is home to the Beach House tasting room.
There’s an old adage that goes: Be nice to everyone because you will meet them again. This proved true last night. We ran into our friend Crystal Collins from the Napa Valley last night at the Craggy Range Winery restaurant called Terrôir. The location for our “small world” encounter could not have been more surprising, Havelock North, New Zealand. After a great meal Crystal took us on a tour of the stunning, state-of-the-art winery. Then we headed to the cellar for a barrel tasting of the 2006 Sophia.
Terrôir at Craggy Range
Giants Winery
253 Waimarama Road
Havelock North
New Zealand
The drive along hwy 2 to Hawke's Bay was fantastic. We were looking forward to seeing the esteemed growing area and dining in the area's restaurants. We came across many farm stands selling mostly avocadoes, strawberries, citrus and kumara.
As visitors who came to New Zealand to learn more about the wine and food of the region we thought it would be great to attend the Gisborne Wine & Food Festival. It fell on New Zealand’s “labour” weekend - the equivalent of Labor Day in the US.
In our minds we pictured tasting through the wines of the 10 or so wineries featured and taking the shuttle bus between the 5 venues without a care in the world. In reality what we experienced surprised us (which is saying a lot because it’s not like either of us are exactly innocent). The people of New Zealand do like their wine. Picture Roman times, vomit troughs, public urination etc... although the scenery was stunning - especially at Amor-Bendall on the beach.
Arriving in Paso Robles I couldn’t help but be disappointed. On the surface El Paso de Robles was brown and barren. However, upon further inspection we found many charming aspects and havens in this up and coming wine region on the central coast of California. Arriving in Paso at the end of summer was perhaps a poor choice in such a hot region. The vines were mostly picked and the hills looked as if they needed a big drink of water. Of course, this aridness is what gives the wines of Paso their character. A few brave growers even dry farm here relying on deep water and nighttime fog to provide moisture for the vines which in turn makes them more hearty.
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