Greetings from wine country! En route to the Queenstown/Wanaka area, we decided to spend the day sampling the world-famous pinot noirs from New Zealand’s Central Otago Valley, the world’s most southern wine region, with an emphasis on smaller, boutique and family-owned wineries. Many of the sprawling vineyards of Gibbston Valley & Bannockburn were perched atop steep hillsides overlooking the craggy Kawarau Gorge, carved by a mighty turquoise river of the same name. We found a few tasty pinots, our favorites being a 2010 vintage from Peregrine and a 2011 from Rippon.
Chard Farms (Gibbston Valley):
Peregrine (Gibbston Valley):
Brennan Wines (Bannockburn):
Mt. Difficulty (Bannockburn):
Carrick (Bannockburn):
Rippon (Wanaka):
The views are stunning. I’ve noticed a distinct lack of fences in your pictures. Do New Zealanders not fence things in as much as we do? Or are their fences less visible? And…did all that wine make it harder or easier to stay left?
Mt Difficulty Wines… that could be my new signature beverage 😉 Be safe ~ cheers!