Wine Tasting on Waiheke Island

On our last full day in New Zealand we decided to get out of the city again.  After a morning full of souvenir shopping, we hopped on a ferry bound for Waiheke Island, the second largest island in the Hauraki Gulf.  

Even though it was overcast, we still got some great views of Auckland from the water, and got to see some of the smaller islands in the Gulf.

In just over half an hour we docked at Waiheke Island.  We had booked the Wine on Waiheke tour, and got right on the tour bus to set off for the first winery.  The island has its own little micro climate, which combined with its volcanic soil apparently makes it an ideal grape growing area.  There are 22 wineries on the island, and we visited three on our tour.

First stop was Mudbrick Vineyard.  The first thing you notice when you arrive at Mudbrick are not the grape vines or even the beautiful tasting room and restaurant, but rather the lavender plants that are absolutely everywhere.  The smell is unbelievable!  We were all given a glass of sparkling wine while a representative of the winery told us about the vineyard and the wine making process.  

 

 

 

We got to taste two other wines at Mudbrick while we were told about the grapes as well as given a little tour.  Before we got back on the bus I actually picked up a little bottle of lavender essential oil made from their lavender.  

 

 

The second stop on our tour was the oldest vineyard on Waiheke, Goldie Vineyard.  While we tasted their award winning Syrah and nibbled on some snacks, the owner's wife (a Texan!) told us about the vineyard.  Goldie was the most homey feeling of the three vineyards we visited, and the owners spoke with such pride and passion...it was really nice!

 

 

 

After taking in some absolutely spectacular views, Bryn and I picked up a bottle of the Syrah to take home...we're thinking of saving it for Thanksgiving.

 

Finally we came to our third and final vineyard of the day, Te Whau Vineyard.  It is set up on a cliffside, which apparently allows them to make their wine by using gravity or something.  It's also completely organic.  The owner and winemaker was very proud of this, but it all sort of went over my head!

 

 

He spoke to us at length about what makes a good wine, and finally got around to pouring us a glass and giving us a little lesson in wine tasting.

Step 1: Hold the glass at the base, and tilt it slightly to look at it.

Step 2: Swirl to release the aroma.

Step 3: Sniff ("we're sniffing wine people, not snorting cocaine" - I believe those were his exact words!)

Step 4: Taste.  Take a big mouthful and hold it in your mouth for 5 seconds, swishing it a bit.  Then swallow and suck in air through your teeth.  

There you go, now you too can look like an wine expert!

The tasting room and restaurant at Te Whau had some pretty amazing views, and I think it's meant to be a pretty swanky dinner spot.

We picked up a bottle of the Te Whau wine to take home as well (their table wine, which was really, really nice...that's coming from someone who doesn't really know anything about wine!!)  Perhaps we'll save this one for Christmas?

Even though the Wine on Waiheke tour ticket included a day long bus pass, we went ahead and took the ferry back to Auckland.  The sun had come out by then and it was a beautiful, but VERY windy ride home.

 

 

We definitely could have spent more time on Waiheke Island and plan on spending a night or two there on our next trip to New Zealand.

Sleepy, wind-blown and well wined, we decided on a quiet "dinner" in our hotel room while we watched The Block NZ.  It was the perfect way to round off an amazing day.

Well, there you have it - our short, but very sweet trip to the Land of the Long White Cloud.  I'm so happy we got to spend our little trip with Jannie, who we hadn't seen since our wedding back in 2010!  I cannot wait to get back to New Zealand, sooner rather than later I hope.  And I promise you, we will be there longer than 8 days next time!

Originally posted on www.channelingaudrey.com

Visiting Hobbiton

I am so excited to share today's photos with you!  You see we went to The Shire, and I think it was by far, my favorite part of this trip to New Zealand!

The Hobbiton Movie Set is in Matamata, a rural town in the region of Waikato.  It's an easy day trip from Auckland and since we already had the rental car, I decided we were going (no one objected, thank goodness)!

We set off in the morning and before we knew it we were on the outskirts of Auckland heading south on good ol' highway 1 (it really is like, the only road in New Zealand!).  We had programmed the address for the Shire's Rest into our GPS and selected the "easiest route".  We were a bit surprised when it took us off the highway and led us down country roads that just kept getting tinier and tinier (and more and more rural).  I was in heaven though!  There were no other cars at all, and these little windy roads took us through the most beautiful countryside you can imagine. The gorgeous weather certainly didn't hurt either!  We did find a place to pull over and get some photos.  The air was so fresh, and you could hear cows mooing in the background - I WANT TO LIVE THERE!

Before too long, we pulled into the Shire's Rest where the Hobbiton tours start (in order to get onto the set, you have to go on a tour).  We collected the tickets I had booked for us online, and decided to have a bite to eat at the café while we waited on our tour time.

When our time rolled along, we lined up to wait for our bus.

A short bus ride later and we were there!  We had a fantastic tour guide who was friendly, funny and really knew her stuff.

As we walked through the Shire, she explained that there were 39 hobbit holes constructed for the movies.  There are two different sizes of holes: small ones which were used for scenes with Gandalf, for instance, to provide the illusion that he is a good deal bigger than the hobbits; and bigger ones which made the hobbits look of a normal size (did you know that you had to be under 5'2" to be a hobbit in the movies??)  I believe she said that there are only two hobbit holes that were built so that you could go inside.  The rest only have enough room behind the door for a hobbit to enter, and then close the door behind them.  Of course all of the interior scenes of Hobbiton were shot at the studios in Wellington.

She also pointed out places we might recognize from certain memorable scenes, and encouraged people to reenact them.  No one from our tour group was brave (or crazy) enough to do it!

^^Looking up towards Bag End, aka Bilbo's house.  The tree is fake, but was a must since Bilbo's house was build under an oak tree.^^

^^Bilbo's house is definitely the most well-known of the hobbit holes!^^

The attention to detail was amazing!  There was smoke coming from chimneys, lights inside and loads of props arranged all over.  Our tour guide told us that during the filming, people would change the laundry hanging on the lines daily and walk around the area just so that there were freshly made paths.

I just couldn't get over how incredibly beautiful the countryside was.  Everything just seemed so perfect, and not just the man-made set!  Not to mention that we were completely surrounded by the most intense shade of green I have ever seen.  It was really easy to see why they chose this area to be the Shire.

^^The big tree in the background is the Party Tree and was one of the main reasons for choosing this spot as the Shire.^^

The tour continued on across the arched stone bridge to the Green Dragon Inn, where everyone was treated to a drink - beer (two different varieties), hard cider or ginger beer.  I had to opt for ginger beer since I was driving, but we picked up a bottle of lager and cider to have later that evening.

Even if you're not a big Lord of the Rings fan I can't recommend the Hobbiton Movie Set Tour enough.  Overall the tour lasted about two hours.  It was plenty of time to see the entire set, get lots of good photos and enjoy your beer at a leisurely pace.  I recommend booking your tour ahead of time on their website.  If you don't want to drive to the set yourself you can also arrange for tours leaving from Auckland, Rotorua or central Matamata.  

Of course, as soon as we got home Bryn and I put on Lord of the Rings to rewatch the Hobbiton scenes!  

(I took so many photos at Hobbiton and it was really hard to choose which ones to post here today!!  I hope you enjoyed them!)

Originally posted at www.channelingaudrey.com.