On one of the first few days we were in New Zealand, we ventured out to a few of the local vineyards to do some wine tasting. Hawke's Bay (the region where Napier is located) is known world-wide for their wines. It is the Napa Valley of New Zealand and we were all excited to see what the land had to offer!
Our first stop came with a disclaimer from Joe (who was our tour guide/family who we stayed with): "Make sure Melissa takes her camera." Unfortunately we were already in the car and I only had one lens with me, but he was right...the view was incredible, and a fabulous way to start out our little wine tour.
I don't claim to be an connoisseur of wine by any means, but I do enjoy it and tasting the different flavors/blends/types. I especially enjoy wine tastings to really understand how a particular climate, soil type or aging location (barrel vs. stainless) can really effect the taste of the wine. We all enjoyed sampling a few types and we all picked out two of our favorites to take home with us! I really liked this vineyard's branding (marketing nerd), so I made sure to take home a bottle and a birch wine bottle case with me :) I also really loved this winery....the architecture, location, etc. Everything about it was quite breathtaking. Bobby and I agreed that I we were to have a different house, it would be designed just like this winery. I didn't take too many pictures inside for fear of being labeled as an obnoxious tourist, but we did take a tour and I was able to snap a few shots of my favorite elements.
The vineyard/wine label was called Craggy Range (not available in the US yet), and it was at the base of Te Mata Peak, which we hiked later in our trip. It was designed by John Blair, one of New Zealand's top architects (we visited some of his other buildings in NZ too. Amazing talent). Quite a breathtaking view! We took home one of their Syrah Wines. Our second favorite was their Riesling.
The tasting room. LOVE the concrete walls mixed with the natural wood. "Rustic Industrial Modern" I believe is what they call this look.
The cellars.
After our tour and tasting, a cloud had started to cover Te Mata Peak. My pictures do not do this view justice. This view was absolutely majestic.
Poor baby was worn out from the day. Tita Donna's (Bobby's step-grandmother, who has the house in NZ) house was filled with so much charm! The windows in our bedroom had iron frames that opened out. It was so nice to have them open all the time! The light in there was incredible, too. I could have stayed there all day long, sipping a flat white and editing.
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