I took a panoramic photo of the bay outside the back door of our cottage at Bronte Country Estate. It looks like a mud flat but that was because the tide was out. When it is in, the water reaches right up to the deck of the cottage.

After an English breakfast at the “homestead” (the host’s term for the main house), we checked out the Bronte’s gardens. We have not seen a property yet with as many plants, trees, and flowers as they had there.

They also had chickens that produced all of the eggs that the B&B used. Most of the hens came up to the fence when we visited, presumably because they thought that we had brought them treats. The B&B documentation that we received mentioned that Cyril the Rooster was very protective of his hens but I couldn’t find him.

Later, I tracked down Margaret to ask where Cyril the Rooster was. She sadly admitted that he had died recently. However, my spirits were restored when she filled a bowl with scratch and let me feed the hens.

Based upon recommendations from Margaret, we plotted a route to visit the “top-tier” tasting rooms in Nelson and Mapua.

The first stop was to Seifried Estate in Nelson. The place was owned by a transplanted German family so it wasn’t any surprise that they had a few German wines. We ended up putting together a mixed case of Würzer, Zweigelt, and Sauvignon Blanc. The Würzer and Zweigelt were very good but not quite exceptional. However, we went ahead and picked them up because they were actually very good and no other winemaker in the region made anything like them. Although not German like the first two, we like what they did with the Sauv Blanc. Win.

Stop two was to be Te Mania, which was not on Margaret’s recommendation list. We had bought a bottle of Te Mania Three Brothers Pinot Noir at the Blue Ice Café in Franz Josef Glacier a couple of nights prior and were happy to find that we were going to be in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, the tasting room was not open in the winter. Evidently vineyard schedules have only two seasons: winter and summer. Summer season doesn’t start until Labor weekend. Fail.

Stop three was to be Kina Beach Vineyard in Mapua. Although our information stated that it was supposed to have been open, it was definitely not when we arrived. This one was my fault for not calling ahead to make reservations, as the information that we had suggested. Fail.

Stop four was to Mahana Estates in Upper Moutere, just south of Mapua. Marco, a Serbian transplant, was manning the tasting bar. The vineyard had just recently been sold and rebranded under the “Mahana” name, which is a Maori word for “warm place”. The wines were good but only two of them, both under the “Clays & Gravels” label, were exceptional. We put together a mixed case of 2012 Mahana Clays & Gravels Pinot Noir and 2014 Mahana Clays & Gravels Sauvignon Blanc. Win.

Stop five was to Kahurangi in Upper Moutere. Visiting this place was definitely the high point of the day. First, we had planned to stop here around lunchtime because they had a small restaurant that served brick oven pizza. The pizza was spectacular. Second, we found most of the wines that they made exceptional, which is a very rare occurrence. Usually we agree on one, maybe two, rarely more as being exceptional. Third, a friendly cat named Smudge shared our table as we enjoyed pizza. I tried to get photos of her but she was evidently camera shy and disappeared every time I tried.

Unfortunately, Kahurangi was between shipping companies and couldn’t ship anything internationally during the transition so we couldn’t buy anything to ship. They did mention that we could keep in touch with them via email to order after they had sorted out the shipping issue. We did purchase a bottle of 2012 Montepulciano to take with us, which was one of my favorites. Win, despite the problem with the shipping.

Stop Six was to be at Neudorf Vineyards in Upper Moutere. When we arrived, they were closed for a private party. Fail.

With another hour before most places closed, we added Moutere Hills Vineyard, which was nearby, to the list. Although they were open and didn’t charge for the tasting, we weren’t even close to being impressed with anything that they made. Fail.

After relaxing for a couple of hours back at Bronte, we headed back to The Apple Shed for supper. We had pork empanadas, seafood chowder, pork belly something, smoked salmon, roasted lamb, and local wine. Perfect way to end the day and no wine glasses were harmed.

Day 10: Drive to Blenheim in Marlborough Region
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