Picton and Blenheim (and a brief mention of Halloween!)

 02/11/23    

Did you know that Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gris were grape varieties and not just wine???

Hey everyone! 

Here is the long awaited review of my wine-tasting tour up to Picton and Blenheim. Long story short, the Marlborough region has a bunch of beautiful vineyards, we saw more Kaikoura seals and I learned a little bit about wineries. In synopsis, I don't really like Sauvignon Blanc and my travel curse DOES in fact transfer to trains (but not buses).  

Here is the long story long! 

Moyu and I left Christchurch around 9 am to head to Picton. The drive was about four and a half hours up through the coastal SH1. Traveling through Amberley, Kaikoura and Waipapa we saw seals scattered around the rocks and snow on the mountain tops. I have had the privilege to drive through Kaikoura quite a few times now, but the view has yet to grow old. Moyu and I stopped in Kaikoura for a quick break and got some beautiful photos of the seal colony and the ocean views. 

Once we made it to Picton, the weather was spooky and foggy. We decided that we would stop for a quick lunch break of apricot muffins and head to the museum of THE NINTH OLDEST SHIP IN THE WORLD: THE EDWIN FOX!

Now, I don't know if anyone has heard of the Edwin Fox here ( I certainly hadn't) but it was famous for both the transport of Australian convicts and European settlers to New Zealand. This is one of the world's largest standing wooden traveler ships. Most other wooden ships either were wrecked beyond repair or were not maintained. The Edwin Fox has a rich history and is known as the only survivor of these harsh sea conditions. It also is famous for being a notoriously bad experience for almost all travelers on this ship. Lots of scurvy, TB and dead children. RIP. 

After our tour of the Edwin Fox we made it to The Villa which is the cutest hostel I have ever stayed in. We toured the cute little shops of Picton, played some checkers and rested up
for our wine tour the next day! 

Wednesday morning, we boarded the Hop on Hop Off! bus and began our adventure to the wineries of Blenheim and Picton! We first started off touring the city center of Blenheim and admiring their little gardens. Next, we moved over to the Fancy Cow where I got my first flight of white wines and a delicious eggplant parmesan. We waited on the bean bags outside and had a blast taking photos by the grapes and basking in the sun!

After the Fancy Cow, we made our way to the Saint Clair Family Estate where we both got a hosted wine tasting and learned the differences between the different grapes. I tried a Pinot Noir, a Rose and a Riesling. I now know all these wines are actually named after the grape variety! Our host was fantastic and even let us try a dessert wine which tasted like honey and sugar. Here's me pretending to look rich with my wine glass. 

Our next stop was Framingham winery! This was by far my favorite area as it had a beautiful courtyard and we were given a sheet of paper to keep track of our tasting notes! At this point I was in my sommelier era, so I took detailed notes of the "hints" and "tastes" of each sample. Moyu also taught me how to write refreshing taste in Japanese. 

Twelve wine tasting glasses later, we made our way to the second to last stop at Vines Village! Moyu and I split the last sampling and chatted with some of the other folks on the tour. After a day of tasting, the both of us decided that we didn't really like Sauvignon Blanc or any of the fancy Marlborough region wines but that the experience was worth it! The bus stopped at the chocolate shop on the way out and the macadamia toffee was the best treat after a day of tasting! 

I was quite exhausted after our long, hard day of wine tasting (LOL) so I read my book and had a leisurely evening. Moyu and I said our goodbyes and I went to sleep by 9pm. 

The next day, I was awoken by a noisy person in the hostel at 6:30am, I couldn't go back to sleep, so I got on my phone only to find that my train had issued a "cancel likely" warning. They were suggesting to make other travel plans for a full refund. I wasn't planning to catch the first bus out of Picton at 7am, but I got ready in 20 minutes and bussed back to Christchurch. With my luck, the train would've been canceled and I kind of wanted to get back into town early anyway. I had a nice leisurely bus ride back and got to say farewell to the Marlborough region! 

The days after Picton, I laid in bed and did nothing productive. I was feeling a bit homesick and was bummed I wouldn't be with friends for Halloween (one of my favorite holidays). Nonetheless, I put on a couple of fun shows and then reached out to a girls group to join their Halloween pub quiz! We had a good time dressed as the Rocky Horror bunch. I would also like to take the time to publish these phenomenal costumes executed by some of the awesome people in my life. 

Rocky Horror Group!

Kailie as Mr. O'hare

Luke as the Lorax

Jasmyn as Dapper Gentleman

Harley as Strawberry Shortcake

 

Jay as Nacho Libre

Nathan as Hippie

Thank you for tuning in!