Exploring the Marlborough Wine Trail

Blenheim New Zealand is known for the Marlborough wineries.  There are hundreds of vineyards scattered across the valley beneath beautiful mountains.  Aaron and I ventured to 5 wineries today to sample more New Zealand wines.  We had the most delightful adventure.

Seresin Estate

Seresin Estate is known for its wine and olive oils.  My favorite was their pinot noir.  Aaron enjoyed the late harvest riesling.  As for the olive oils, they made the traditional extra virgin olive oil, but they also made a lemon, lime, and orange flavored olive oil too.  The land surrounding Seresin was covered with vineyards, as well as olive trees.  It was absolutely stunning!

Framingham Estate

Framingham Estate was our next stop.  This winery was very generous with their tasting.  We must have tried 8 or 9 different wines.  I mean who is counting.  My absolute favorite again was a reserve pinot noir.  They unfortunately do not sell it in the states.  It was the most amazing oak, pepper tasting wine yet.  Love it!  The woman who was serving us recommended we visit the Wairau River Winery next for lunch.



Bladen

Bladen is a boutique family winery in the Marlborough region.  The owners who lived in Wellington, New Zealand decided to leave their jobs behind and pursue their passion of making wine.  They hand planted all of their vineyards and have loved every minute of the fruit of their labor.  We had a wonderful chat with the wife.  She shared how they named the winery after their two children (merged their names).  Their last name was McDonalds, so they wanted to steer away from that.  They had very pleasant wines.

Nautilus Estate

Did you know that Nautilus wine can be purchased at your local Sam's Club and/or Costco?  This is great information for everyone, and definitely a wine that you should try.  Aaron and I visited this winery after lunch.  It is literally across the street from the Wairu River Winery. We were the only visitors at the time, so we had a great chat and very generous portions of wine.  Again the Savignon Blanc had the most aromatic flavor.  It is no wonder that this part of New Zealand is known for this grape. 





Wairu River Winery

This was our 5th and final winery stop for the day.  We actually ate lunch at this winery prior to wine tasting number four, but had a bit of a wait for the wine tasting.  The lunch was so wonderful.  I had an awesome smoked salmon salad, and Aaron had a lamb burger.  We had very gorgeous views of the mountains and the valley from this winery.  At this point in our winery adventures, I think our taste buds were a bit lacking.  We had enjoyed so much great wine that we decided to call it quits after this one.  I definitely got my New Zealand wine fix after today.  We had such a great time seeing the country side and tasting fabulous wines.

Later that afternoon we found an Irish Pub in Blenheim that was actually playing the Super Bowl.  Aaron was happy to catch the second half of the game.  We caught the half time show and the entire second half.  The only unfortunate thing about watching football in New Zealand is that they do not air the commercials.  I am so excited to catch up on our commercials when we get back. 

Our journey in New Zealand has been so wonderful.  I am definitely glad we are spending the majority of our trip in the South Island.  I think everyone should come to this amazing country.  It is so spectacular.