they say that the wines coming out of central otago are world-class
an opportunity arose up to do a saturday afternoon wine trail
to 4 of the leading wine-makers in the queenstown area
it's one of countless tourist traps in the area
the attraction of a bus trip complete with guide
and as many samples as you could cope with
meant it took all of about 2 seconds to make the decision to do the trip
the tour guide named wayne was a laugh a minute
full of stories, information, experiences of his home area
the first winery visited was gibbston valley wines
they laid on a full tour of their facilities
and a talk through the recent establishment of the winery
which has only been in existence for 20 years
and in that time has won awards at world-class competitions
pinot noir and pinot gris are the ones they excel at
their point of difference is the wine tunnel
built into the steep hill at the back of the winery
literally blown out of the landside
it goes back about 70 metres
and at the rear has 200 metres of hillside above it
there's a constant year-round temperature and humidity factor
that is ideal for the storage of wine in the most natural conditions
they believe this is a large part of their success
following on from the dry summer conditions outside
an unforgettable experience was had sampling their wines
at the very back of the wine tunnel
then a sit-down lunch of the finest food
before an opportunity to inspect their large shop
and onward to another 3 completely different wineries
similarly and generously offering samples of their produce
the wine tour included a stopover in a suitably happy state
to watch people also happily throwing themselves off a bridge
with a large rubber-band attached to their feet
a quite memorable afternoon
pinot gris
yum
