We will spend a few days in the northern part of NZ's south island at the
beginning of May.

From the dozens of wineries on the official NZ wine websites, are there any
you would recommend particularly for a visit? Any interesting wine trails in
the area?

Advise on hotels close to estates would also be appreciated.

Thanks a lot

Yves

Salut/Hi Yves,

le/on Sat, 4 Mar 2006 09:28:16 +0100, tu disais/you said:-

>We will spend a few days in the northern part of NZ's south island at the
>beginning of May.
>
>From the dozens of wineries on the official NZ wine websites, are there any
>you would recommend particularly for a visit? Any interesting wine trails in
>the area?

Oh wow!! This is one for Andrew.

I'll rush in with two on opposite sides of the road. Cloudy Bay and Allan
Scott winery in Marlborough.
>
>Advise on hotels close to estates would also be appreciated.

Don't recommend Hotels use Motels, it's far cheaper and VERY comfortable. We
got a motel for 4/5 for about $70NZ a night iirc. There are dozens all over
the place.

Mark? Lord St Helier? Let's hear it.

--
All the Best
Ian Hoare
http://www.souvigne.com
mailbox full to avoid spam. try me at website

"Ian Hoare" wrote ............

>> From the dozens of wineries on the official NZ wine websites,
>> are there any you would recommend particularly for a visit?
>> Any interesting wine trails in the area?
>
> Oh wow!! This is one for Andrew.

Always glad to oblige !

Firstly, I must confess to being curious as to where you are visiting before
you get to the northern part of the South Island, like your arrival point
into NZ - as you must arrive into a major NZ port of entry, it does make a
difference as to how you intend travelling to Marlborough.

Perhaps a little lesson in geography may assist.

Marlborough is centred around the town of Blenheim; which, although it has a
small airport, is relatively isolated.
It involves either a quite splendid ferry trip from Wellington, or an
equally spectacular coastal drive up from Christchurch.

As Ian suggests, Blenheim has a whole gambit of accommodation.

Take a look at:

http://www.kiwiaccommodation.com/town/blenheim/

Nelson City is an hour or so to the west of Blenheim - driving is the only
realistic option - the Nelson wineries are in fact a further 1/2 hour or so
beyond the city.

With these distances, you should regard each region separately, although of
you only have three days I would tend to stay in Blenheim, and make a day
trip over to Nelson (leave early - return late) - but if you have more time,
definitely stay in Motueka; a small town close to wineries and beaches etc.

As to the wineries, this is an excellent site:

http://www.nelsonwines.co.nz/

Neudorf and Seifried are the most notable - the former make no pretences -
they are all about wine without the distractions of cafes etc.

In saying that, many NZ wineries have cafe or even formal dining
facilities - however, many smaller establishments start winding down after
Easter, so phone first.


Marlborough is a relatively compact area, very easy to drive around with
60-70 wineries within a close proximity to each other.

Again many have eating facilities, and I would be remiss not to mention
Hertzog Winery & Restaurant; a first class establishment for fine dining.

http://www.winesofnz.com/marlborough.html

As Ian suggests, Cloudy Bay, simply because of it's iconic status is a must
visit; Allan Scott Wines are right across the road.

Villa Maria, although Auckland based have an excellent facility which I
recommend; Seresin, Wairau River and Saint Clair.

Remember, May is autumn downunder - expect cooler evening temperatures but
daytime temps in that 18-20degrC range.

--

st.helier

Thanks for all the clous, St.Helier,

well we will actually be on a Round-the-World-Trip (12 April - 9 May) and
after concentrating on Samoa and Tonga, we will fly to Christchurch (via
Auckland, of course)and hire a car over there. Given the limited amount of
time, it might be better to concentrate on Blenheim and Marlborough and to
keep Nelson for a future visit, especially as some time should be reserved
for scenic drives and whale watching (sorry if this is OT, but is it a good
time of the year for whale viewings?).

Weatherwise, I realise that it's autumn in May. You know, that's the
difference: here in Luxembourg, we should be heading for spring now, and
what did we get: a record 31 cm of snow on Friday !! It was actually the
largest amount of snow recorded on a single day since 1955...

Anyway I will check all the links you mentioned.

Thanks again

Yves
"st.helier" > wrote in message
...
> "Ian Hoare" wrote ............
>
>>> From the dozens of wineries on the official NZ wine websites,
>>> are there any you would recommend particularly for a visit?
>>> Any interesting wine trails in the area?
>>
>> Oh wow!! This is one for Andrew.
>
> Always glad to oblige !
>
> Firstly, I must confess to being curious as to where you are visiting
> before you get to the northern part of the South Island, like your arrival
> point into NZ - as you must arrive into a major NZ port of entry, it
> does make a difference as to how you intend travelling to Marlborough.
>
> Perhaps a little lesson in geography may assist.
>
> Marlborough is centred around the town of Blenheim; which, although it has
> a small airport, is relatively isolated.
> It involves either a quite splendid ferry trip from Wellington, or an
> equally spectacular coastal drive up from Christchurch.
>
> As Ian suggests, Blenheim has a whole gambit of accommodation.
>
> Take a look at:
>
> http://www.kiwiaccommodation.com/town/blenheim/
>
> Nelson City is an hour or so to the west of Blenheim - driving is the only
> realistic option - the Nelson wineries are in fact a further 1/2 hour or
> so beyond the city.
>
> With these distances, you should regard each region separately, although
> of you only have three days I would tend to stay in Blenheim, and make a
> day trip over to Nelson (leave early - return late) - but if you have more
> time, definitely stay in Motueka; a small town close to wineries and
> beaches etc.
>
> As to the wineries, this is an excellent site:
>
> http://www.nelsonwines.co.nz/
>
> Neudorf and Seifried are the most notable - the former make no pretences -
> they are all about wine without the distractions of cafes etc.
>
> In saying that, many NZ wineries have cafe or even formal dining
> facilities - however, many smaller establishments start winding down after
> Easter, so phone first.
>
>
> Marlborough is a relatively compact area, very easy to drive around with
> 60-70 wineries within a close proximity to each other.
>
> Again many have eating facilities, and I would be remiss not to mention
> Hertzog Winery & Restaurant; a first class establishment for fine dining.
>
> http://www.winesofnz.com/marlborough.html
>
> As Ian suggests, Cloudy Bay, simply because of it's iconic status is a
> must visit; Allan Scott Wines are right across the road.
>
> Villa Maria, although Auckland based have an excellent facility which I
> recommend; Seresin, Wairau River and Saint Clair.
>
> Remember, May is autumn downunder - expect cooler evening temperatures but
> daytime temps in that 18-20degrC range.
>
> --
>
> st.helier
>

"Yves" wrote in message .........

> Thanks for all the clous, St.Helier,
>
> well we will actually be on a Round-the-World-Trip (12 April - 9 May) via
> Samoa and Tonga, we will fly to Christchurch (via Auckland) , and hire a
> car over there. Given the limited amount of time, it might be
> better to concentrate on Blenheim and Marlborough and to keep Nelson for a
> future visit, especially as some time should be reserved for
> scenic drives and whale watching (sorry if this is OT, but is it a good
> time of the year for whale viewings?).
>

Aha, now I can see what you are planning. Yes, forget Nelson this time
around.

The drive from Christchurch (remember, we drive on the correct side of the
road!) up the coast is quite spectacular; a few wineries in Northern
Canterbury (among the sheep farms) - Pegasus Bay Wines is highly
recommended - then the Whale Watch town of Kaikoura.

Take a look at this site: http://www.whalewatch.co.nz/

You can find what they found on any particular day in the past year - like
on the 1st May last year they viewed 19 Sperm Whales, 9 Orca, Over 1,000
Dolphins and several seals.

As you drive into Blenheim, Montana Wines have quite a large visitor
facility (aimed very much at the tourist) - and there will be a Tourist
Advice Centre in Blenheim where you can get free maps etc of the area.

> Weatherwise, I realise that it's autumn in May. You know, that's the
> difference: here in Luxembourg, we should be heading for spring now, and
> what did we get: a record 31 cm of snow on Friday !! It was actually the
> largest amount of snow recorded on a single day since 1955...


Ouch! - I live north of Auckland, and we get about half a dozen mild frosts
a year; the nearest snow being in the volcanic centre of the island about
500 km south.

Kaikoura sits under a mountain range - there will be snow on the peaks, but
April/May is a beautiful time in the South Island.

Remember - *fresh* seafood and Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc !

If I can be of any further assistance email me as below.

--

st.helier
(Return address fictitious to avoid spam)
(Email me at st.helier at xtra dot co dot nz)