Since our last postcard we have tasted our way through the Otago wine region. More about New Zealand Wine Tasting here. We loved the alpine landscapes. And mountain biked some of New Zealand’s most famed trails. We have decided to take on the Old Ghost Road. More about that later, but suffice it to say, we have to get fit, and get the kinks out of our mountain biking skills.
We have almost covered the New Zealand wine map. We have one more wine region to go. I know we said that before, but little did we know the southern Alps divided the Otago in two. We are going south and around west and will come back to within 20 miles of here in a few weeks and be on the other side of the alps and visit a few more wineries over there. The variety of wine growing conditions in this little country is so astounding. And the wine is reflective of these conditions. The weather is complex. The geography is as diverse as the whole United States. And the soil is relatively new and volcanic and seismic upheavals are still continuing. For example, in Hawkes Bay there was an earthquake that drained a bay, raised the level of the soil by 3 meters, and completely stirred up the soil and changed the course of a river. And exposed an area of quick draining soil that formerly was the river bed. It became the first acknowledged appellation in New Zealand known as the Gimlet Gravels. If you see a bottle of wine with this mark, buy it, it will be special. The soil in New Zealand is so complex, because it is so new in a geologic time frame.
Wine Tasting the New Zealand Way
New Zealand is more environmentally aware than we are, so no surprise, sustainability, organic and biodynamic techniques are more prevalent. Most wines are both. We had to take winery tour, because the winery only packaged tasting with a tour and it was one of the only wineries we had actually heard of, so we wanted to taste – Felton Road Wines, Bannockburn, New Zealand. I mean how many times do we need to see how wine is made? But wow…they do it different here. They almost always hand harvest. They use gravity to press the juice. Whole bunch picked and pressed slowly over weeks by gravity. Juice is pressed in very small batches. They know exactly which plants are producing their best wine. Like burgundy, you can buy wine labeled with the exact rows in the exact vineyard blocks of vines. They use only the yeasts that are naturally on the grapes. The lees (dead yeast after fermentation) is returned to the vineyard for compost; the exact same vineyard so as not to cross yeast strains. Additives of any kind are rare. When vines are dormant (now) they let sheep graze on the grass; leaving some natural fertilizer. Pesticides are rarely needed because of the sun factor in New Zealand. It is real easy to get sunburned here because of the UV intensity. This intensity manages bugs too. All they need to do is plant some counter crops at the base of the vines every 10th row to manage insects. Sparkling wines are made in the traditional way riddling racks and racks of bottles. They do however, cover the entire vineyard with netting to protect the berries from birds. Never seen that in Napa.
The Otago wine region is the biggest in New Zealand in geography. But unbeknownst to us before we got here, the oldest wines are only 20 years old. It is very new. But it has the eyes of the world on it. Several of the wineries we visited are owned by burgundy families extending their holdings. Even France acknowledges that the best pinot noir in the world is probably going to come from here. Burgundy is 47N latitude, Otago 45S. Half (the half we are in) is positioned on the east side (Leeward side) of the Southern Alps, so it is high desert. Cold nights, hot summer days, little rain, dry complex soil. Pinot noir heaven. The other half, we will see later from the other side of the alps.
Riesling, pinot gris and a few others are grown in small amounts too to round out the tasting room. They make orange wines here. An orange wine is a red wine technique on a white grape. Fact is, most white grapes are not completely white. The skins have freckles and small amounts of red pigments. Juice from white grapes left with its skins for weeks or months takes on a blush or orange-ish tint.
The landscape is beautiful with a turquoise river running through the middle; rocky peaks; sheep and cattle pastures interspersed with the vineyards. Tasting here is truly enjoyable. And we have it virtually to ourselves.
New Zealand Mountain Biking
In the afternoons we tasted wine. In the mornings we mountain biked. We decided before we left here we needed to do one of New Zealand’s point to point rides. One we evaluated was the Otago Rail Trail. Three days of mountain biking made out of a former railroad. The first such trail in the world. We nixed this trip because we thought it would be too easy. Second idea was the Alps to Ocean track. 5 days. It goes right through Otago too. Some parts would be challenging, but a lot alongside roads. Again we thought would be too tame. We have taken on the Old Ghost Road. 3 to 5 days of hut to hut trekking. Carrying all food and gear. We will be training and practicing to get ready. To do so we are mountain biking whenever we can.
Hope you are all healthy and enjoying some once-in-a-lifetime experiences too.