Recently I spent a couple of weeks exploring a loop in the lower North Island, starting in Greytown and Martinborough, then on to Hawke’s Bay, Taupo and finally back to Wellington then getting on the ferry to Picton to spending…
Bob’s Rock Vineyard is a tiny producer tucked away on a hillside location at Ngatimoti. Producing less than 200 cases of wine a year, all made from a single Italian grape variety. For me, it’s producers like this that add…
Victus Coffee and Eatery is a very cool wee spot in Bridge St next to Kirby Lane, it was called The Kitchen until Nick and Beth Schryvers bought the business in June 2022 and rebranded it. The name isn’t the…
This year is the tenth birthday for Hop Federation and a lot has changed in recent times. Founded in Riwaka by Chief Brewer Simon and his wife Nicki Nicholas in 2013, Hop Federation became part of Māori business Kono in…
There are two very good distilleries in Golden Bay, one is Dancing Sands and they have just released a tasty Lychee Gin. The Lazy Days Lychee Gin is “an ode to those days where you ‘should be’ doing lots but…
Following on from my previous column about how Motueka Winemakers and Growers (formerly Anchorage Wines) set about restructuring their business and vineyards they are now seeing some outstanding results from the efforts they made over the last few years. As…
Scutt Wines is a tiny producer you may not have heard of before because owners Johnson Scutt and Georgie Hoby Scutt only recently made their wines available for you and me to buy after adding winemaking to their business interests.…
Trudy Sheild is the very talented winemaker behind some of the best wines produced in this region, and I have rated her skills very highly for many years. During her time as the winemaker at Waimea Estates and for Middle…
Flaxmore Vineyards takes its name from the road it sits on, Flaxmore Road in Upper Moutere. The former apple orchard was converted into a stunning north-facing rolling-hillside vineyard by Stuart and P Anderson in 2008. They have supplied grapes to…