It was pouring in the morning but the weather forecast said it was supposed to clear up--so we crossed our fingers as we made the drive to Napier to pick up our tickets. By around 10 a.m., when we got back to Hastings, it was sunny without a cloud in the sky. New Zealand weather for you. However, the wind had picked up quite a bit. After some breakfast, (so I wouldn't be drinking on an empty stomach) we headed out to the popular Gimblett Gravels wine growing district where the event was being held on the top of a hill overlooking the vineyards. It was a beautiful spot, however, having no protection the wind was wicked strong and even knocked over some of the tents!
We went to 4 different winery tents--Ash Ridge (the one that John and I did work for) but they also had tastings for a few other boutique wineries in the area as four of them teamed up for 1 tent; Matariki--where the wine maker was a girl not too much older than me--but very nice and friendly; Sacred Hill--real nice guy and some good wines; and the last one called Tukipo River Estate--where Lui ended up buying a bottle of Chardonnay. Even though you paid a $45 entry fee (that basically gave you a wine glass--that you could take home--and a holder to wear the glass around your neck) you still had to pay $2 for tastings at each place--though that let you try 3 to 4 different wines. So in total I had 13 tastings which was about 4 glasses of wine--so by the end I was in quite a good mood!
While at the Te Mata Cheese Factory tent we ran into some really nice American ladies and their male Kiwi friend (well, technically Aussie). The guy, Peter, was really nice, though also really drunk, as later I saw him trying to pull random women up to dance with him. He told me that I should start writing a travel column for magazines since I told him I was a journalism major. He was very, drunkenly enthusiastic about this idea--as in he would clasp me hard on the shoulder and boast loudly in my face about how great an idea it was. Apparently he has a nice house and a boat in Taranaki and has invited John and I to stay anytime (as long as John knows how to back a trailer into the water). The two women, Joanne and Susie, were from Kentucky and Vermont/Colorado respectively. The one woman, Susie, was a cool hippy kind of lady (as she had long grey hair and a nose ring!) but she is also an anesthesiologist! Her daughter also went to Duke so we talked a bit about that. She also, probably feeling less inhibition due to alcohol intake, told me all about her boyfriend who recently broke up with her and was supposed to come to the festival but he knew she would be there so he stayed away. Regardless, she was really cool and said how she was so supportive of what John and I were doing--traveling the world and whatnot. We exchanged information with our new American friends, who we chatted with for quite a while. So maybe we will see them again!
The whole day was quite nice, even though it was VERY windy, but everyone was in a good mood as it was a completely acceptable excuse to day drink! Unlike other tasting events I've been to, once you bought a bottle you could drink it there on site. As many wineries had special prices on their wines that day, there were MANY bottles floating around--with some people drinking straight from them. The food, while a bit over-priced, was also very good--Lui and I got some yummy lemon and ricotta ravioli and grilled salmon skewers! Gotta have something to soak up the alcohol. We then sat for a while to listen to some jazz band before heading home. We were there for about 4 hours, and I had spent all of my allotted money (including buying John some nice cheese) so it was time to go (also I had since sobered up)! It was a very nice afternoon and here are a few pictures and video (though I didn't take much--I was too busy enjoying the wine!)
I wore this skirt but decided at the last minute to wear some sofie shorts underneath--BEST idea ever. If I hadn't, a good number of people would have had a nice glimpse of my Victoria Secret Pink collection underwear with the words "you're perfect" printed on my backside.
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