This place is not a stall, it is more like a fruit barn. It is beautifully stocked with the freshest fruit you can find in the region. They were all beautifully boxed and displayed. Maeve bought some of the cherries for us to try; seriously large, juicy and sweet cherries. If I could have taken a box home, I would have.
This is obviously a popular stop off for the tourist buses. There were hoards of tourists from China who were buying the goods by the bag loads.
We queued up for their fresh fruit ice cream and I chose the Mixed Berry Frozen Yoghurt in a cup. It was lovely, perfect for a warm summer's day.
We then headed off to visit a special couple who lives up in the mountains on the snow line. Kristin Peren, who is a well known sculptor and artist, together with her husband Adam Peren (see if you can recognise his name - think wine!) warmly welcomed us into their rather uniquely designed home.
Such a lovely couple; Kristin was so warm and down to earth. She baked us a lemon curd cake and offered us coffee and tea. I think some of the ladies even got copies of the recipe to take home to Australia!
Her artwork is fascinating and she was explaining to us the techniques she used to capture the different colours and light. I don't think it's anything any of us could ever do at home but still, it was interesting to listen to Kristin.
Adam, who was quietly waiting in the background, finally got some attention from the group. He has a boutique vineyard called Two Sisters, obviously located in Central Otago. Adam generously poured us his Riesling and Pinot Noir to taste. I was trying to stay wine dry after a few days of wine tasting but after hearing that his Riesling won Best Single Vineyard White at the IWSC 2011 competition, I just had to try some of the excellent Riesling. Anyone care to guess what IWSC stands for? It is International Wine & Spirit Competition.
Adam's passion and enthusiasm for his wines is captivating. His emphasis on producing great wines is to make less commercial wines (as in mass producing the same depth, body and flavours every year) but to rely on the seasonal harvest which produces different depths of flavours in the wine each year. In his words, all the more interesting and challenging!
We were allowed to visit any of the rooms in the house. This architecturally designed house is quite charming in its own right and I love how open everything was. The views from the home was priceless, absolutely priceless!
Thank you Adam and Kristin for your warm hospitality and for your generosity in opening your home to us!
Two Sisters Vineyard
Peren Farms
PO Box 2087
Wakatipu
Queenstown 9349
New Zealand
Website: peren.co.nz
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