Wine Tasting in Central Otago

It was another hot day in Central Otago. As we approached Bannockburn, a district filled with wineries, I saw a large sign saying 'Bannockburn - Heart of the Desert'. The lack of air-conditioning in the bus added to the feeling of being in a desert. But we persevered, as always!

After a long lunch, 2 wineries were chosen as our 'to visit and taste' list. Both of which are award winning wineries. The first was Mt. Difficulty. It is located in a spectacular hilltop with views as far as the eye can see. You can even see remnants of the gold mining that occurred historically in the area. It does add some form of character to the landscape.

At Mt. Difficulty, we met Jacqui and Robin. Robin provided some interesting aspects of the wine industry and was quite a character. I tried their Pinot Gris and found it very much to my liking. Pinot Noir is their trademark wine, but then which vineyard in Central Otago wouldn't have Pinot Noir as their trademark wine? It is after all the perfect weather for the pinot noir which thrives abundantly in Central Otago.

Then we headed to Carrick, a few minutes drive from Mt. Difficulty. What is interesting about Carrick is the beautiful garden located at the back of the cellar door, there were beautiful pieces of art that were quite captivating (courtesy of Deidre Copeland - an emerging artist who lives locally), and the wines are all organic.

The garden looks out to a beautiful vista and the vineyard is next to it.

By this time, I was all 'wined' out. For someone who hardly drinks wine, I think I have had more wine in the past 2 days than I would in any normal month.

Painting by Deidre Copeland

Painting by Deidre Copeland

Painting by Deidre Copeland

What a view!