Jones's Fruit Stall and The Perens

After our lunch at Wanaka, we headed back towards Queenstown. On the way, we stopped at a Fruit Barn called Jones's Fruit Stall.

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.

Lunch At Wild Earth

I do like the sound of the name Wild Earth. For me it conjures images of the wilderness and it is apt that this winery is located in the midst of what was historically a gold mining area. As we drive towards the parking area to adjourn to the winery, we could see relics of old mining dwellings, mining tools and old carriages. This was across the gorge as we were driving by.

Wild Earth is located in Central Otago, at the Kawarau Gorge Mining Centre. To get to the winery, we literally have to cross the gorge on a long bridge. Pretty cool actually! For someone who has vertigo (as in yours truly), it didn't bother me at all having to cross the bridge. Believe it or not, I even stopped to take photos when I was in the middle of the bridge.

The Wild Earth Cellar Door and Restaurant is located in such a picturesque garden. We had specially reserved tables set under a large tree, which provided just the right amount of shade and breeze to not feel too much of the 30 degree heat.

We met Quentin Quider, who is an absolute character. He is so passionate about what he does, about the wines he produces, the style of cooking he has invested time and money in (i.e. wine barrel cooking) and has such a uniquely interesting background that you cannot help but be fascinated to hear his story. In addition Quentin is not even a Kiwi, he is in actual fact an American who is an avid fisherman and in his formative years earned his living as an oyster diver in Stewart Island.

We had a chance to look at his wine barrels specially designed for cooking. The style of cooking mainly being hot smoked and we met his head chef David Harrison who explained to us the dishes that was being cooked even as we were inspecting the barrels. Fascinating stuff!

Once again, each dish was matched with a wine from the winery. We started with:

Smoked octopus infused with thyme, olive oil and preserved lemons. And served with a salsa sauce. All this matched with the 2010 Chelsea Riesling.

On the same platter, we had the Cajun style chicken with wild thyme. This dish was matched with the 2012 Pinot Gris.

Both were lovely dishes and I couldn't find fault with anything. I love all things octopus so I was delighted to have had that and the chicken had subtle cajun spices but was not overwhelming spicy.

Then there was a side dish of smoked salmon pate which was also cooked in the barrel.

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.

Dinner at Amisfield Wine Company's Bistro

After a day of retail therapy, we headed to the Amisfield Wine Company's Bistro for a 5 course Chef's Tasting Menu.

The winery is located in the Lake Hayes area and as we arrived, the sun was still shining very brightly so we tried to stay under the large umbrellas as much as possible. One thing I have learnt since arriving in Queenstown is that in the summer the sun sets quite late in the day, around 8.30 to 9.00 pm and between 3.00 to 6.00 pm is the hottest part of the day. Since we have been here, we have been having 30 degree days and the heat is dry heat. Humidity is extremely low, almost non existent.

The dining area for the bistro is located in a lovely garden surround and as the evening wore on, it just felt lovely to be sitting outside on such a balmy evening enjoying a good meal with some lovely ladies. Oops, I just realised that I used the word 'lovely' three times in the one sentence. Oh well, it's not perfect English and I want to emphasise how I feel about my experience!

Each of the course was matched with a wine from the winery. As each course was served, the head chef Jay Sherwood came around to each table to check on how the meal was progressing. From a distance Jay looked like he hailed from Europe but it turns out he is a true blue Californian.

A very personable and friendly chef who was only too willing to get cooking tips from some of the ladies at our table. He was also very passionate about the produce he used for his cooking. I must say, the group of ladies I sat with for tonight's dinner certainly knew their food and we had an absolute ball. Poor Jay didn't know what hit him, I think! :)

Jay with some of the ladies at our table

Course 1 - served with Amisfield Arcadia Brut NV. It was salted cod mixed with garlic, olive oil, lemon zest, fresh parsley, and potatoes, served with house made toasted sourdough bread.

Verdict: I am normally not into cod, per se. But I found the cod flavour quite subtle and not overwhelming and I did enjoy the entree. The Brut complemented the dish quite well.

Course 2 - served with the Amisfield Arcadia Brut NV. It was Prawn risotto with sun dried tomatoes and parmesan cheese, with a touch a pinot gris in the risotto.The prawns were marinated in lemon zest and olive oil.

Verdict: Loved the risotto, it was creamy and had a slight bite to the rice (which I do like) and the prawns worked beautifully. Everyone at our table thoroughly enjoyed this dish!

Course 3 - served with Amisfield 2011 Pinot Gris. It was Hot smoked salmon with fennel, capers and dill with cream cheese.

Verdict: The salmon tasted of summer. It was lightly smoked,  and went beautifully with the fennel and capers. The Pinot Gris was a good choice with the salmon.