Week Three: Visiting wineries

As is our wont when we have visitors, we took our friend Shannon on a tour of the wineries. Mt Rosa is closed at the weekends which suggests to me that they don't want locals to bring their guests, but they do have a very nice sheep made out of driftwood.

The Brennan Vineyards seem much more accommodating with their petanque court, playground and picnic tables. You are encouraged to wander through the vines and taste some wines. The 2008 Gewurztraminer and the 2007 Pinot Noir are highlights (to be bought and taken home).

Shannon is keen on the idea of converting a church to a house, so we took her to Waitiri Creek to admire their building. We also admired their self-labelled produce and their wine. Here the 2007 Harriet Rose and the 2006 Chardonnay topped the table for our tasting crew.

At Gibbston Valley we headed straight to the cheesery for a platter while Shannon and Him Outdoors eschewed the tasting for a full glass of wine each - I was the designated driver; yes, it does happen occasionally although I try not to make a habit of it.

There are curiously large cheeses dotted around the building which may have seemed like a good advertising gimmick at some point but now they merely look odd. The real cheese was fortunately far tastier.