Week Seven: Entertaining Ma & Pa

We took a trip up to Skyline to admire the stunning views - Pa and Him Outdoors walked up the hill while Ma and I rode up in the gondola. Ma was very brave walking on the observation deck so we all rewarded ourselves with a bottle of rosé.

This is the America's Cup boat which takes day-trippers out for a spin (if yachts spin, that is) on the lake. Apparently it leans right over to one side so that you can dip your toes in the water. I don't like the feeling when boats lean over when tacking into the wind, although I have been reliably informed that this is a special feature of their design. I admit to snapping (as I looked out of port holes submerged under water that were earlier focussed on the sky), "Well, it's a bloody stupid design, then!"

I'm not saying that we're alcoholics or anything, but we do enjoy our trips to the wineries. The Lazy Dog through Lowburn is a winery restaurant with very tasty food and tasting paddles of different varieties of wine. Ma is happy with her selections.

Mt Difficulty was a special request so we headed back to Bannockburn. Once again, Ma and Pa were keen to get into the spirit of tasting.

As you can see, although we made a concerted effort to drink as much of their wine as possible, fortunately there is plenty more where that came from.

Another day; another winery - this time Mt Rosa, which is open at weekends if you phone ahead, but as they are a small operation, they usually only work during the week. Their wine was very tasty and the banter flowed equally freely.

Lunch at the Winehouse and kitchen was delightful. We were all particularly enamoured of the sweet treats platter for two: white chocolate and cherry truffles; individual Eton mess; maracroon bar; peach tea and chocolate truffles; and berry cream sable biscuits - yum!

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.