A Week at "Wineview"

Those white wine drinkers out there know New Zealand is known – among many things – for producing great white wine and the Marlborough region, in specific, is at the top of the list. Centered between the townships of Renwick and Blenheim, the Marlborough wine region of New Zealand has quickly become a major player in the global wine game. Mostly known for its Sauvignon Blanc on an international level, those here know that sav blanc is just the beginning. The common lineup for most wineries here is to produce a blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris (the most popular style here in the region), Chardonnay, Riesling, Gewurztraminer (a German style) and a Pinot Noir. Do not fear, red wine drinkers; the Pinot is good enough to even interest Miles from the hilariously funny film, “Sideways.” Our first day in the region we biked the popular wine trail and visited four different wineries. Impressed by how good the white wine is (we typically stay far away from the whites) we were happy to be back in sunshine and surrounded by endless amounts of vineyards.

One of our main WWOOF objectives was to work on an organic vineyard at some point throughout our travels. While forced to stay inside during one of our wet west coast days, we called a few WWOOF vineyards to see if any of them needed help. Catching some luck, we landed a spot at Wineview, a grower for one of the larger wineries in the region, Villa Maria. (http://www.villamaria.co.nz/) Wineview harvests about ten acres of vineyard, growing Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gris for Villa Maria. The owners have handed down the land to their son, Phil and his wife, Anna. Phil is twenty-nine and Anna is twenty-seven. The large family home is also a home-stay for internationals working in Marlborough during the harvest season. Upon meeting Phil and Anna, we also met a couple from Brazil, a Nigerian, a Chilean, a South African, a German, two Australians, a Frenchman and us. Now is that some international flare or what?! We even had our very own “Real World” (reality show on MTV for those that don’t know) element when the Australian guy and South African girl “hooked” up. Everyone has a unique background and interest in wine and all of us have a deep appreciation for New Zealand. There was some major trash talking going on regarding the upcoming World Cup this June and you will all be happy to know we held our own. We printed off the FIFA world rankings (in which the US is ranked #5) several times to silence the critics and reminded them all that the Yanks have made the quarterfinals two out of the last three World Cups. Never mind the US got a tough draw this coming June with the Czech Republic (#2 in the world) and Italy (#12 and always a favourite to win it all) in their pool. Either way, the most global sport – and wine, of course – was always a topic of discussion. As Phil and Anna both work in Blenheim, our work was down on our own time and mostly under no supervision. Much different than our first WWOOF experience at Hoimed! But although Phil and Anna were gone most days, we did have our very own supervisor in the vineyard. Foxy, a tough little Jack Russell Terrier/Chihuahua mix kept a very close eye on us as he furiousciously ran the entire vineyard day in and day out. Each day was spent working in the breathtaking vineyards of Marlborough wine country while each evening consisted of resting – and eating of course – in the glow of a warm, full-of-life household.

We have made many friends here at Wineview and exchanged emails with people from almost every continent. We are excited to continue on with our travels and wrap up our south island adventure, but leaving the warmth and beauty of Marlborough will be a tough thing to do.

***PICTURE NOTE: We have created an online photo album for your special viewing that can hold many more memories than what we can post on this blog page. Please click on the following link to view our pictures spanning from the Catlin Coast through our days at Wineview vineyard (http://www.pixagogo.com/5065265231). Once the page opens, to start a slideshow you can click on the upper left corner "start slideshow" link. ENJOY!***