New Zealand | Postcards From Here and There

Craggy Range

Craggy Range occupies a stunning location, nestled at the base of Te Mata peak in New Zealand’s Hawkes Bay. No expense has been spared in creating not just a winery and tasting room but also a restaurant and accommodation in the form of vineyard villas and a lodge.

The Whites

Sauvignon Blanc. Family Collection. Te Muna Road. Martinborough 2017.

98% vinified in stainless steel with 2% vinified in barrel, with a view to smooth out the acidity. Gooseberry, limes and a touch of stone fruit. Palate is full on, zingy, fresh and dry. A Sauvignon that offers a little more than most.

Riesling. Te Muna Road. Martinborough. 2017

The demand for New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc is enormous and this can make it difficult for growers to experiment with different varieties. It took 3 years from 2014 to sell 1000 cases of Craggy Range Riesling. In the same period 250,000 cases of Sauvignon Blanc were sold! Go and search out these wines they are well worth the effort. This Riesling has richness, lemon citrus and is slightly off dry. It has a lovely balance.

Pinot Gris. Te Muna Road. Martinborough. 2017

Tropical fruit, lime and a hint of floral perfume. Nice weight and balance with a dry finish. A good example of the more aromatic style of wine that this grape can produce.

Chardonnay. Kidnappers Vineyard. Hawkes Bay. 2016

Lemon yellow with a delightful nose which invites the drinker to have a glass. A much lighter style of chardonnay which is medium bodied and with great balance. The restrained use of oak adds an interesting dimension to a very nice wine.

The Reds

Pinot Noir. Te Muna Road. Martinborough 2015

Cherry and raspberry fruit, palate is light but with red fruits and a lovely savoury backbone. A very nice example of Pinot Noir.

Aroha. Pinot Noir. Te Muna Road. Martinborough. 2015

Pinot Noir is a most difficult grape to grow and the prices for quality Pinot it, especially in Burgundy, have become stratospheric. The challenge for wine drinkers is to now explore other regions of the world that can make quality Pinot without the such high prices. Having said that quality doesn’t necessarily mean cheap. You pay for what you get, you just don’t have to pay too much. This wine is deep in colour with aromas of cherry and raspberry. The palate is complex with cherry, redcurrant and raspberry fruit flavours, its is savoury, slight cherry menthol, touch of vanilla. Soft, silky and with a great finish. A wine of real class.

Syrah. Gimblett Gravels. Hawkes Bay. 2011

This has a lovely nose of red and black fruits, plums and cola. The palate has depth with herbs and a nice savoury/peppery touch on the finish

Syrah. Le Sol. Gimblett Gravels. Hawkes Bay 2015

Wine is opaque with great depth of colour. Ripe red fruits and black pepper, a complex wine that has real depth and power. Tannins need to soften but this will be a great wine given time.

Merlot. Te Kahu. Hawkes Bay. 2015

76% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Cabernet Franc, 2% Malbec

Merlot can sometimes have a bad name probably due to the over jammy examples that can be offered in some bars and pubs. Then there is the sideways effect to consider. Neither off these should put you off investigating the wines. This wine is a good example of what it can be, red fruits with blackcurrants, plums and cola. the palate has depth and softness with a savoury touch of pepper on the finish.

Sophia. Gimblett Gravels. Hawkes Bay. 2015

75% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc

Full and complex with a lovely soft and enticing character. There are flavours of black plums, vanilla and leather. The finish is dry with hit of red fruit. a wine of great class that can only get better.

Visit the Craggy range website here

Craters of the Moon

An unusual name for a geothermal area but an apt description as I hope some of the upcoming photos will illustrate. A walkway has been made which circumvents the area and it takes about an hour to complete if you include the rather steep climb to the lookout which offers a stunning view of the whole area and the numerous steaming vents. It looks as if the area is a caldera from the collapse of an empty magma chamber but I have been unable to confirm this.

The area is not as active as Te Puia

The last major eruption was in 2002 and it was big enough to cover the walkway with mud, pumice and ash to a depth of 5cm.

The mudpools here are much drier but they still can be seen bubbling away. They are very deceiving as they look dry but are still very hot.

Much of the area is covered in a low growing shrub which looks at first glance like heather which is found on British moorland. It is in-fact called prostrate kanuka. It grows best where the ground is a little cooler, in the hotter areas the vegetation is quite different. Thermal mosses are found which can tolerate the hot conditions. Ferns and club mosses, usually found in tropical regions, can also survive here because of the protected by the warmer conditions found here.

The entry fee for this geothermal wonder is only 8NZD (about £4.50). The area is administered by a charitable trust and team of volunteers run the shop and maintain the grounds. The official website is here

Huka Falls

Everyone likes a visit to a good waterfall and the Huka Falls are well worth the time. The river Waikato flows from Lake Taupo on its journey to the Tasman sea just south of the city of Auckland and is the longest river in New Zealand. The river is wide, up to 100m in places, and fast flowing as it leaves the lake and heads towards the falls which are only a few kilometres from the town of Taupo on the lakes north eastern shore.

The fast flowing waters are suddenly channeled into a narrow gorge only 15m wide. This forces a huge volume of water through narrow gap resulting in a thunderous churning of the water. it changes in appearance to be the most striking blue caused by the incorporation of lots of air.

The waters then plunge down a 10m drop. Not the largest in the world but certainly spectacular. Over 200,000 litres of water pass over the falls every second, enough to fill five olympic sized swimming pools every minute. That is a phenomenal volume of water and a very impressive sight.