Summary: Tour Number 2 of New Zealand begins in Hawkes Bay where Syrah is King..through the legendary Gimblett Gravels… and finishes on the south Island in Nelson at NZ’s first Maori owned and operated winery.<br> <br> <br> THE SHOW<br> Part 1 of our wine tour of New Zealand took us through the Auckland area and on to Hawkes Bay and that’s where we begin Part 2. <br> Elephant Hill is a stunning and innovative winery estate and restaurant located on the idyllic Te Awanga coast, in Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand.<br> <br> <br> <br> They create 2 very fine chardonnays Sauv. blanc, a white & red blends called Le Phant Blanc/Rouge and a 5 star Viognier and they favour Syrah on the Red side.. <br> We sit down in their fabulous restaurant with Viticulturist Jon Peet and sales and marketing leader Vince Labatt. <br> <a href="http://www.elephanthill.co.nz/">http://www.elephanthill.co.nz/</a> <br> <br> <br> <br> Pask Winery<br> Staying in the Hawkes Bay area on North Island NZ we head for Pask<br> On our tour of NZ #1 we talked to Kate Ranburnd the famous winemaker at Pask. This time we take to the Gimblett Gravels fields and meet the guys who grow in that stunning region. <br> <br> At Gimblett Gravels Pask’s 59 hectares of vineyards are located on Gimblett Road where Chris Pask was first to plant in the region. It’s now known as the Gimblett Gravels Winegrowing District®.<br> Formed over 100 years ago when the Ngaruroro River changed its course, the light, stony soils of the region are low in nutrients, completely free draining, and create the perfect environment for growing premium quality grapes. Their very first vintage of 1985 Cabernet Sauvignon was awarded 5 stars in Cuisine Magazine. <br> Since then Pask wines have consistently enjoyed gold medal and trophy success in London, Australia, Asia, the United States, Canada and New Zealand across a range of varietals and winestyles. Pask has been a member of Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand (SWNZ) since its inception.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <a href="https://www.mooncurser.com/Wine-Club"></a><br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> John recognized the outstanding potential of Hawkes Bay’s Gimblett Gravels winegrowing district and in 1993 Trinity Hill became one of the region’s early pioneers, planting grape vines on a barren plot on the former bed of the Ngaruroro River. <br> The first Gimblett Road wines, barrel-aged, were released in 1998 (vintage 1997); Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot and Syrah, to critical acclaim and a number of gold medals and trophies. In 2000, a further 20 hectare parcel of prime Gimblett Gravels land was purchased, named “Gimblett Stones” where Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot plus areas of Tempranillo, Syrah and Viognier were planted.<br> By 2001 The Gimblett Gravels Winegrowers Association was set up with 34 wineries and winegrowers from a “terroir”-defined area of the old Ngaruroro Riverbed, including Gimblett Road. Trinity Hill was and remains a founding member. In 2002, the first vintage super-premium wine Homage Syrah was made. <br> When it was released in 2004 it received critical acclaim world-wide. The 2006 vintage of Homage Syrah won the Supreme Award at the Air New Zealand Wine Awards in 2007. <br> John Hancock is our guest!<br> <a href="http://www.trinityhill.com/">http://www.trinityhill.com/</a> <a href="http://www.gimblettgravels.com/">http://www.gimblettgravels.com/</a> <br> <br> <br> Sileni Estates <br> <br> <br> Sileni Estates is a major vineyard and winery development in Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand’s oldest established vineyard area. <br> The first vintage was in 1998. Sileni boasts a state of the art winery designed to c...
