Wine is the Most Civilized Thing in the World

Oh, Hemingway, you've never been more right. Many great men knew the pleasures that wine brings us. 

"Clearly, the pleasures wines afford are transitory - but so are those of the ballet, or of a musical performance. Wine is inspiring and adds greatly to the joy of living."

--- Napoleon

"A bottle of good wine, like a good act, shines ever in the retrospect."

--- Robert Louis Stevenson

"Wine rejoices the heart of man and joy is the mother of all virtues." --- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

You might be wondering why I'm talking about the joys of wine. I recently went on a wine tour to the Central Otago vineyards. We went to many vineyards including Mt. Difficulty Wines, Wild Earth Winery, and the Blossom Festival to try numerous wines.

We started at the Blossom Festival where we tried wine from Maori Point and Aravin wine. My favorite Aravin was the white and my favorite Maori Point was the rosé. At this point, it was only 11am and I realized that the reds were far too strong for me, so early in the morning. 

Bagpipers at the Festival

Aravin Wines

Our first taste of the day!

A contraption!

 After we tasted these wines, Alex and I decided to behave like children (as usual) and play on a bungee trampoline where we were doing front flips and back flips. I finally landed a double!! (well, almost). 

After the festival, our first winery was Northburn Station. We tried 6 different wines. My absolute favorite was their 2008 Riesling. I learned, after awhile, that I enjoyed Riesling the most. 

Delicious Lunch Platter

Our First Taste at Northburn

We made our way to Wild Earth Vineyards. The vineyard is owned by Quinton Quider, an American! He came to New Zealand as a diver but then realized he had a passion for wine and opened a vineyard. He taught us about how they grow and care for the vines, while also teaching us about how most of the wine is stored, whether it is oaked or unoaked, and taught us how to differentiate between the flavors of the wine. He gave us ample amounts of wine, and eventually got us drunk! 

Me, Alex and Quinton at Wild Earth Vineyard

Our last Vineyard was Mt. Difficulty; at this time, we were all intoxicated (Our tour guide Janine said this wasn't supposed to happen, yet we managed it). The wine, however, was delicious and we had a blast with the bartender who was serving us our taste testers.

I got to wear their Gold Medal Award!

After a long day of drinking and touring around Central Otago, Janine (our fabulous) tour guide let us nap all the way back to Dunedin.

x Live Easy x