Some places you can’t get enough of. So, we were really excited to return to New Zealand where Dean and I had spent a couple of weeks in 2009, working our way from the bottom of the south island to the top of the north, weaving in and out of towns, cities, countryside, wineries. We loved it then and could not wait to see if it was still as wonderful as we remembered.

After several rough days at sea, we were glad to reach Picton, the temperate charming seaport town at the Head of Queen Charlotte Sound on the upper tip of the south island, gateway to the country’s largest wine region of Marlborough, and ferry link to the north island. We had one day to explore and this visit was all about the wines and the countryside.

We had hired a private van with a friendly local driver, John, to take us and our friends, John and David, efficiently but leisurely throughout the region. In New Zealand, most wineries are open for the public at their “cellar door”, as the tasting rooms are called. And house vintages are available for sale on premise.

May is autumn in this part of the world and the grapevines, long past harvested of their fruit, were neatly pruned golden and crimson rows beneath the misty surrounding mountains. Sheep roamed leisurely between the vines to keep the grass and weeds cropped. The morning air was fresh and crisp.

We stopped at Saint Clair Estate, which was newly redecorated since our last visit in 2009, and next to a neighboring shop for local cheese and crafts. On to Drylands Winery, then to Allan Scott, where we enjoyed lunch at the Twelve Trees Restaurant with a bottle of their crisp Sauvignon Blanc. There was still time after lunch to visit Huia, an unpretentious and completely enchanting family winery, overseen by a regal cat and the proprietors’ knowledgeable daughter. And their wines were a most lovely, delicious surprise. Our driver, John, insisted that lastly we visit Seresin Estate Winery, if not for their boutique wines and peaceful setting, but to enjoy the dramatic, sweeping views that would remind us that our first visit to New Zealand those seven years ago was not a dream.

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