Today Miranda and I decided that we would have a more relaxing Saturday and go on a wine tasting adventure on the beautiful Waiheke Island. To get to the island, we had to take a train into Auckland, which takes about an hour, and then catch a ferry to the island. The ferry is a 40 minute ride and has magnificent views the entire way.
When we got to the island, we were greeted by our tour bus driver and we were very excited to get on with our adventure! At first, we were quite concerned that we were going to be the youngest people on the tour but there ended up being a group from the UK who we were able to have some fun with!
The first vineyard that we went to was called Stonyridge. When we got off the bus, we were given a glass of Sauvignon Blanc and it was delicious. The man at this winery told us all about how the grapes are grown and the types of wines that were created at the winery. After our time with him, we were given another glass of wine, red wine this time, that we had with our lunch. It was a beautiful place to start our wine tasting experience.
After Stonyridge, we headed to a place where we were tasting different types of olive oils. It was at this point when I had a revelation (being blonde and all...) that olive oil is actually made from olives! It was quite the moment for me. LOL! We tasted 4 different types of olive oils that all had very distinct flavors. There was a more fruity olive oil and then there was one that actually tasted like grass. I didn't necessarily like any of the oils but it was fun to have experienced it.
As we traveled around on the bus, we were able to see some beautiful scenery. This is one of the beaches that we saw as we were driving around with our tour guide who I liked to call Meg because she was Meg, from Bridesmaids, twin!
Next we went to a fun brewery called Wild On Waiheke. It was a vineyard as well but they were extremely proud of the brewery that they have created. They also made an extremely strong rum there. It was a very relaxed place with a fun atmosphere. While there, I was able to sample their red and white wines as well as 3 types of beer and ginger beer. I was able to try a pale ale that had a grapefruit flavor, a dark ale that was very chocolatey, and then their cider which was my favorite. At the end, we had some ginger beer "to clean our pallets".
The final place that we went to is called Mud Brick. It had spectacular views that were worth every dime that we spent on the tour. We were able to try a red and white wine there as well as a sparkling wine. It was an absolutely beautiful vineyard. The whole island was incredible and reminded me of the Caribbean. It was a very relaxed place that was wonderful to visit! If I ever had the opportunity to go back and enjoy some time on the beaches, I would for sure!
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