We stayed at the d’Urville Hotel – a quirky boutique hotel with fab restaurant in the centre of Blenheim town. We were randomly allotted The Rajah Suite which was kind of Indian themed, with intricately carved and painted wood panelling, brassy things and general Bollywood décor.

All pretty cool, but the entrance to our en suite was a carved wooden doorway thingy more suited to your average Hobbit than a 6ft 1”, 54-year-old wine writer. I stooped and banged my head on the lintel many times. Otherwise – very nice.

Crisp linen, wireless Internet, and acres of white towels. The other suites looked realllly cool – Pacifica and Cuban themed.

We had one free day so checked out a few of my favourite wineries:

Domaine Georges Michel
A slice of France in the heart of Marlborough – Georges Michel and his wife Huguette
acquired the vineyard in 1997 and have made their Gallic mark on the region. We had a great lunch there – rich and hearty venison ragout with crusty bread.

Standout wines: Legend Pinot Noir 2009 $48, Golden Mile Chardonnay 2008 $15

Framingham Wine Company
The vineyards date back to the early 1980’s making them some of the oldest in the region. Riesling is the compa¬ny’s flagship wine, with other whites, Pinot Noir and the Italian variety Montepulciano
completing the line-up.

Standout wines: Gewurtz¬traminer 2009 $28, Classic Riesling 2009 $25

Grove Mill Winery
Eco-friendly Grove Mill is a corporate owned win¬ery, which is situated in the Waihopai Valley. Their philos¬ophy is to produce high quality wines with minimal environ¬mental impact. The company mascot is the Southern Bell Frog, which lives in the win¬ery wetland.

Standout wines: Grand Reserve Riesling 2009 $27, Grand Reserve Pinot Noir 2009 $43

By Phil Parker, wine writer
www.finewinetours.co.nz

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