On Saturday, I took another country walk in the morning, trying unsuccessfully to find one that would give me a view of the Sound. I climbed and climbed but the tree growth didn’t clear out and I decided not to go to the end of the hike as it was getting muddy and slippery. I took a quick walk at harbor level then headed back to the B&B for my crackers and cheese lunch. I needed food in my stomach before getting picked up for a half day of wine tasting!

We had a good group of people: an Australian couple, a New Zealand couple, a couple of new college grads from the States, and yours truly.

We visited four vineyards. The first, Cloudy Bay, had a fantastic Sauvignon Blanc. They do export to the US, so I held off buying a bottle as it’s hard to carry wine around in luggage. We tried some other good wines as well: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, etc. The area is just so beautiful, too, a flood plain in the middle of various hills and mountains. We could even see a bit of the snow capped Southern Alps.

At the next, Framingham Wines, we tried a different selection of wines, though of course we had Sauvignon Blanc at each vineyard. (It’s the varietal that put Marlborough on the world wine map.) We tried two Rieslings, one their standard and one a dry Riesling that was delicious and really unusual. (I did buy a bottle of that to bring back!)

We then went to Giesen, which I liked least of all the vineyards, and a fourth location whose name I forget.

We wrapped up with a quick stop at a chocolate factory.

I headed back to my room to rest before dinner. For dinner, I figured I should go somewhere where I could watch my first ever rugby match. Wales was playing New Zealand in their second of three test matches, and it’s a really big deal in New Zealand.

I went to Oxley’s, where I chatted with some older local gentlemen and watched the match. (New Zealand won.) I also ran into one of the ladies who had been on my wine tour and we watched together for awhile.

I ran into the two young American women at Oxley’s, and we headed to the Irish pub down the road to listen to their live music. One of the gentlemen I’d chatted with at Oxley’s came as well, and we all had fun dancing to the last few songs (including Twist and Shout!) Unexpected, but a great way to end the night.