Tirohana Estate VineyardThere were 10 main vineyards that participated this year. My favourite was Ata Rangi because they had the nicest grounds in my opinion. Manicured lawns to sit on, bleachers to watch the band, tables and chairs with umbrellas, and hay bails under the trees. And of course awesome food and wine. Ata Rangi's Crimson is a nice red, meanwhile Ruth Pretty Catering provided the food. They had awesome braised beef and pork dishes.
Chillin' on the lawn underneath the trees with a warm breeze, belly full of food, a glass full of wine, and some jazz on the stage...ahhhhh. When we first got there though, it sounded like someone was strangling a cat on stage...well not really, but someone was singing/playing an awful selection of tunes.
The weather couldn't have been any better. Low 20s and nothing but sunshine! Took a snap of this girl at the entrance gates with her 'parasol'. There were a lot of cute girls in summer dresses everywhere you went...I wasn't complaining.
A couple of the girls working the entrance tent. You hand in your ticket and in return receive a small wine glass to hang around your neck, and a small booklet with vineyard information and map locations. That glass is your entry ticket onto the shuttle buses and into each vineyard...also what you drink out of. You could walk vineyard to vineyard if you wanted to do so. Some were located across the street from each other, others a 5-10 minute walk away. A few were located at the farther ends of town though and the shuttle was the better choice.
Big head. I wasn't too sure who they were, but there were two of them, and they were pushing manual lawn cutters around.
"The Beat Girls", or at least one of them. They were one of the musical acts at Palliser. Singing 60s and 70s music with Supremes style choreography and costumes. They were pretty good.
Julia from Ruth Pretty Catering. I liked her shirt (old school egg beaters) so I took a picture of her.
You may know him as Vincent Yan, but this here is Honky Tonk Vince.
Lonnie trying out his new "stereoscopic" camera setup.
Mr. Movember a.k.a. James Ogle. Halfway through Movember, only a few more itchy weeks to go!
Bethen. Her mom's an ex-Weta peep. No wine for her, but I think she was eating grapes :)
Mr. Christie and his lady friend. Fellow Cre-tard.
The lawn at Craggy Range. This was our first vineyard. My first glass of the day was a nice Riesling.
One of the nice things about the larger vineyards like Ata Rangi, is that you never had to walk very far to get to one of the many wine bars. And if you wanted to be even lazier, there were little wine angels like Jess here, wandering the lawn with "holsters" of wine on each hip. Fill'er up ma'am.
A couple of the ladies working one of the wine bars at Ata Rangi. Did I mention the Crimson was good?
One of the lawn areas at Ata Rangi, and another below.
Martinborough Vineyard was also pretty nice. Chameleon, the hotel restaurant from The Intercontinental, provided the good eats here. No I didn't eat again, but I did have their Glazed Lemon Tart dessert...wow!!! With summer berry coulis and creme fraiche. Not very tart, in fact it was almost like a cheesecake. Oh yeah, I did try some of their Braised Lamb Shank with big cassoulet beans though...mmmmmm :)
Te Kairanga was probably the busiest vineyard this year. Yes their wines are good, but they also had the biggest musical guest for this year, local born soul-diva Hollie Smith. Late morning they had closed the gates because they couldn't fit any more people onto the grounds. So we went by later in the afternoon and caught these guys just getting onto the stage, Uncle Monkey, a rock cover band. They got the crowd going pretty good, and I had fun sneaking around on stage snapping some shots :)
The Uncle Monkey crowd.
I wasn't completely sure about this group. A lot of UK accents from what I could tell. I think couples were suposed to dress accordingly, a female version of the Spice Girls, and a male version? Your first reaction is, "damn that woman looks like a man...oh, it IS a man..." :P Fun crew though, I sat next to "Geri" on the bus...the one in the middle with the fur coat.
The obligatory nature pic...shot while waiting for a shuttle to come by.
A couple of the girls working the entrance tent. You hand in your ticket and in return receive a small wine glass to hang around your neck, and a small booklet with vineyard information and map locations. That glass is your entry ticket onto the shuttle buses and into each vineyard...also what you drink out of. You could walk vineyard to vineyard if you wanted to do so. Some were located across the street from each other, others a 5-10 minute walk away. A few were located at the farther ends of town though and the shuttle was the better choice.
Big head. I wasn't too sure who they were, but there were two of them, and they were pushing manual lawn cutters around.
"The Beat Girls", or at least one of them. They were one of the musical acts at Palliser. Singing 60s and 70s music with Supremes style choreography and costumes. They were pretty good. 
Julia from Ruth Pretty Catering. I liked her shirt (old school egg beaters) so I took a picture of her.
You may know him as Vincent Yan, but this here is Honky Tonk Vince.
Lonnie trying out his new "stereoscopic" camera setup.
Mr. Movember a.k.a. James Ogle. Halfway through Movember, only a few more itchy weeks to go!
Bethen. Her mom's an ex-Weta peep. No wine for her, but I think she was eating grapes :)
Mr. Christie and his lady friend. Fellow Cre-tard.
The lawn at Craggy Range. This was our first vineyard. My first glass of the day was a nice Riesling.
One of the nice things about the larger vineyards like Ata Rangi, is that you never had to walk very far to get to one of the many wine bars. And if you wanted to be even lazier, there were little wine angels like Jess here, wandering the lawn with "holsters" of wine on each hip. Fill'er up ma'am.
A couple of the ladies working one of the wine bars at Ata Rangi. Did I mention the Crimson was good?
One of the lawn areas at Ata Rangi, and another below.
Martinborough Vineyard was also pretty nice. Chameleon, the hotel restaurant from The Intercontinental, provided the good eats here. No I didn't eat again, but I did have their Glazed Lemon Tart dessert...wow!!! With summer berry coulis and creme fraiche. Not very tart, in fact it was almost like a cheesecake. Oh yeah, I did try some of their Braised Lamb Shank with big cassoulet beans though...mmmmmm :)
Te Kairanga was probably the busiest vineyard this year. Yes their wines are good, but they also had the biggest musical guest for this year, local born soul-diva Hollie Smith. Late morning they had closed the gates because they couldn't fit any more people onto the grounds. So we went by later in the afternoon and caught these guys just getting onto the stage, Uncle Monkey, a rock cover band. They got the crowd going pretty good, and I had fun sneaking around on stage snapping some shots :) 
The Uncle Monkey crowd.
I wasn't completely sure about this group. A lot of UK accents from what I could tell. I think couples were suposed to dress accordingly, a female version of the Spice Girls, and a male version? Your first reaction is, "damn that woman looks like a man...oh, it IS a man..." :P Fun crew though, I sat next to "Geri" on the bus...the one in the middle with the fur coat.
The obligatory nature pic...shot while waiting for a shuttle to come by.
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