Down under the vines.

The fact that much of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings Trilogy was filmed in New Zealand has brought a new wave of tourism to this part of the world, or "middle earth" as it is called in the movies. Unlike many tourists, the reason for being here is not to ski or climb the Southern Alps, ride horseback along the rocky coastline, or go jet-boating in the many lakes and rivers. This trip is dedicated to exploring New Zealand's wine country. Even though missionaries established the first winery here in 1851, it was 122 years later, or 1973, that the first commercial vineyards were planted.

Chuck Walter, CCM and tour guide extraordinaire is the mastermind of this eight-night tour for CMAA's International Wine Society. The beautiful garden city of Christchurch on the South Island is the rally point. The plan is to travel north along the eastern coast through the Marlborough wine region, cross the Cook Straits to Hawkes Bay on the North Island, and sample the local cuisine and wine.

Shirley Rawstron, owner of this family winery, met and led us through the formal gardens to an outdoor pavilion for a wine tasting and overview of New Zealand wines. A few steps away from the pavilion is Landsdowne restaurant, an elegant gray quarry-stone and slate building that once served as the homestead for this family vineyard and cattle ranch. Taste buds are awakened by sips of crisp Sauvignon Blanc (the South Island's pride and joy), mellow Chardonnay, aromatic Merlot, and spicy Pinot Noir.

Leaving Christchurch, the morning air is crisp and cold even though it is early spring (late October) in New Zealand. Traffic is light to non-existent along the eastern coast toward Waipara Valley and Canterbury Plains. Wind barriers of tall tree-hedges shelter and protect meadows and fields for sheep, cattle, deer, and horse farms. Our driver says that because of the climate, tree farms mature in about 25 years.

Waipara Valley

The first stop in Waipara Valley is family owned Pegasus Bay Winery in Amberley. Dr. Ivan Donaldson, a professor of neurology, is the winemaker and owner. Half of the picture perfect 200 acre estate was planted in vineyards in 1985. A small, rustic restaurant with a loft overlooks the rolling hills, ponds, and footpaths leading to the vineyards.

Pegasus Bay reflects the unique personality of its owners. Wife Christine uses names like Finale Chardonnay, Maestro Merlot, and Prima Donna Pinot Noir for their reserve wines to proclaim her love of music and opera. Son Edward, executive chef, plans menus to complement the wines made by brother Matthew and his partner, Lynette Hudson. Dad Ivan, wine critic and judge, writes Pegasus Bay's newsletter From the Prescription Pad and oversees the business. They produce no vintage wines, use screw caps to prevent mold from corks, and produce two wine labels: Pegasus Bay and Main Divide. Wine Review magazine gave their 2002 Main Divide Sauvignon blanc a five-star rating.

Lunch today is a two-part marathon of food and wine tasting. Part one at Pegasus Bay is a creamed leek and scallop tart garnished with watercress, and orange zest appetizer served with a Pegasus Bay Sauvignon/Semillion blend. Smoked salmon rillettes, buckwheat blini, and an excellent Chardonnay was followed by coffee and a Hate Harvest Riesling. Bravo to the Donaldson family symphony.

Marlborough

Blenheim is the largest city and capitol of Marlborough area. Located in the heart of New Zealand's wine growing district, it is ideally located for tours of the more than 60 wineries. Art galleries, craft shops, museums, sports facilities, and English style gardens provide entertainment for residents and visitors. Village time is announced from the big clock on the quarry-stone bell tower in Seymour Square. Names of local soldiers who lost their lives in the World Wars and Korea are etched into the cornerstones of the bell tower memorial.

Montana Brancott winery is the largest commercial winery in the Marlborough district and also owns the largest Pinot Noir vineyard in New Zealand. Ornate metal gates lead to the winery, visitor center, retail store, and restaurant. Montana-Brancott produces about 120 types of wines and sparkling wines. Reserve wines often bear alphabetic labels using initials to identify the estate where the grapes were grown, such as: O for Ormond Estate; B for Brancott Vineyard; or P for Patutahi Estate. The addition of sugar or yeast is not necessary during the winemaking process since the grapes are naturally acidic. Sauvignon Blanc is the signature wine.

Traveling north through Marlborough to the top of the South Island is Cloudy Bay Winery. Nick Blampied-Lane, oenologist, talked about Cloudy Bay's partnership with the French Veuve Clicquot Champagne and the French style wines that he produces. Pelorus is the name of Cloudy Bay's pink tinted sparkling vintage and nonvintage wine. He told us that still wines are bottled with screw caps for local distribution, but corks are used for exports. Approximately 80 per-cent of their wines are exported and the United States is their number one customer.

Our final stop in the Marlborough area is Hunter's, founded in 1979 by wine pioneer Ernie Hunter, and currently managed by his widow, Jane. This highly respected couple brought international attention to New Zealand wines. Today Jane Hunter is in London receiving another award.

The lunch menu was aptly named Mnage a Trois and offered three courses with accompanying wines. An appetizer plate with samples of mussels (green mussels are male, and females are apricot colored with roe), quail sausages, freshwater crayfish, and venison served with Hunter's Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc. Entree selections included fig and almond flavored chicken or sockeye salmon with saffron couscous paired with Hunter Pinot Noir or Chardonnay. The ice cream dessert was made with Blue Borage honey collected from historic Molesworth Station.

A choice of Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc or Riesling followed a lunch designed for hearty appetites.

Hawkes Bay

Bay is on the east coast of the North Island, about an hour-and-a-half flight from Nelson on the South island. Because of the hilly terrain and rocky soil, the wine appellation is called Gimblett Gravels. It is warmer here on the North Island and palm trees, yucca plants, and exotic shrubs decorate the landscape. Our visit includes three high profile wineries, all with very different personalities and wines.

Church Road Winery boasts a wine museum, restaurant, gift shop, and outdoor facilities for concerts and festivals. Lunch was served in an opulent banquet hall overlooking rows of oak barrels filled with gently aging wines. Copper light fixtures illuminate the wide planked wooden floors and the aroma of Pinot Noir perfumed the room. Wide arced windows look out across the vineyards toward magnificent homes nestled in the distant cliffs. Our host introduced us to a local delicacy--whitebait omelet. Whitebait are tiny eel-like fish served whole, adding a new dimension of taste to the dish. Selections of Church Road Sauvignon Blanc, Hawkes Bay Merlot, and a delectable Semillon dessert wine complemented the menu of venison and a strawberry dessert.

The owner-wine maker of Trinity Hill has a very familiar name: John Hancock. He chuckled when he told us that it was not practical to use his name for the winery since the name was already used by a high profile international corporation as well as a very famous American. He purchased this land in 1987 at a bargain price when it was considered useless for anything but a quarry. This was before the great Kiwi Land Rush as he called it, when wine makers scrambled to purchase land.

Merlot is the most widely planted grape at Trinity Hill; however, a variety of grapes including Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Gres, Merlot, and Sauvignon Franc also are cultivated. Unlike many other wineries in New Zealand, Trinity Hill uses cork instead of screw tops. The Winery has a gallery called The Cellar Door which serves as a venue for local and visiting artists, as well as a retail store and gardens for picnickers and events.

Auckland

Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand and home to more than one million people, is the final destination for our group of wine aficionados. Often called the "City of Sails," Auckland is bordered by the Tasman Sea on the west and the Pacific Ocean on the east.

A visit to the Auckland Museum to see a Maori cultural performance describing the lifestyles of Auckland's original inhabitants was a sightseeing highlight. Public transportation is easy and efficient. Kelly Tarlton's Antarctic Encounter on the Auckland waterfront gives tourists a chance to see samples of marine life from the South Pacific Oceans. Visitors ride a cart through the glass-enclosed tanks filled with live underwater creatures. Penguins strut in a simulated Antarctic environment near the cart trail that tunnels under the highway. A long, uninterrupted sidewalk around the coastline is reminiscent of Tampa's famed Bayshore Boulevard with its joggers, bicyclists, and rollerbladers.

Waiheke Island

A ferry ride from Auckland to Waiheke Island brings to an end the wine tasting adventure of New Zealand. Waiheke, meaning "cascading water," is a 36 square mile island about 40 minutes via water from Auckland. The population is about 8,000, and many of the island people take the daily ferry to work. Olive oil, wine, and tourism are the principal industries. This beautiful island with its inactive volcano is home to more than 30 New Zealand wineries.

Goldwater Estate, established in 1978, is managed by Ken Christie and his wife, Gretchen Goldwater. Their winery, like other Waiheke Island wineries, has gained an international reputation for Bordeaux style reds. Goldwater produces a Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Dog Point Sauvignon Blanc, and Zell Chardonnay. Olive trees and trellised vines decorate the hilly terrain above the winery office and tasting room that looks out to the Auckland skyline and the glimmering waters of the Pacific. Goldwater Estate also has vineyards in Marlborough and Hawkes Bay. A sign in the tasting room says, "It is good to do nothing and then to rest." Wonder if the grapes are talking among themselves?

Next is Stonyridge Vineyard, home to the exclusive Larose Cabernet blended wine. This flagship wine, reputed to be one of the top 20 Cabernets in the world, is pre-sold to a loyal mail order membership before it is produced. Steven White is founder and inspiration for this unique property which produces small quantities of Chardonnay, Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre, and Malbec and extravirgin olive oil. Labor intensive organic gardening techniques are used to insure the integrity of the wines.

Twenty-five acres of vineyards, herb gardens, olive, and cork groves surround the pink buildings that house the winery, cellars, retail shop, and Veranda Cat. A carefully chosen selection of Stonyridge wines is available at the Caf, which is open only on weekends. Lunch on the canopy covered patio, facing net-covered vineyards, and the mountains beyond is definitely worth the effort. Braised duck, roasted chicken, rack of lamb, grilled vegetables, fresh baked breads, and innovative desserts are served on big platters and passed family style down the long wooden tables. The feeling here is one of a family gathering in a worn but loved home.

Wakatere Boating Club

Final farewells took place at the Wakatere Boating Club in Auckland. Ken and Erika Crawford of Crawford Wines sponsored dinner and a wine tasting at this beachfront club. Ken is winemaker, and wife Erika is the marketing manager for this very distinctive label. Raw oysters, mussels, and salmon appetizers were served with Crawford Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay. Favorite wines were Cane 2000, a reserve Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot blend, and a very distinctive Semillion and Reka, a sweet Riesling dessert wine. The winery also produces some sparkling wine.

Dark clouds rolled over the angry ocean waves and cold rain began to fall as the evening turned to night and dinner came to an end. Ken Crawford's comment, "You wouldn't have wanted to drink the wine from New Zealand 10 years ago," made me realize how quickly the land of Hobbits, wizards, and elves is changing.

Phyllis Cherry, CCM is a retired club manager and freelance writer living in Tampa, FL.