A New Zealand road trip is not complete without a stop in New Zealand’s wine country, Marlborough. Wine tours are done a little differently in this region hopping from winery to winery on the back of a bike, which is much more my style. Who needs a bus or a driver when you have your own two legs?
Blenheim is nicknamed the gateway to wine country and staying at The Marlborough Vintners Hotel, we were situated right on the Golden Mile – an epic stretch of land filled with wineries, tasting rooms, and vineyards. Riding your bike not only means you don’t need a designated driver but also justifies all the wine calories, which basically means they don’t even count!
Marlborough is known for its Sauvignon Blanc – but a lot of the wineries are stepping out and trying to be more creative with what they offer. #1 on the Ride the Golden Mile list Hanz Herzog definitely tops the list for most diverse and unique wines. On his single plot he has 38 grape varieties planted – which is unheard of anywhere around the world but especially in this region. It’s one of the wineries I’ll be excited to continue to visit because they rarely do the same thing twice.
Another memorable stop was at the Allan Scott Family Winemakers tasting room. Each of their wines are connected to an Enomatic machine, and you can choose a taste, a small glass, or a large glass of over 25 different wines. When we arrived, there was a group of friends enjoying themselves after a dive trip. I started chatting with one of them, and turns out we both went to Washington State University. I swear Cougs make the world feel smaller because we find each other all over the world. They added such a fun atmosphere that this is the memory I think of when I think of wine tasting in Marlborough.
We tried to be responsible and only did 1 day of biking and tasting – so this region and a lot of the wine was left unexplored. I guess that means we will have to do another stop here, what a bummer.
Wandering Wild 
Sounds like an absolutely brilliant experience and similar to what can be done in Burgundy, cycling between the vines on narrow roads from village to village, each full of wineries. Horizontal tastings to be avoided though if you’re on the bike! 😂😂👍🍷
Burgundy sounds like a place I need to add to my travel list – though I’m not sure how keen I am on narrow roads 🙂
It’s the Mecca of terroir and so full of history. I was describing the old roads between the vines, they do have “proper” roads 😂🍷