EAST COAST PALATE

So after my time spent making Pinot Noir at Villa Maria, I hit the road with my friend Iñigo, a fellow traveller that I met while walking on the Camino de Santiago in 2009. 

We found the freshness of New Zealand's produce and seafood to be reason enough to make our own dinners in the Backpacker's where we stayed.  Apart from saving some cash that can otherwise be spent on beer and wine, making dinner in a communal kitchen was a great way to get to know other people on the road.

The local beverages above are Speights, the beer of the south island, and a Peter Yealands 2010 Sauvignon Blanc.   The beer was my favorite mainstream brew down there, and it wasn't expensive.  The Yealands SB, also available here in the States, is zesty, citrus driven, with classic grassy notes that epitomize Marlborough Savvy.   It is a great white wine for the fare seen above, too:  Cabbage, carrot, avacado, and mesclun salad; grilled salmon in garlic butter; and green-lipped Havilock mussels.  This picture will always make me nostalgic.... and hungry! 

Anyway, if you see Yealands wines, or Villa Maria wines for that matter, you can trust that they offer good product for a reasonable price.  The Yealands Pinot Noir was one of the first Marlborough reds I had that made me stop, sip again and again, and think, "New Zealand's got it."  And they do.  From picturesque landscapes, to wacky wildlife, this country is a traveller's dreamland.  Their local flavors don't fall short at all, either.

Well, with this trip done, it's off to the next adventure:  The Rhone Valley!