03/12/2023
Hello everyone and greetings from New Zealand!
Where the heck has the year gone?? In 21 days time it will be Christmas Day!!
Yesterday I was one of a group of 26 people who visited the Awhitu Peninsula here in the city of Auckland. Much of the land in the city of Auckland is rural land and Awhitiu Peninsula is one of Auckland's best kept secret rural areas. The peninsula encloses the Manukau Harbour. It is rugged, beautiful, and just over an hour from central Auckland. There are still remnants of the once thick puriri and kauri forest in the steeper valleys. A wide variety of agricultural and horticultural activities are visible on the Peninsula as are a number of charming harbour beach settlements, which are in direct contrast to the wild west coast and its 200m high sand cliffs.
We went to the Pollok Market held on the first Sunday of each month in the local community hall. Wonderful to meet local crafts people and to talk to them about the items they had for sale. Everything from local honey, clothing, childrens toys, soaps, art work and much more. We also visited the Pollok Arts and Crafts Co-op to view more art and craft work made by local people.
Our next stop was at Awhitu Wines (one of three boutique wineries on the peninsula), Greenock Drive, Grahams Beach. The delightful, passionate and very knowledgeable owners are Dave abd Wendy Hendl. Dave gave a great presentation followed by tastigs of the delicious wines.
For those of you reading this who know about vineyards and wine making then here are some interesting notes about Awhitu Wines and their vineyard.
Planted in the winter of 1997.
Traditional French pruning method.
Fruiting selected on 2nd year canes.
Soil is a complex combination of clays and sand.
Micro climate with lower rainfall and higher sunshine hours than the general Auckland region.
The crop volume is suppressed by rigorous bud removal followed by bunch thinning after veraison has begun (sugars rising in the berries and colour change).
Meticulous canopy management is a key contributor to gaining superior quality fruit. All fruit is hand picked into baskets prior to processing which takes place within 4-6 hours of harvest. Ferment is temperature controlled. The wines are lightly filtered.
They Syrah and Chardonnay grapes and produce three superior flavoured, elegant, hand-crafted wines: Harbour Rose, Greenock Syrah and Peninsula Chardonnay.
For those of you contemplating visiting this outstanding boutique winery you are welcome to bring your own picnic food and spend a relaxing time at the property. Wine tasting is free of charge and of course you can buy the wines on site.
It is well worth the journey to drive to Awhitu Wines. I highly recommend that you visit them on the first Sunday of the month so that you can also visit Pollok en-route.Your will not be dissapointed.
Cheers.
Sharron - your tour guide friend in New Zealand
Experience the superior flavour of our elegant, hand-crafted Harbour Rose, Greenock Syrah and Peninsula Chardonnay.
