Central Otago... (Friday, Feb. 15th)

We awoke Friday to find ol’ Franz Josef had followed us in spirit, with the coldest morning yet and fresh snowfall on the Pisa Mountain range. Our first stop of the day was Molyneux. This farm has created a niche market by becoming the latest-bearing cherry exporter in the world, supplying the Asian market right around the New Year. The evolution of their business has evolved from exporting beautiful, tasteless nectarines to Taiwan (where they were mainly placed on their ancestors’ graves) to providing crunchy 26 mm+ cherries to much of Asia (where they are actually consumed). These cherries are grown under rain cover and bird netting, sorted and packed on site, and air freighted within days of harvesting. Attention Adams County packing houses: we hung out briefly with Molyneux’s most valuable employee, a long white curtain between the sorters and quality control people so you never know when you’re being scrutinized. We also tried an amazingly tasty nectarine called Genevieve, which would come in around September for us. You can check out some Molyneux's products available through Orchard Fresh at: http://www.orchardfresh.co.nz/

After lunch in Cromwell, it was off to Mt. Difficulty http://www.mountdifficulty.co.nz/ where Matt Dicey talked us through the progression of their operation from co-op to family owned business with a father-son winemaker/grape grower team. This is one of the Central Otago wineries which have enjoyed world-wide attention since the release of the movie Sideways. Matt made us feel right at home by recounting friendly explosions between him and his father which leave their employees wringing their hands and saying, "There goes the company!" But everyone’s ok at the end of the day and the wine gets made.

The Mount Difficulty Cafe (with winemaking facilities below)

Mount Difficulty Vines

Our last stop of the day was the Winehouse http://www.highplains.co.nz/index.php/ps_pagename/winehouse_home , next door to A. J. Hackett’s http://ajhackett.com/nz bungy operation. Our host Timbo provided the most comprehensive tasting yet and possibly the best (definitely the most) wine I had on our trip. He explained the different taste receptors of the tongue and described the most basic shape a wine should make in your mouth as a triangle, better wines as squares, and the best wines as giving a 360 degree circle mouth feel. He also gave great marketing advice about the marriage of his winery and the tourist attraction next door. Maggie had a hard time sitting still every time Timbo said bungy, and before the tasting was over she raced across the garden and talked her way into the last jump slot of the day. To my horror and the delight of a busload of Chinese tourist, my sister threw herself off a bridge like a champ, grinning the whole time. We’re going to work on loading the videos…

Caitlin Reed