Auckland The City That Has It All
Trendy watering holes on the waterfront buzz with activity and 30 minutes out of town are vineyards, discovers FARZANA CONTRACTOR. |
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A vibrant city, Auckland has it all. Cafes, bistros, up-market restaurants, art galleries, parks, great shopping places, including a variety of ethnic shops, the influence of Maoris, Polynesians and Asians. Places such as Vulcan Lane, Viaduct Harbour, Parnell and Ponsonby are great gathering points for locals and tourists alike.
The waterfronts with trendy watering holes buzz with activity and it is absolutely possible for visitors to hire a yacht here and go sailing, which is a huge pastime for the Aucklander.
Mollies was a welcome sight. I don�t know whether I should call it a hotel, that would seem a trifle impersonal. For Mollies could well be a mansion, a home belonging to a very wealthy man. A man with impeccable taste.
There is quietness and peace and nobody seems to be around. Not even staff.
The man at the Concierge was also the Receptionist and he doubled up as the Cashier when I was checking out. In the morning as I was leaving on a Wine Tour, I saw him raking the leaves in the Courtyard! My kind of place, really.
Facing a time constraint, I had opted for a half-day Wine Tour to check out Auckland�s vineyards. And was I glad.
They grew fruits and vegetables but often kept a vineyard for their own wines. Ports, Sherries and some low-grade red wines were sold to the public. The only other wines made in New Zealand around that time were those from mission vineyards � for sacramental use during Church services.
It was only as recent as the late 1970s that New Zealanders developed a taste for quality table wines, and the demand prompted the planting of many of the more classical grape varieties � Reisling, Gewurztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon.
As we were talking I noticed in less than half-an-hour we were already out of the city and in the countryside going past villages and wayside stalls selling veggies and fruits, tomatoes, avocados, beans, watermelons and strawberries.
Nice drive. Picturesque, with rolling countryside, deer farms, grazing cows. Pine-lined road, bushy trees, wooden fences. It truly was enjoyable, driving, stopping, tasting, walking, buying (at discounted winery prices), talking to the people manning these places, watching some wine processes, etc.
A highly recommended activity, I�d say a wine tour is not just for wine lovers, it�s for anyone who wants to experience some tastings, have fun, enjoy good scenery, get some colour in their cheeks.
Mollies
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As it happens, it is the creation of a talented couple, Frances Wilson and Stephen Fitzgerald; and their passion for fine things and eye for detail is evident everywhere you turn. The luxuriously appointed suites spell understated elegance and the air around just seems to be lightly fragrant. 
Phil Parker of Fine Wine Tours was in the Lobby (a quaint Lounge, actually) on the dot of 8 a.m., his spanking luxury coach parked by the kerb-side. As we drove away he began talking�
The New Zealand wine industry largely began in Auckland. With West Auckland being considered the cradle. It was largely thanks to the influx of Dalmatian immigrants from the Adriatic coast of Croatia in the 1920s and 30s, that the first vineyard took root in the sandy, fertile Henderson clay. 
As the demand grew, winemakers started to look outside Auckland for better soils and cheaper land. And by the mid-1980s, Montana, a wine company, had planted extensively in Marlborough and a crisp, fruity, herbaceous New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc made its presence felt on the world stage. Cloudy Bay is the result of that effort.
Soon we were at our first stop: Nobilos. It is owned by Nichola Nobilo, 90 years old and very much around. After a few tastings (loved the 2000 Founders Reserve, a Reisling, honey, apricot and floral aroma, mmmm�) we were on our way, this time heading towards Coopers Creek, and then to the Brooks Vineyard.
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