Saturday February 9 was an exceptionally beautiful day. All sun and blue sky and a high of 23C. Perfect weather for a Hawke's Bay Wine Tour. In the morning, we went to the Napier Urban Farmers' Market that operates every Saturday from a Square about a 10 minute walk down our street.
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| Morning tour train in the town |
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| Market- mid morning |
There were lots of folks with beautiful fruits and vegetables; a booth with good coffee; one with fabulous fig products (figs grown nearby) and a wonderful bread and pastry purveyor. The Hawke's Bay Area is great for agriculture and wine.
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| Busy market morning |
We got some fruits and vegetables and then stopped at the excellent organic/health food store for some other items. We passed a group of women out for a pre Art Deco weekend lunch. Napier is definitely gearing up for the big celebration next weekend. It will be crazy here-- in a way we're glad we're visiting this weekend as it is still possible to get a table at the good restaurants and the wineries are not overflowing.
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| Ladies that lunch |
We met Ross and his mini-van at 1:00 p.m. near the I-Site building. His tour is called Vines & Views and runs from 1:00 p.m. to around 5:30 p.m. I took a few pictures near the meeting place.
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| It was such a clear day- we could see the hills on the other side of Hawke Bay |
Just near our meeting place, I took a picture of the iconic Temperance & General Building which occupies a corner lot on Marine Parade overlooking the bandshell and Hawke Bay. It was completed in 1936 as offices for the Temperance & General Insurance Co. It now contains a couple of apartments, a boutique hotel and a Café.
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| Iconic corner building near waterfront |
Ross picked us up a few minutes early and made short stops to pick up another eight people who were going on the tour. There were two young women from Rotorua (celebrating a birthday); a couple from Auckland; a couple from Southampton England; a couple from Virginia; and a couple from just outside Ottawa.
Our first stop was Mission Estate Winery, the oldest winery and birthplace of New Zealand wine. The winery was established in 1851 by French Missionaries. It is housed in a beautifully restored seminary building. The winery produces five ranges of wine. Their pinnacle wine, Huchet, is a tribute to their pioneering winemaker Brother Cyprian Huchet, the son of a vigneron from the Loire. It is one of the largest wineries in the area and has a large outdoor restaurant.
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| What a location--- the grapes are looking good |
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| View from the winery |
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| Old Seminary building houses the winery |
We had a tasting of quite a number of wines- ranging from $16.00 to $50.00. The area is known for its Chardonnays, Syrahs and Merlots. We tasted a Pinot Gris, a Sauvignon Blanc (imported grapes from the Marlborough region); a Chardonnay, a Rosé, a Cabernet Franc, a Syrah and a dessert wine. We enjoyed most of the wines, though nothing was a home run. This winery is on all the tours as it is a beautiful spot---some very good wines and some average.
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| Alain on a Mission |
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| Moi aussi |
The second winery we visited was Church Road Winery. This winery had been highly recommended by a woman at the Arts Centre café in Rotorua. It turned out this was our favourite and all the wines we tasted were superb. The winery was founded in 1897 and is one of Hawke's Bay most awarded wineries. It is now owned by the French company Pernod Ricard. Their Winemaker was Winemaker of the Year in New Zealand in 2016. The winery was getting set up for a wedding-- it is housed in a beautiful building with a timbered ceiling and pillars. We tasted a rosé, a chardonnay and a wonderful Merlot. We bought a bottle of the Merlot.
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| Inside of winery- getting ready for a wedding dinner |
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| Learning about the wines at Church Road |
After visiting Church Road, we drove into the small fishing town of Ahuriri, to go to The Urban Winery.
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| Sitting on the dock of the Bay |
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| Driving into Ahuriri |
The winery is located in the historic National Tobacco Company Ltd. Art Deco building. At one time Rothman cigarettes were made here and it is still known colloquially as the Rothman's building.
The winery is home to Tony Bish Wines and its wine bar offers other unique Hawke's Bay wines to complement the Tony Bish chardonnays.
The winery features spectacular egg-shaped concrete and French oak fermenters. We were given a tour after a tasting of a few wines, including the infamous Golden Egg Chardonnay. The Chardonnay was excellent.
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| The fermenting room with oak barrels and the eggs |
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| Explaining the egg |
Our last stop was Linden Estate, a short ride from Ahuriri into the countryside (Eskdale sub region). Linden Estate was established in 1971 by the Van der Linden family. The current winery facility was built in 1991. A Chardonnay was their first medal winner. The present owners took over in 2006. The cellar door is elevated above the surrounding vines providing a wonderful vista.
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| Alain with the view of the vineyard and the hills |
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| Another view |
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| Cellar Door- Linden Estate |
We tasted a few wines and Ross brought out a lovely cheese board, including a delicious sheep cheese for me. We drove around the estate for a bit and stopped to look at a large avocado tree that had hundreds of avocados on it. Looks like a bumper crop!
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| In front of avocado tree with 100s of avocados |
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| Ross our guide, who used to be the vineyard manager at Linden Estate, talking about the grapes |
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Shadow in the Vineyards (it was such a clear day)
After we got back to Napier, Alain rested up (his knee has been bothering him the last two days) and I went for a walk on the waterfront. We had a lovely meal at the Hostel using the produce we had bought at the morning Farmers' market.
Sunday February 10 was mostly sunny with a high of 22C. No humidity in Napier and a lovely breeze off the water. Late morning we went to Albion Canteen for an Allpress Coffee (having the Allpress app is very handy in finding cafés with Allpress beans in the cities we are visiting)
Albion Canteen- great breakfast and lunch menu too
Alain with his scone and flat white
We stopped back at the Hostel before heading to the MTG (Museum, Theatre, Gallery).
View of our Hostel on the second floor-- such a great location
The Museum is on Marine Parade just a few minutes from the Hostel. My favourite spot is the Art Deco bandshell with a view of the water.
View of the bandshell and Norfolk Island Pines
The MTG is housed in a beautiful building (I took some pictures the first night we were in Napier). The museum is free and is open seven days a week. The foyer area of the MTG had some wonderful pictures done by the Iwitoi Kahungunu collective of artists in 2019.
The first gallery was the Māori gallery where we could not take pictures. There were some beautiful carvings and other pieces from the tribes in the Hawke's Bay Area. It is a very contemporary part of the gallery and there were a number of videos along with the art.
The next exhibit was entitled The Architectural Legacy of J.A. Louis Hay (1881-1948), the architect who was a key player in the 1920s and then in the rebuilding of Napier after the 1931 earthquake.
In 1935, Hay won a competition to rebuild the Municipal Theatre. However, the Napier Borough Council took two months to inform him of the decision and failed to pay him the prize money. A court case ensued, which Hay won. However, the Council chose to update the original plans and sidelined Hay. As our tour guide told us yesterday, there were a number of problems with the building which eventually had to be remedied. They should have stuck with the Hay design!!
Hay's winning design
Hay had a professional relationship with the wealthy tobacco merchant Gerhard Husheer going back to 1925. He designed the National Tobacco Company building in 1932, that today houses the Urban Winery.
Magnificent door to building
Hay designed the Munster Chambers--1932, named after the province in Ireland
On the second floor, there was an exhibit entitled: Five Pākehā Painters- Perspectives on Hawke's Bay. The term Pākehā was used in the exhibit "to describe the diverse social group of white people, with a predominantly British cultural heritage, who regard Aotearoa New Zealand as home".
Geoffry Fuller (1925-2011)- Ploughed Field with Sheep, 1999
Dick Frizzell-Napier-Taupō Road Landscape, 1986
Geoffrey Fuller - Country Road, 1994
There were some Art Deco props in an alcove that we could don and take pictures in front of a scene in the early 1930s, after the rebuild of Napier.
Alain in front of new roller skating rink
Moi aussi in pearls and a borrowed hat
We then went into a gallery with works by George Nuku (from the nearby suburb of Maraenui) entitled Bottled Ocean 2118. It features pieces all made from bottles. An incredible piece about the bottle contamination of our oceans.
Fish made out of a large plastic water bottle
There was another piece by George Nuku near one of the windows.
The basement contained displays of photos and mementos from the 1931 Hawke's Bay Earthquake. There was also a film of interviews with survivors that must have been produced a number of years ago. Incredible stories of the impact of a major earthquake. Many described it as a battle zone.
Before and After the quake
After our visit to the Museum, we went for a late lunch at Mr. D, the restaurant where we had a doughnut the day we arrived. We shared a lovely sashimi salad and a doughnut (of course) for dessert.
Sashimi salad. - very fresh fish
My turn to inject the doughnut with jelly
We stoped in front of the Art Deco Centre and I took Alain's picture in a frame near an old car used for driving tours.
We then returned to the water for another walk- past my favourite structure.
Wonderful beach-- no swimming here
Sunken gardens near the water
At around 6:00 p.m., we stopped at the Emporium Bar at the Masonic Hotel for a glass of local Syrah. The bar has lots of memorabilia and photos of Napier.
They were playing an old Marlon Brando movie on three screens (no sound)--turned out it was One-Eyed Jacks (1961).
Cheers at the Emporium
I just don't get tired of this view of Hawke Bay
We saw a lovely poem on a wall near the Marine Parade. A town forever changed by the 1931 earthquake.
It was then back to the Hostel for a pasta dinner. We have had a wonderful time in Napier- a truly magical place. The Art Deco buildings, the waterfront and beautiful beach, the surrounding countryside and vineyards and the fabulous food should not be missed.
On Monday February 11, we will take the bus to Wellington, the next stop of our adventure.
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