Marlborough
Wineries...
Wineries...
| More than just grapes in this region. |
January 8, 2006
Yesterday we arrived in the town of Blenheim. While this name might not sound familiar to most, it is the hub of a very
popular wine region that many people do know. Marlborough.
I was very eager to start the day. I mean who wouldn’t be excited to dedicate a day towards the tasting of Marlborough
wines???
Jim opted out of the majority of this trip in order to hang out at an internet café while doing work and listening to the New
York Giants playoff game on the computer. Lame.
Just after Kat and I dropped him off, we headed off to the wineries. Nothing like a little bit of fermented grape juice at 9:30 a.m.
I knew before coming here that the two main grapes grown in this area are Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. What caught me a
bit by surprise was how many Chardonnays were out here. Not only that…these were Chardonnays that I really enjoyed.
Jim met up with us later in the afternoon. By the end of the day, Kat and I had visited ten different wineries. Two of the
wineries we went to had tasting fees and everywhere else was free. It was great to finally do something really fun without
dropping lots of cash.
Everybody we encountered was so sweet. Except for one person. Kathy Lynskey. And wouldn’t you know that she is also the
one person who named the winery after herself (as it is called Kathy Lynskey wines). She was a straight-up be-otch. Truly, she
was. I’m not really sure what she sat on in the morning but one thing was clear – she had something lodged very far up her
butt. If she was being snooty because she thought her wines were superior to others, she should stop as there was not one wine
I tasted there that really did anything for me.
I wasn’t sure if it was just me that thought she was rude and arrogant. Definitely not the case as that was the first thing that
Kat and Jim said when they left the winery. I will re-hash a little dialogue that took place as I was looking at a newspaper
clipping…
Jen: Oh. Is this you?
Be-otch: (In a very be-otchy tone) Well, does it look like me?
Jen: (Keep in mind I am bad at really being able to tell this kind of stuff – after all, I still can’t tell who Ashlee Simpson is in
magazines after all of her plastic surgeries) Ummm. It kind of does.
Be-otch: Yes. It’s me.
Jen: Ohhh. So this is your winery? (I realize now that I was being a bit slow on the uptake but this was our eighth winery of the
day)
Be-otch: Yes, it is.
After that experience, I have vowed never to trust a winery with a woman’s first and last name as the name of the winery. I
mean does it get more self-obsessed than that???
That experience aside, everything else was great about the day. Beautiful vineyards, friendly people and some great wines
(including a new appreciation for Sauvignon Blancs).
I look forward to finding some of these labels when I get back home!
Yesterday we arrived in the town of Blenheim. While this name might not sound familiar to most, it is the hub of a very
popular wine region that many people do know. Marlborough.
I was very eager to start the day. I mean who wouldn’t be excited to dedicate a day towards the tasting of Marlborough
wines???
Jim opted out of the majority of this trip in order to hang out at an internet café while doing work and listening to the New
York Giants playoff game on the computer. Lame.
Just after Kat and I dropped him off, we headed off to the wineries. Nothing like a little bit of fermented grape juice at 9:30 a.m.
I knew before coming here that the two main grapes grown in this area are Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. What caught me a
bit by surprise was how many Chardonnays were out here. Not only that…these were Chardonnays that I really enjoyed.
Jim met up with us later in the afternoon. By the end of the day, Kat and I had visited ten different wineries. Two of the
wineries we went to had tasting fees and everywhere else was free. It was great to finally do something really fun without
dropping lots of cash.
Everybody we encountered was so sweet. Except for one person. Kathy Lynskey. And wouldn’t you know that she is also the
one person who named the winery after herself (as it is called Kathy Lynskey wines). She was a straight-up be-otch. Truly, she
was. I’m not really sure what she sat on in the morning but one thing was clear – she had something lodged very far up her
butt. If she was being snooty because she thought her wines were superior to others, she should stop as there was not one wine
I tasted there that really did anything for me.
I wasn’t sure if it was just me that thought she was rude and arrogant. Definitely not the case as that was the first thing that
Kat and Jim said when they left the winery. I will re-hash a little dialogue that took place as I was looking at a newspaper
clipping…
Jen: Oh. Is this you?
Be-otch: (In a very be-otchy tone) Well, does it look like me?
Jen: (Keep in mind I am bad at really being able to tell this kind of stuff – after all, I still can’t tell who Ashlee Simpson is in
magazines after all of her plastic surgeries) Ummm. It kind of does.
Be-otch: Yes. It’s me.
Jen: Ohhh. So this is your winery? (I realize now that I was being a bit slow on the uptake but this was our eighth winery of the
day)
Be-otch: Yes, it is.
After that experience, I have vowed never to trust a winery with a woman’s first and last name as the name of the winery. I
mean does it get more self-obsessed than that???
That experience aside, everything else was great about the day. Beautiful vineyards, friendly people and some great wines
(including a new appreciation for Sauvignon Blancs).
I look forward to finding some of these labels when I get back home!
A Marlborough vineyard.
Cheers.
