KEY POINTS:
In a stomach-churning scene from the film Sideways, leading man Miles grabs the spittoon from a winery's tasting room and downs the contents. This is most definitely not the way to conduct oneself at a cellar door, but if you want some tips to make the most of your winery trips read on...
There's nothing like a jaunt into wine country to give you a real taste of a region's wines. From Auckland, Kumeu is just a 20-minute drive, while Matakana's wineries have become closer since the opening of the new motorway.
Further afield Hawkes Bay has a well-established wine route and in miniature-scaled Martinborough you can walk from winery to winery.
Head south to sip your way through the dozens of cellar doors strewn across the Marlborough region or encounter Nelson's heady fusion of art and wine. Down in Waipara, new and revamped operations have opened their doors and there's a burgeoning bounty to be sampled in the stunning landscapes of Central Otago.
Before embarking on your vinous odyssey, it's worth doing some homework and deciding who you might like to see. A mix of small and larger players and those you know and some you don't makes for a varied excursion.
A guide like Phil Parker's Mad Keen Wine Buff's Road Trip can provide the inside track on potential candidates, and most regions have a wine trail map you can download online, some with links to the wineries. The guide available through www.classicwinetrail.co.nz also makes a good starting point for those heading for the vineyards of Hawkes Bay to Marlborough via the Wairarapa.
If you want to make a day of it, four wineries are usually enough, with one stop being a leisurely lunch at one of the wineries' often excellent cafes. Many offer their tasting for free or for a nominal fee, often redeemable against a wine purchase.
When faced with a multitude of wines, it's worth trying the specialty of the region and also of the individual winery. There may be limited release and trial wines only available through cellar door.
Feel free to ask for advice and pose questions to get the most out of your visit. Staff can be a fount of knowledge when it comes to what they're pouring and you may even be served by the winemaker or owner in smaller establishments.
Don't help yourself to the wines, but conversely don't feel you have to drain your glass. In fact it's far from advisable if you're the designated driver or have lots of other wines to try. A sip will often suffice - give the wine a good swirl and inhale its aromas, then swish it around your mouth long enough to get a decent taste. Or spit into the receptacle provided - which is good to locate before being muted by a mouthful of wine. I've accidentally expectorated into a winery's water jug and didn't feel that smart.
At the end of the tasting, there's no obligation to buy the wines you've tried, especially if you didn't like them. If you did, go ahead as the opportunity to try before you buy means you should be taking home a winner ... that's unless you get so carried away with the atmosphere, cellar door spiel or the sampling that your judgment has been impaired.
But as long as you keep enough of your wits about you to stop you from quaffing from that spit bucket, you should be fine.
Cellar door selections
Stellar cellar door sauvignon
Wither Hills Rarangi Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2008 $25
This second vintage of a stellar single vineyard sauvignon that is only available at cellar door is pungent and powerful, with notes of gooseberry, fresh basil, jalapeno, lemongrass and vibrant citrus. Worth making a visit.
(From Wither Hills Marlborough Cellar Door.)
Blessed blend
Ascension The Benediction Matakana Reserve Cabernet Franc Merlot 2007 $35
A rare cabernet franc-dominated blend whose distribution is focused at its cellar door and locally, this delivers dense dark berry and plum fruit seasoned with cedary oak, bitter chocolate and earthy notes finishing with a flourish of lifted florals.
(From the Ascension Cellar door, Taste, The Vintry, Kowhai Wines, Super Liquor Warkworth, The Matakana Store.)
Great grigio style
Cracroft Chase Vineyard Wood's Edge Pinot Gris 2006 $20-24
While this tiny vineyard doesn't have a cellar door, like many small establishments, it receives guests by appointment. Its sole wine is a scintillatingly citrussy dry pinot gris made in a pinot grigio style, but with plenty of interest and intensity in its apple fruit overlaid with mineral, almond and spice.
(From Accent on Wine, Bacchus Cellars, Waipu Off Licence, Golddiggers.)
