Just like a fine wine...

Returning back from our two week break was really hard to say the least. Not only was it nice to not focus on school for that time, but also as much as I LOVE Wellington, it is nice to get out and explore new cities!  So after getting back a few assignments (and being frustrated with the schooling, grading, vague feedback, etc) I knew it was already time to explore some more. (Earlier this week, I had been assigned a poster to do for a class and I could not believe that I actually had a poster due in a college class- frustration reached its boiling point.)

This smile is not sincere.

So Brenda, Lauren, Hillary and I decided to go on a wine tour! We did the Gourmet Wine Escape tour in the Wairarapa region in the city of Martinborough and it was ABSOLUTELY EXQUISITE. I did not know that much about wine and this area was labeled in my guidebook as one of THE PLACES to go. So the girls and I woke up on Saturday morning and booked it to the railway station. From there, we had to board a van for our tour. We were 4 of 13 people on this wine tour so it was really nice to have such a small intimate group and (bonus) there were people from EVERYWHERE on this tour.

Our transportation.

                                                            Photo op!

We were the younger (and more inexperienced) ones so the others were eager to give us advice and tips. There were people from Australia, England, Switzerland, France and more! It was nice to interact with a new group of people and learn about this wine. It also was fun to try all of the wines. We tried about 6-8 wines at each vineyard and we went to four different types of vineyards from large commercialized ones to smaller, family owned-ones. We learned about the process of making wine from the planting of the grapes through to the bottling process. It was awesome and very educational.

Vineyard #1!

Vineyard #2

                                                                        Bottling Process.

Family owned- Mom and Pops who started vineyard #2.

It was nice to get away for a day and experience a fun activity where there was no hostel booking involved or deciding where to eat lunch. We just got to sit back, relax and gain knowledge on how wine is made, how to properly drink wine and develop a love for our wine of choice.

Vineyard #3 -- owned by a German family.. sehr gut!

Vineyard #4

After participating, I now feel like a REAL grown-up. I can report back and tell you that I prefer white wine over red and that I prefer Trafalgar (a Sauvignon Blanc/ late-harvested Riesling blend) and Pinot Gris (Murdoch James vineyard) over anything else. It was a fun day and I am so happy that I got to have a trip away with the girls! Although the weather was a little rainy, it was the perfect day to relax and enjoy ourselves and each other's company.

Our outing gave me that extra inspiration to get back to Wellington and knock out these next assignments. Sometimes one just needs a change of scenery and different activities to get themselves back in the game and this weekend did just that!

On the porch of vineyard #4!

Also- I did not take many pictures with my camera, but Lauren did. So check her blog here and there for more beautiful pictures that she took of us and our surroundings!! Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!