En route to Furano

The heavy rain stopped. As they drove towards their next destination, Furano, the sky started to brighten. The contrast in weather was uplifting. The drive from Otaru 小樽 to Furano 富良野 was just under 3 hours and they made pit-stops whenever there was anything exciting en route.

The first stop was Sandan Taki 三段滝, which literally means 3-step waterfall. It wasn't a planned stop, so they haven't seen any photos or description of the place before.

Shortly after the waterfall pit-stop, they made another unplanned stop at an Rokkatei outlet just outside Furano. Guess mum couldn't wait for another 6 days before they would get to its main store in Obihiro　帯広. With a bank of floor-to-ceiling windows looking out to rows and rows of grape vines, the place was reminiscent of vineyards in Napa Valley and New Zealand. This outlet even got a decidedly fancy name, Campana della Vigna, カンパーナ六花亭.　http://www.rokkatei.co.jp/facilities/campana.html

The fresh grape soft ice cream looked decidedly yummy!! It was one of the special items limited to the Campana shop made from the locally produced Furano grape juice.ぶどうソフトー 富良野産ぶどう果汁を使ったソフトクリーム。

Wine Country - Stag's Leap Wine Cellars

Life turns on a dime. Warren Winiarski, a college professor in the US, bought a 50 acre plot of ranch in Napa in 1970 and turned that into a vineyard. A bottle of his very first vintage (1973) won the now famous 1976 Judgement of Paris against some of the most prestigious red wines from Bordeaux including Chateau Mouton-Rothschild and Chateau Haut Brion. The competition was organized by a British wine merchant, Steven Spurrier, who wasn't selling any Californian wines and didn't think Californian wines would win. Mr Winiarski kept the winery running until August 2007 when he sold Stag's Leap Wine Cellars to a consortium of Chateau St Michel and the Antinori family of Italy for US$185m!!

A renew interest in Judgement of Paris was developed by the movie Bottle Shock, a dramatized version of the event. If you look at the actual score, the difference between Stag's Leap and Mouton-Rothschild was very small, 0.05 point. So for a competition with eleven judges grading each wine out of 20 points with no predetermine grading guidelines, 0.05 point difference was a real flip of a coin. But this coin flip was perhaps the best marketing tool for Stag's Leap for over 20 years.

Mum signed up for the vintage release party for Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, the only other item in their itinerary which was pre-booked other than the dinners and accommodation in San Francisco. The estate is located along the Silverado Trail. It has an artfully built decent size man-made lake with a running creek of running water. You know it's man-made as soon as you see the color of the water which is turquoise blue. Dad knows the color well. It's the dye to stop the growth of algae in ponds. Still it's beautiful.

The event provided the tastings of the 3 latest vintage releases, Fay, SLV and Cask 23 in the beautiful surrounding of the estate. They also got a tour around the estate including going into the wine cellar inside the man-made caves and a taste of the freshly picked wine grapes. The caves were deep inside the hill and extended in different directions and there's even a banquet hall inside for special occasions. The ripen wine grapes were small and very sweet.

Wine Country - Wine Train, Merryvale, Taylor's Refresher

These three seemingly unrelated topics got lumped together because mum and dad saw them at around the same time. It's now difficult to disentangle the three.

The wine train is a 3 hour slow-train journey from Napa to St Helena and back. You are served lunch or dinner inside the train while you enjoy the views of the wine country. Mum and dad did not try the wine train, but their journey did get delayed by the wine train while waiting for it to go past.

Merryvale is a beautiful vineyard at St Helena, but they didn't spend much time there except buying a map poster that they haven't seen elsewhere.

The main attraction for them was in fact Taylor's Refresher, a famous burger joint with a steady stream of people lining up and waiting for their names to be called after they have ordered their choice of burgers. The seating are open-air and is located right across Merryvale. It has been serving burgers from the same roadside spot since 1949. The grease and fat in all the menu items were the best ingredients to line up your stomach before wine tastings.

Wine Country - Rubicon Estate

Some wineries are worth writing about because of the famous wines they produced, some vineyards have spectacular views. In this case the winery, Rubicon Estate, has a famous owner, Francis Ford Coppola and an almost theme park like atmosphere.

When you first enter the winery, the word "grand" comes to mind and that word will keep hitting you until you leave the estate. The wine cellar is located in a Victorian house surrounded by perfectly manicured garden with a few fruit trees dotted around the pathways. You can imagine Mickey and Minnie walk down these paths with their entourage following closely behind. The theme park settings continue inside the Victorian house where you would see some of Coppola's playthings being displayed including a car from an old movie. It's definitely worth stopping by just to experience the different atmosphere this winery imparts.

Wine Country - more vineyards and wineries

You might ask what is the biggest difference between the vineyards we saw in New Zealand and the ones we saw in Napa. The answer is - "Not a lot!". But in Napa, mum and dad saw rows and rows of ripen wine grapes hanging on the vine waiting to be picked. It was the harvest season after all. There were grapes on the vine and there were also crates after crates of harvested grapes. A special aroma permeated the air, especially around the wineries. It was the smell of grape juice, not red wine. The hand picked grapes were transported in crates holding half-a-ton of grapes each to grape crushing machines spewing out the juice and leaving the grape skins and branches out. You would not imagine a US$100 bottle of wine started with such humble beginning.

The economic climate probably created a surplus of grape production. There was a cardboard sign saying - "20 tons Cabernet Sauvignon grapes for sale". These are the independent growers who own vineyards but have no wine producing facilities selling to wineries who don't have their own grapes but pick and choose from others. As these grapes are perishable, they would go to waste if they can't find buyers. And this is precisely what's happening this year in Napa. Take a look at this weblink to see the predicament facing the grape growers this year.

Wine Country - Joseph Phelps Vineyard

A short drive along Oakville Cross Road, where Silver Oak Cellars is located, takes you to Silverado Trail a scenic stretch of road where you find many of the famous and so famous vineyards. Having shared a tasting between the two of them at Silver Oak, they decided its time to line their stomach with some grease and protein before going to the next winery for tasting. They stopped by Oakville Grocery to look for their lunch. Oakville Grocery is nothing like your everyday grocery but more like a delicatessen where you find expensive dressing oils, delicate seasonings and table wines. The closest comparable in Hong Kong is Olivers in Prince's Building in Central.

They shared a beef-and-cheese chimichanga in the Audi Q7 and then headed for the next stop. Joseph Phelps Vineyard. It sits right at one of the junctions along Silverado Trail and comes highly recommended by some Californian wine cognoscente.

The tasting was casual. Six different wines were introduced, while you enjoyed the expansive view of the vineyards and the magnificent weather. No wonder, they got hooked on to buying 10 bottles of red wine which they ended up lugging around the rest of their trip.

Wine Country - Silver Oak Cellars

There are more than 400 wineries within the Napa area and you won't go to all of them. Even if you want to, you might not get access to some of them. Mum tried to arrange visits to both Harlan Estate and Grace Family before the trip and got turned down by both. But why is Silver Oak Cellars worth writing about? They know the name and have a few bottles of its wine in their Eurocave. It was the first winery, they visited in Napa Valley. And above all, they sell dog clothes and leashes. Of course we get our fair share of souvenirs wherever they go on holidays.

Amisfield Vineyard

Central Otago produces some wonderful Pinot Noir and Amisfield was just one of the 3 vineyards visited in this region, the other 2 being Felton Road and Mt. Difficulty. Central Otago's pinot noir is characterised by more complexity and aromas than other wine regions in New Zealand. This is immediately obvious even to a novice drinker. Unlike Burgundy's pinot noirs, most of Central Otago's pinot noirs are drinkable and delicious when it's released.

Amisfield offers beautiful cellar door and a bar restaurant serving high quality local food for lunch. Mum and dad shared a "Trust-the-Chef" lunch set menu and for NZD 90, they got 7 different dishes from a selection of appetizers to a few main courses. Shame they never brought any leftovers home!! Mum did ship a few bottles of those pinot noir home though, perhaps dad will let us share the spoil:)

Seresin Estate - Panaromic view of a vineyard

View from the cellar door of Seresin Estate. This perhaps made the deepest impression among all the vineyards visited during this trip. The olive oil is very fragrant and they brought home a bottle, which both of us are eager to try!!

Seresin Estate

"Have you been to Seresin Estate yet?" asked an American lady who was also touring New Zealand. The name did not register as we only know a few vineyards at that point. "Ah then, you've got to go! It's owned by MICHAEL Seresin, a famous director." as she eagerly introduced the spectacular view there. Dad, ever so incredulous, then asked "so which movie is he famous for?" "Eh, no idea...."

Regardless the accuracy of the facts, it was a great recommendation. Thank you.

Unison Vineyard

One of the boutique vineyards in New Zealand, your first impression of Unison in Hawke's bay is the intense smell of wine when you go into the cellar door. You can see the two big barrels sitting next to the small counter with several rows of smaller barrels inside.

Sileni Estates

If you visit Hawke's Bay, you should try Sileni for lunch, the result of totally unscientific survey of a few locals. You will be seated among beautiful vines and the quality of food is excellent.

Craggy Range

Imagine staying in a vineyard........
Craggy Range is one of the vineyards which offers accommodation. This was the view from the "Cellarmaster", a small cottage where they stayed for 2 nights.

The restaurant Terroir is also a famous fine dining hub in New Zealand. They serve some of the most delicious potatoes, Terroir fries! The outdoor dining tables look over a lake where a small school of wild ducks live. Dining menus in New Zealand are all fairly similar in terms of price and dishes on offer.