Vineyard Retreats

View of Millar Road vineyard by Brian Culy. Image supplied.

It's hard to imagine waking up to a prettier sight than this.

Napier photographer Brian Culy took this shot from the classy vineyard retreat of Millar Road - a sublime rural retreat ten minutes or so from Havelock North in the North Island. It's the brainchild of Greg, Ginny and Jeremy Collinge, who have created the perfect hideaway for lovers of good wine, good food, good art and good times. www.millarroad.co.nz

Meet the People - 15

Jo Heaton & Red Panda. Photo supplied.

Another in the series Meet the People – Ordinary and Extraordinary New Zealanders Doing Interesting Things. Jo Heaton is a self-confessed culture-vulture and a firm believer in the fact that Wellington does it better than anywhere else. Jo, who is the International Marketing Manager for Positively Wellington Tourism and chair of the Classic New Zealand Wine Trail marketing group, is like most people in tourism – she gets to do all sorts of terrific things in the name of work….. feeding a red panda at Wellington Zoo for instance. It’s her job to attract international visitors to Wellington and that’s never difficult. “I arrived here many years ago during the International Arts Festival and the buzz was so infectious it’s kept me here,” she says. Food and wine are also a passion – “and you can’t beat Wellington’s bars, restaurants and the nearby wine regions. The fact that Wellington is such a walkable city is also a big plus. I love the fact that I can walk to work in 20 minutes and then go home on one of our most iconic tourist attractions, the Wellington Cable Car.” She’s also quick to point out the capital’s natural attributes and the fact that Karori Wildlife Sanctuary is doing amazing things to protect New Zealand’s endangered species – “and I get the benefit of that at home because birdlife is spreading all over the city. Come and see for yourself – and don’t stay for just one night because there’s way too much to do.” www.wellingnz.com www.classicwinetrail.co.nz

On the Wine Trail

Images supplied. Top: Church Road wine Cellar Hawke's Bay; Bottom: Marlborough Wine Region

I don’t know about any of you but when I’m travelling I’m constantly thinking about food and drink. It’s all about indulgence for me and I defy anyone to tell me that that’s not exactly the way personal travel should be. Enter The Classic New Zealand Wine Trail – a food and wine extravaganza undertaken at your own pace and tailored – by you – to suit your time and taste preferences. Even better, the new 50-page Trail Guide is free and all you have to do is get in your car and follow the brown signs and the bunches of grapes – how hard can that be? As it takes you 380 kilometres, through some of New Zealand’s most scenic regions, the Classic New Zealand Wine Trail introduces you to three of our major wine regions – Hawke’s Bay, Wairarapa and Marlborough - that collectively represent 74% of the country’s total wine production. The guide also offers you suggestions for places to stay, things to do, farmers’ markets to visit, fruit to pick and restaurants to visit – and that’s just the beginning. As the people at CNZWT would say: Go Slow and savour! It’s all about indulging in the best of provincial New Zealand. www.classicwinetrail.co.nz