Move to Tauranga, Bay of Plenty We left Ash Ridge on 8th May, bound for Tauranga and laden with goodies: an Ash Ridge 2007 Reserve Sauvignon Blanc and 2006 Cabernet Merlot, two bottles of Quaffer, plus 2 Ash Ridge caps which we love and will wear with pride - thank you Jon and Emma. The journey itself was notable for two reasons. The bus driver (I don't know where they find them!!!) was the sweetest old boy who had his speech perfected "those of you leavin...

A Little Bit of Exploring and a Little Bit of Nature Well, our days in Hawke's Bay are drawing to a happy conclusion. Since dropping Jon and Emma off at Hawke's Bay Airport on Sunday morning, we've made the most of having a car for a few days and have done some exploring, with the aim of finding a little peace and tranquillity amongst nature. Our first stop was the Tangoio Falls Scenic Reserve, a short drive from the airport (though it felt quite a long way for...

Today's blog is dedicated to those of you who know and love a daft English Pointer called Hooky. A Day in the Life of Hooky This is what happened to me yesterday: I woke up feeling a little down, nobody had been in the vineyard over the last couple of days so apart from conning people into giving me lots of hugs by appearing outside the patio doors with my best doleful face, I'd had nobody to play with. Things looked promising twice when Daddy came out with J...

The End of Vintage Yes, we're still at Ash Ridge Vineyards! We planned to stay until the end of vintage, which was completed last Sunday, and it was fantastic to see the whole process throughout. When I last wrote we had just picked and crushed the Merlot and Malbec for Jon & Emma's own wine. This was followed by a period of approximately 10 days while the grapes fermented and oak chips were added. Throughout this period they needed plunging several times a ...

Hello again! I'm back and ready to fill you in on the events of the last couple of weeks. I can't believe how time has flown since we arrived here on 3rd April, yet at the same time it seems so long ago that we were at Beehive Gardens, and Auckland seems years away. It's funny how travelling and a total break from routine completely disrupts your concept of time and date - most of the time I have little idea of the date and no idea what day it is. (But I do know...