Marlborough and the cold climate wineries.

South Island Wineries are a must include Cloudy Bay and Montana -- large but very well managed. Some of the smaller boutique wineries have an individual character which often means you spend much longer than expected chatting to their friendly staff or availing of some of their additional facilities such as nature walks or brunch or afternoon tea.

Quick Tips:

Allow a few days in this area as it is very relaxing and the time just seems to slip by. A typical day may consist of three wineries and a couple of galleries, plus some form of activity whether it be a long leisurely lunch or a drive or walk around the environs. Textile artisans are popular in this area -- some are very good.

On the first day, pick up a Marlborough Wine Makers Trail Guide -- readily available from your accommodation or tourist information. Over 20 wineries are listed all in close proximity to Blenheim.

Best Way To Get Around:

Driving -- but if you are wine tasting, you must identify a designated driver for each day. If you are arriving at Picton by ferry, it is easy to arrange leaving your hire car at the Wellington departure area and to pick up a new one (all part of the original hire booking if you book from Australia) when you arrive in Picton.

This was a new motel. The units are more like townhouses -- modern and very clean. There was a pool and trampoline area. The unit itself was more like a small townhouse -- two storey with a full kitchen complete with dishwasher(great if travelling with kids or staying more than one or two nights); main bedroom, bathroom, and loungeroom downstairs, and the second bedroom upstairs with a handbasin/vanity unit. A covered carport separated each from the unit next door. They also have one massive three-bedroom unit if you had a few couples travelling together.

On the edge of town and not far to most of the main wineries in the area.

Gillan's Winery specialises in sparkling or champagne-style wines. These wines are enjoyable but would not say they were the best examples of the style we have ever tried. Gillan's special feature which we enjoyed was their brunch and lunch area. This pleasant courtyard complete with a cherry orchard to provide shade in the hot summer and a petanque court for entertainment while waiting for our order to materialise was one of the highlights of our return visit to this area.

The food is varied -- from toasted cheese and tomato sandwiches and chicken caesar salads suitable for the kids to more unusual mussel dishes and items like Moroccan meatballs, which the adults drooled over.

The kids don't get fidgety here as it is more relaxed than some other winery eateries as the adults in the party took turns to challenge them to games of petanque while waiting for the orders to arrive and again after the meal went to play leaving those of us in peace to savour our coffee.

Of course, if you are planning on not going any further for the day order a bottle of wine to savour with your lunch. At the time of our visit, this was a lunch only venue.

This is a large commercialised winery -- beware that it is one of the few wineries we have come across where you have to pay for your wine tasting. This is because most of the main tourist buses stop here and they get a lot of tasters who don't purchase.

We would still recommend stopping here as the wines are very enjoyable, but we advise friends, for the little extra it costs to take the winery tour, this includes a private wine tasting and some of their better quality wines. Our 16-year-old was also most impressed as the New Zealand law allows parents to give permission for over 15's to join the tasting in the private tasting rooms. She hasn't yet worked out what we see in wine as most weren't to her taste, but she felt special to be treated as an adult by the winery and gave some of the other people on the tour a laugh looking at her facial expressions as she tasted and hurriedly handed her glass surreptiously back to her father if she didn't enjoy it, but did not want the presenter to see her.

The winery tour itself was very thorough and quite educational for older children and adults as it included all aspects of wine making.

The building is excellent and has a lovely picnic area as well as a restaurant, which we didn't stop to try as it was 10:30 am when we visited this winery.

Grove Mill is more than just a wine tasting centre -- it has something for all ages.

The wine centre itself is attractive and well thought out -- the wines are enjoyable and the counter staff very friendly and helpful. There is a sensory kit put out each day which you can sniff to help you identify the characters of the wine. They also have an unusual wine library -- unfortunately we were there at the wrong time of the year to try it, but at harvest time, this living library of grape varieties exists outside the tasting room door and tasters can compare the grapes the wine comes from with the wine produced by the variety. They also produce a fantastic cookbook with recipes based on local fresh produce.

There is a sundried tomato and olive produce tasting area from another local producer, which was very popular. We all fell in love with fresh crusty bread dipped in local olive oil and dukkah (a locally made product of ground almonds, other nuts, sesame seeds, and spices -- comes in a number of varieties and goes well with wines, olives, and cheese plates).

They have petanque and an outside sand pit to keep youngsters and teenagers happy.

The most unusual activity here is the wetlands nature reserve, which is excellent for all the family to stroll through trying to find the endangered frog species. It is designed to protect hence the little frog on all their labels and merchandising. Only catch is beware of the sandflies!

If you like textile crafts, read on. This is a small complex of craft galleries, homemade ice cream shop, and a liquor tasting room. We found the liquors too sweet for our taste, but there were some that may have made a decent but potent ice cream topping. The kids enjoyed the ice cream parlour, of course.

The only reason for returning here was the Quilters Barn. This quilters supply shop, which also runs courses and has completed display quilts available, had some of the best examples of work, much of it unusual and in lovely colour combinations -- well worth a stop. Even the males in our party were impressed with some of the work on display.