05.02.2020 "Gissy" sights....

Starting to sound like a local - Gissy is what everyone here calls Gisborne. When Captain James Cook landed here he couldn't find any food or water so he moved further up the coast and named the new place "The Bay of Plenty" Gissy was named "Poverty Bay" but with it's rich fruit farming, numerous salad crops in the "flats", dairy farms, sheep and venison as well as the obvious - vineyards I think the residents of the town have gone on to prove him wrong. Today we started out with a little wine tasting. We started at The Millton Vineyard which produces biodynamic wines or organic. The tasting was mostly whites, Chenin Blanc, Voignier, Charddonay and Sauvignon Blanc and I was introduced to a wine that is produced only in Gisborne it's called "Muskets at Dawn" - I never did get to the bottom of the name or maybe I've just forgotten!!! A very Summery wine which brought back images of a lovely English Summer's day (when we get one) sitting in the garden - I must have drank too much to be waxing so lyrical!!! The whites were delicious but I do like a drop of red and their Pinot Noir is definitely my favourite. Sorry Jason I can't bring any back as I'm coming home via Dubai but I did raise a glass to you! By this time I needed food and we went onto the Bushmere vineyard where we tasted reds accompanied I'm glad to say by a fabulous platter, of cheeses, breads, fruit and dips. Their Merlot was excellent and David who did the tasting for us was very knowledgeable. By this time we agreed it was time to get away from the wine. Adrian hadn't been tasting so he took me off around the sites of the city and then upto the heights so that I could look over the flats and out to Nick's Head. Later we picked up Kate and headed off for the fishing club for a meal and a drink with the locals.

That's my favourite label for you Faye...