Deep Inside the Cave of Wonders

New Zealand wines are gaining an excellent reputation worldwide and Chris and I were lucky enough to get a private tour inside the NZ's biggest wine cave at Gibbston Valley. Matt, our own Gibbston Valley winery tour guide, was incredibly knowledgeable and so kind. He answered every single question I had (and for those of you who know me well know I have a lot of questions) and explained the whole wine making process from planting to squeezing to storing to drinking.

 This wine cave is built inside on a mountain so TNT was used to keep blowing up rock until it was big enough to store all of those barrels. From what I remember each barrel costs $5000 and needs to be replaced every 3 years or so. We tried almost every kind of red wine, white wine and dessert wine they had; our favorite was Le Maitre Pinot Noir, which Matt very generously gave us a bottle of!

We ordered a cheese platter and chatted away sipping wine surrounded by acres of wine vines. 

We finished the cheese, took our glasses and went exploring.

The wine is incredible, the landscape breathtaking, and the people who work here so passionate about what they do. It's definitely worth a visit and make sure to do the cave tour while you're there!