On a visit to Gibbston recently to walk the new river track, I could not resist visiting a few wineries, some familiar and others new to me. There are now nine with tasting rooms in the area and a few others open by appointment - too many to do in a weekend.
Few of the wineries with tasting rooms in Gibbston actually make their wine entirely from Gibbston-grown fruit, but when they do, the results can be stunning in good years.
One that does is Mt Rosa, on the dusty Gibbston Back Rd.
When we arrived at the tasting room, a former woolshed, Jeremy Railton turned up on his quad bike, in shorts and gumboots. Shortly afterwards a quartet of cool Auckland guys strolled in and he turned on the southern man act with his tall hunting tales and the surprising admission that he drinks riesling - now there's a real southern man! His promotional material shows him holding a bottle of wine wearing a dinner jacket and bow tie and shorts and gumboots!He and "the wife" ran merinos and rabbits, but with grapes going in all around them at Gibbston and rabbits eating what grass there was, they decided to send the sheep up the hill and try wine instead.
The 40ha vineyard stretches up the slopes along from the Nevis Bluff.
The riesling is certainly a beaut - steely, limey, nervy and unexpectedly stylish.
Unusual is the pinot blanc, floral, mouthfilling and textural, and the powerful Reserve Pinot Noir 2009 oozes fruit and toasty oak but with delicacy and charm.
Across the road from Mt Rosa is Brennan, which also produces wines from Gibbston grapes.
Sean Brennan makes two pinot gris, a light crisp, early-picked pinot grigio and a richer, more intense pinot gris.
There's also a lovely fragrant, textural and sweet gewurztraminer, and a spritzy, medium muscat and gewurtztraminer blend, rather like a light asti.
They also have a light, peppery dry red made from tempranillo, just the thing for lunch on the vineyard - you can bring your own lunch or buy a picnic from them.
A vertical sample of pinot noirs was available for tasting and sale, from the crisp raspberryish 2010 B2 and the more savoury 2009 Brennan, which was textural with darker undertones and a tight finish.
The 2006, 2007 and 2008 demonstrated how they can mature with age. They varied from the ripe, dark-fruited 2008, through the superb velvety, dark cherry, spice and mineral of the 2007, and the earthy, forest-floor characters of the mature 2006. They all have hints of dried herbs which seems characteristic of Gibbston pinot - perhaps it's all the wild thyme around.
Brave the precipitous Chard Rd, and the sightseers at the corner looking up the Kawarau for one of the The Lord of the Rings locations, and you reach the verdant Chard Farm vineyard. However, most of the grapes for their wines now come from vineyards along the Wanaka road. It's good to see the restrained Judge and Jury Chardonnay 2009, back after a long absence, the floral, spicy gewurztraminer and a fragrant pinot gris, intense and well balanced, probably one of the best in Central.
Remarkable Wines opened its tasting room and cafe a few months ago in the former stables of the old Gibbston Hotel. A new hotel, Gibbston Tavern has opened on the old site, selling local wines and pub food.
Richard Guthrey's Remarkable Wines come from a vineyard along the road and another in Bannockburn. I was impressed by the zesty 2010 Riesling, oozing sweet lime but intense and crisply dry on the finish. The 2008 pinot noir is developing savoury undertones to enhance the spicy, cherry fruit.
At Gibbston Valley, the earliest winery in the area, winemaker Christopher Keyes showed me some barrel samples of the charming 2011 pinot noirs and a couple of whites that are about to be released.
There's a beautifully fragrant, textural 2011 riesling from Bendigo oozing apple and citrus, and a couple of 2011 pinot gris, one with effusive pear and tropical fruit, and the single-vineyard La Dulcinee, a serious, textural wine, vibrant with delicious fruit.
Besides the regular pinot noir, Gibbston Valley produces several single-vineyard pinots, an opulent but nervy 2010 from China Terrace oozing cherry fruit and savoury undertones, and a charming, floral 2010 wine from the School House vineyard with hints of mineral, spice and darker undertones.
The Gibbston river track which provides remarkable views into the cliff-bound Kawarau, runs between Waitiri Creek tasting room at the east end, through Peregrine in the middle and the bungy bridge carpark near the Winehouse and Kitchen which shows Van Asch and Hawkeshead wines.
At the latter, I was delighted to find a couple of syrahs from Van Asch's Bendigo vineyards. Van Asch Syrah Rosé 2009 is fragrant, crisp and dry, a change from the numerous pinot rosés produced in Central. There's also a floral, peppery, raspberryish Van Asch Syrah 2007.
At the other end of the track (though I have to admit to only walking certain stretches of it) is Waitiri Creek's tasting room and restaurant in a former church. I was impressed by a newly released 2009 dry riesling, vibrant, racy and oozing crisp lime, a floral 2010 pinot gris with hints of caramel, and the 2009 Drummer pinot noir from the home vineyard in Gibbston, floral with hints of licorice and dried herbs, nicely balanced and full of charm.
