Like this:

F: So after a great dinner, a long soak, and a good night’s sleep, Steve and I decided that today was going to be great.  A few days of long driving, runny noses, sore throats, and body aches made us long for those early halcyon days of the trip when everything was sunshine, gumdrops, and pretty flowers.

Here’s a funny thing about NZ.  There are maps for everything.  They have maps for local cities, local restaurants, and in the case of Blenheim, heart of NZ Sauvingnon Blanc region, they have maps of wineries.

We have since discovered that “map”  here is actually an acronym for Mostly Approximate Places.

So it was with some minor trepidation that we went out today with “map” in hand, ready to give some of the Marlborough region’s finest a good sipping.  But first things first…

SJ: On our way to visit Marlborough wineries, we happened across the Aviation Heritage Centre in Blenheim. Planes fascinate me, so we stopped. With every museum purchase comes a free cup of coffee. I went in for $20NZ; Felicia drank the coffee and read the paper. (F: I’m coming to love the NZ “flat white”.  It’s just coffee and hot milk, but it’s become an important part of my mornings here.  A sister and brother across from me shared a hot chocolate, the older sister spooning the hot chocolate into the younger brother’s mouth.  Was very sweet.)

So much history.

There are nearly 20 aircraft in the adapted hangers. Three are originals and several are still airworthy, as evidenced by the oil pans below their engines.

These are British (and some German) vintage aircraft with lifelike mannequins and realistic mud and snow.

Very impressive. (F: Seriously.  Check the flickr page for more shots.  I didn’t go in but was impressed anyway.)

I’d bought baguettes, pancetta, and pastrami this morning, so we took it all along. Our first stop was Villa Maria, the region’s second largest local vintner (1 million cases per year, behind Montana), and it was there we bought a bottle of R&D Sauvignon Blanc. It was buttery. Buttery! Not unusual for a chardonnay, but we’d never had a sauv like it before. (F: I usually like SB’s because they do them up in steel vats – no inhibiting oak to mess with the grape’s essence.  This R&D had been oaked for 20 months in 7 and 8 year old barrels and it yielded one of the more smooth and unusual tasting SBs I’ve ever had.  They only sell this particular SB at the winery, so we bought a bottle.  We’re enjoying it as I type.)

We moved on to Mahi where we bought a bottle of their Gerwurztriminer. We’ll have either it or the sauvignon blanc tonight with the mussels Felicia is now preparing in the kitchenette. At our third winery, Serisen, we bought a pinot noir and brought out our lunch. (F: I love my travel kitchen.)

Peaceful. Serene. Picturesque.

We’ll stay in this region for the better part of Tuesday, then drive to Nelson. We’ve moved up our ferry reservation to Wednesday instead of Thursday for an extra day on the north island before heading… home.

Home?

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