| "Don't be a wine snob!" That was the first piece | | | | release the aroma we were instructed to stick |
| of advice we received from our zany guide | | | | our noses fully into our goblet and sniff heartily to |
| Robert Bevan. He led a wine tour we joined in | | | | inhale the scent. Next we were to gulp all the |
| Hawkes Bay, on the east coast of New Zealand's | | | | wine in our glass and swish it around in our mouth |
| north island. Robert, a former PGA golf caddie, | | | | for up to a minute, being sure it reached every |
| grew up in British Columbia, Canada. He decided to | | | | corner and crevice and taste bud. Then we were |
| live in New Zealand after holidaying there and | | | | to spit the wine out into the huge buckets |
| falling in love with the country's golf courses and | | | | provided. |
| wines. Robert was funny, enthusiastic and | | | | Dan Baker owned the Maona Park Winery. He had |
| incredibly knowledgeable about wine. | | | | studied enology (the art of winemaking) in Canada. |
| Robert said wine is like art, poetry or music. | | | | Dan asked us to describe the taste of one of the |
| Everyone has individual tastes and personal | | | | wines he poured for us. Interestingly, we all |
| preferences. What one person thinks is a great | | | | tasted different things. A woman from England |
| wine another person might not like at all. Only | | | | said it tasted like rose petals. A man from |
| 'wine snobs' think they can choose the 'best' | | | | Auckland compared the wine to Turkish Delight |
| wines. Despite his warning about wine snobbery, | | | | candy. My husband thought it tasted like |
| Robert unabashedly praised New Zealand wines. | | | | tomatoes. A woman from Finland said it reminded |
| He claimed they ranked third in the world after | | | | her of asparagus. Dan said we all have certain |
| wines from California's Napa Valley and the | | | | taste memories stored in our brain. Different |
| Bordeaux region of France. | | | | wines trigger different memories for us. That's |
| It was French missionaries who introduced wine | | | | why four people drinking the same wine each |
| to New Zealand. The Pope sent a group of priests | | | | taste something different. |
| there in 1842 to covert the Maori people to | | | | At the Salvatore Winery, our ever -resourceful |
| Christianity. The holy fathers knew they'd need | | | | guide, Robert, brought out a basket filled with |
| communion wine so they brought along their own | | | | nuts and raisins, chunks of dark German rye |
| vintner. He carried cuttings from the best French | | | | bread, different New Zealand cheeses, cranberry |
| vineyards and within a decade produced the first | | | | sauce, artistically sliced kiwis and apples, paper |
| New Zealand wine. | | | | -thin slices of spicy salami, and containers of |
| We visited four New Zealand wineries on our tour | | | | different flavored olive oils. We sat at wooden |
| and tasted 30 different wines. Three wineries | | | | tables next to the vineyard, basking in the warm |
| encouraged us to sip and enjoy their various | | | | New Zealand sun, enjoying a delightful picnic along |
| vintages and varieties. However at the Hatton | | | | with a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc. At that moment |
| Estate Winery they taught us a true wine taster | | | | I couldn't have agreed more with Ernest |
| spits rather than sips. They poured us generous | | | | Hemingway who once said, "Wine is the most |
| glasses of wine. After swirling the wine around to | | | | civilized thing in the world. |