Some of the picnickers

What a great way to kick-off 2010. The Villa Maria Estate is a real oasis in our city. The winery picnics, as a first event, are terrific. Finding out what I like about wine was a bonus.

When we got to the Botanical Gardens at Manurewa there was a very colourful group of MGs already assembled and the first sheet of entry forms was already complete. Lots of happy people ready to enjoy the day, to follow a well presented set of instructions prepared by Sue and Neil. Well done. I must say that we did not miss a turn but saw many U turns executed.

Our route wandered through the lovely eastern life style blocks of Auckland to the bottom of the Hauraki at the Tamaki estuary then turned back through the amazing homes built under the flight path at the Eastern end of Redoubt Rd on a section of road that one day could be a hill climb to rival the domain.

It was a typical Auckland MG run Sunday; a cloudless sky with a gentle breeze that kept us nice and cool for the briefing but which not many of us noticed once we started. Perfect top down conditions, the V8 gurgling along then producing the occasional snarl when needed. I'm looking forward to the Christchurch run.

It makes such a difference to have your chosen partner give driving instructions from listening to a GPS. Mind you, a GPS, when you take a wrong turn, only tells you once you were wrong, which can be a relief when you have 11 miles of M40 to do before you can turn back.

The Villa Maria Estate is very close to the airport and yet, once you are inside the crater rim, in which it is situated, you could be miles from any commercial activity. Sue had negotiated a prime site under some old willow trees for us to park and picnic. Cool and warm with lots of friends to talk to - what a great way to enjoy the first MG Sunday of the year.

A short walk to tour the winery and to taste Villa Maria's wines, made from grapes grown in all the major grape growing regions in New Zealand. We were taken round the winery by the very knowledgeable Mark Polglase and shown where the grapes arrive, how they are: unloaded from the trucks and trailers that bring them, crushed, sieved, filtered, fermented with yeast, then bottled and sealed with screw caps - no corks to be seen. Two video's at different viewing platforms are set up to show how the winery works and were a great help in gaining an understanding of the overall process. Looking at the huge vats, pumps and barrel storage to say nothing of the warehousing for bottled wine made one realise how big the Villa Maria winery is in terms of a business enterprise. It was a very informative tour greatly enjoyed by those who took it.

We then gathered for tasting some beautiful crisp whites with the flavours of summer fruit, and some gorgeous rounded reds to sip over a joint (of roast meat, I tell you). All had their merits discussed. It was nice to be told in simple language what to look for in the taste and how to describe its effect. Compared to the flowery language some wine lovers use on the radio I found it very informative, as I expect we all did..

Kim Walker