Picton was a charming little town, population 4310, sitting as one of the gateways to the famous Marlborough wine region of New Zealand. As we exited the gangplank, we were welcomed by The Picton Flower Ladies, giving each passenger a small exquisite corsage/boutonniere. Imagine the effort that it took to make so many? It was so touching!!

We caught the local shuttle from the port into town, and then joined our tour group going to the Wairau Valley, home of the Marlborough wine region. The region produces 75% of all the wines produced in New Zealand, and 70% are Sauvignon Blancs, a crisp white wine with tones of grapefruit and lemon. The summers are warm and the winters mild, making it perfect for this varietal. The valley sits on two tectonic plates, the Pacific Plate and the Australian Plate, which are constantly driving towards each other. This makes the valley particularly earthquake prone.

We visited the boutique winery Forrest, followed by Spy Valley, Saint Claire and Whitehaven. Spy Valley was named after the large satellite monitoring station that sits in the valley. New Zealand, along with Australia, Canada, the U.S. and the U.K., make up a group called The Five Eyes. These countries are parties to the multilateral UK-USA Agreement, a treaty for joint cooperation in signals intelligence. The purveyors of Spy Valley used the theme throughout their winery, with Morris code on beams and other quirky artwork. At Saint Claire, a family run business, we enjoyed a beautiful charcuterie board with venison meats and mussels for lunch. At Whitehaven, we learned that they produce 800,000 cases of their Sauvignon Blanc for export to North America each year. Finally, we stopped at a small chocolate factory to sample and shop. Who doesn’t love a little chocolate with their wine!!

Next stop in two days: Port Chalmers and the town of Dunedin.