For the next in our “Locals’ Favourites” series, we’d like to shine the spotlight on Forrest Estate. But before we do, we thought we’d better touch on this idea of “Locals’ Favourites”. Given the hours we spend in the beautiful Marlborough wineries, we thought we’d share some of the knowledge we’ve garnered over the years with our visitors. So, it’s a glimpse into some of the wonderful places to visit in Marlborough by us as locals – rather than only for locals to enjoy! We don’t want to keep it all for ourselves and love nothing better than sharing our little slice of paradise with visitors from further afield in New Zealand and overseas. So many of the Marlborough wineries have fascinating back stories, and stunning cellar doors and surroundings to visit.
Forrest Estate is no exception. Owned and operated by Doctors Brigid and John Forrest – he a doctor of science, she of medicine – this small, hands-on winery has made a large impact in the wine world, and on the local scene. The Forrest Estate Grape Ride is a highlight of the Marlborough events calendar. It is the largest cycling event in the South Island and the gruelling race ends in a “grape crush” where “virgin” riders crush the Pinot Noir grapes in a large oak vat – a unique take on this ancient wine-making tradition!
Forrest Estate has a wide selection of premium, award-winning wines which you can taste at the lovely cellar door near Renwick. In fact, the cellar door has just undergone a stylish revamp with an entirely new look and it’s well worth a visit. They reopened for this season this week, and the new style cellar door’s polished concrete floors and chic grey and cream colour scheme create a modern industrial vibe, while remaining relaxed and inviting!
Set in the home vineyards, the cellar door garden is full of sculptures by artist Gerard Roelof Verkaaik, who fuses wood, glass, steel and lighting with Oamaru stone to create artworks – which make perfect photo opportunities!
Forrest Estate is a great place to take the whole family and picnic nibbles are available for light lunches. Forrest do delicious cheese and olive platters which have the benefit of helping soak up the wine consumed over the course of the day. Their comfy bean bags and chairs out in the sun all add up to a wonderful spot to spend some time.
As well as the more well-known varieties (such as Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling and the like) Forrest make some very interesting lesser known varietal wines too. Ever tried a Marlborough Semillon, Arneis, Gruner Veltliner or Chenin Blanc? If you haven’t, you should!
Sounds Connection Pick
While we enjoy all the wines Forrest produce, we have to admit we really do enjoy the likes of the Arneis, Chenin Blancs and Albarinos that aren’t so widely found in Marlborough – so for this week’s pick Kylie (our tour coordinator and marketing assistant) has chosen:
Forrest Marlborough Albarino 2015
Kylie likes the pretty white floral influences of this wine, which is backed by a nice steely minerality. Kylie would recommend it served with terakihi or gurnard – freshly caught in the Sounds of course!
We often visit Forrest Estate on our half day and full day wine tours and we highly recommend you give it a try – might be just what the doctor ordered!
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