Living in Marlborough it’s very easy to take for granted the lovely climate, incredible scenery and bounteous fresh produce available from land and sea all year round.
Enjoying the big breakfast banquet in our make shift restaurant in the cellar
But when friends and family come to town, the first thing we do is take them out boating or walking and on a tiki tour tasting wines and eating lovely fresh produce.
So when our national distributors Negociants NZ stopped in for a visit, on part of a South Island tour of the wine regions, welcoming them to Marlborough was easy.
The only problem was our cellar door is currently undergoing renovations, so the team put their heads together to come up with a creative solution.
Fresh locally sourced seafood, cheeses and breads. Got to love Marlborough
While our senior winemaker Hamish Clark was out diving for crayfish and scallops in the Marlborough Sounds yesterday, our red winemaker Kyle Thompson and cellar hand Kegan Saul used a forklift to create an intimate setting with red wine barrels stacked from the floor to the ceiling in the cellar.
Meanwhile our chef Keith Gregory who has recently joined the Saint Clair team was organising a delicious menu, featuring the best of Marlborough produce including, fresh bread from de Brood Bakkers, Marlborough King Salmon, Cranky Goat cheese from Linkwater, NZ Premium Game Meats, Marlborough honey from Kyle’s hives and free range eggs from various staff chickens.
Rolling out the red carpet.
It was a real team effort to roll out the red carpet and create an elegant, relaxed vibe in the cellar, and make our friends from Negociants feel welcome.
There were big smiles all round and few “oohs” and “ahhs” when Negociants walked in greeted by Sarina and Julie Ibbotson with glasses of Saint Clair’s méthode traditionnelle “Dawn” and shots of Bloody Mary.
After a good catch up and lots of good food, washed down with plenty of fresh Ritual espresso, Hamish gave Negociants a rundown of the 2014-vintage, before they had a look around the winery and a tasted our latest wines.
Bloody Mary, panadol – or both?
It was such a success, we’re thinking we might do it again some time soon.
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