Picton...

We had a lazy start to the day as our tour didn't leave until 1 pm.  Started with a beautiful drive through the small port town of Picton and out to the wine region of Marlborough, only about 30 minutes.

We stopped for wine tastings at the Villa Maria Estate and the Forrest Winery.  Since it is summer here, the vines were loaded with grapes to be harvested in March or April.  Here they trim the vines to form more of a vertical hedge as opposed to a horizontal canopy in the US.  We were told that this is so the fruit gets more sunshine to mature and since it's not as hot, they don't need the protection that the canopy provides.

The last stop on the tour was an artisan center that included a quilt shop.  Mother was in heaven picking out many pieces of New Zealand fabrics to add to her stash at home. Pretty sure she will have designed a quilt in her head before we return to the states...