Northern lights

Cottle Hill has an idyllic setting which leaves an indelible stamp on your memory, and I almost missed it entirely because of an address typo on the Northland Wine Trail flyer.
Situated on the corner of State Highway 10 and Cottle Hill Drive, on the outskirts of Kerikeri, its cute potager garden and sweeping balcony overlooking acres of carefully tended vineyards make you ache for it to be a restaurant. But owner Barbara Webb and husband Michael have decided from experience that they're much better to focus on their core business - wine.
"We've done a couple of weddings and big parties, and that's great because we think it's a great venue for it, but we're not going full-time into food," Barbara says.
The couple sailed into Kerikeri on board their 35ft yacht Sprig from San Diego, California, back in the mid-90s.
"We fell in love with the Bay of Islands and were inspired to get into the wine industry after a road trip to Hawke's Bay ... With vines sourced from Joe Corban, our vineyard was planted in 1996 and we started making wine that same year."
They now grow pinot noir, chardonnay, chambourcin and dolcetto grapes, plus they make a syrah from fruit grown closer to Kerikeri. Staying true to an "old-world style", according to Barbara, Cottle Hill's 2010 Chardonnay has delicious butterscotch and grapefruit aromas, loads of white peach and creamy flavours fleshed out with acidity and great persistence of flavour.
Barbara and Michael planted all sorts of other varieties in the early years, but after much experimenting they feel they've hit on the right combination of fruit. This part of New Zealand is notorious for having a climate that acts as atmospheric root-burst to most plants, including grapes.
"We are lucky in that the early part of the summer was really dry and that kept growth in check, but we're constantly out there leaf-plucking and trimming - the vines just grow like weeds up here," laughs Barbara.
She hands over a glass of the winery's famous dolcetto, and I instantly fall in love with its soft cocoa, mint and lavender aromas and supple, plummy flavours on the finish. "Everyone told us we couldn't grow pinot up here, but we love pinot so we put some in the ground and it's done incredibly well," Barbara says. "We just trust our instincts and it seems to work."
A few minutes away on Wiroa Rd is the world-class cellar door and restaurant at Marsden Estate. Back in the 1990s, Marsden and Cottle Hill were the only wineries in Kerikeri and the first few years consisted of experimentation. Today Marsden Estate, under the cool-hand-Luke approach of owner/winemaker Rod MacIvor, is one of Northland's most-awarded producers.
"One thing we have to remember up here is not to let things get too ripe," says Rod as we tuck into a plate of juicy Asian prawns. "Because of the climate, if we go for higher sugar we inevitably lose acidity that creates distinctive wines. Some Northland whites have a history of being a bit flabby, but we know how to fix that now, in fact we're learning all the time."
Rod describes 1998 as "just nuts, an incredible year, but a lot of the wines just tipped over too quickly because we were seduced by these huge sugar levels. But we've got the experience now to exercise restraint."
Sauvignon blanc has Rod really excited. "We have a different style up here, it's super-tropical and really juicy, but I think the boutique varieties like chambourcin will end up becoming Northland's signature. Chambourcin is a red hybrid that's only been around since the early 1960s, but it boasts brilliant resistance to fungal disease, making it ideal for Northland's humidity."
"Chambo's also great eating," says Kelvin Mowat from Pukeko Vineyard down the road, who's joining for us at lunch. "I was taking bunches down to the local lunch bar in Waipapa and they were selling heaps every day."
Chambo aside, I recommend trying the Marsden Estate Cavalli 2008 ($25). Named after the Cavalli Islands, it's a juicy blend of chambourcin, pinotage and merlot that cries out for roast lamb.
After lunch, I follow Kelvin up SH10 to Pukeko Vineyard, a seven-acre block he owns with wife Christine, which boasts four acres of grapes and three acres of miniature ponies.
"I bought the place three years ago when it was an overgrown kiwifruit orchard," Kelvin explains. "The plants were skyscraper-high, so I just got a bulldozer, pulled them all out, rolled them up and burned the lot - but we still get kiwifruit plants popping up amongst our vines even now."
He hands me a glass of syrah - it's solid, pepper-driven and fleshed out with plum and violet notes, and it's very good.
Prepare yourself for pukeko everywhere - hats, T-shirts, stuffed toys, ornaments and umbrellas - but if merchandise isn't your thing, Kelvin's sauvignon, chambo and chardonnay will provide plenty of entertainment for your tastebuds.
Hang a left into Puketotara Rd and you're at the home of Bruce and Sue Soland, owners of Fat Pig Vineyard. Sporting a goatee, black T-shirt and black sunglasses, I'm not surprised to learn Bruce was born a Westie, and he worked on vineyards as a kid before spending 20 years as a golf pro.
Opting for a life back amongst the vines, he purchased an old kiwifruit orchard in 2003 and converted it into a vineyard which now produces syrah, pig-o-gris (also known as "cougar juice", according to Bruce), char-boar-nay and sow-blanc. If you need more fortification, you could give Wild Boar Port a go, or if something more delicate calls, the hugely popular Runty Rose.
The cellar door is rustic and raw, and yes, there is a pig - named Jenny Craig.
"We have our own wine and food fest up here, which is really just a rage-up," Bruce says. "We have a big marquee housing all the vineyards in the area, five chefs cooking and a fabulous band - it's awesome."