On Tuesday, 5 March we opened for the year’s business under the big, black umbrellas of the Villa Maria Estate’s vineyard restaurant. Idyllic park-like surroundings and brilliant weather and attentive staff got us off to a good start on a day that was as much about the setting as the meal. Villa Maria is one of New Zealand’s largest and most modern wineries located on a stunning, landscaped site close to Auckland Airport.
As you would expect, all the wines were from Villa Maria but this was hardly cause for concern given their proud record in competitions over many years. We started our talking over a glass of their Methode Traditionelle which is probably one of their wines which hasn’t won any medals. It proved fairly innocuous but was inoffensive and went down nicely in the noonday sun.
The entrée consisted of hazelnut-crusted Chicken Supreme with summer fruits, mixed leaf salad and blueberry dressing. A simple dish, well executed and very satisfying. The chicken pieces were moist and beautifully cooked, the smallness of the pieces allowing for plenty of crusting and nuttiness. The summer fruits set off the chicken very well and the tangy blueberry dressing gave a good acidic edge to the dish. The wine was Villa Maria Reserve Gisborne Chardonnay 2010 – their basic chardonnay which was perfectly adequate and well matched.
Moving right along to the main, we were served Pastrami Lamb Rack with cabernet sauvignon reduction, grilled feta cheese, polenta and pepperonata. Another simple, well crafted dish with excellent lamb cooked to perfection with a rich, flavoursome jus. The cheese and the pepperonata provided the necessary accents and the whole was very satisfying. The Villa Maria ReserveMarlborough Pinot Noir 2009 which accompanied was, again, no standout but it did all that was asked of it.
For dessert nothing more than the excellent Kohu Roadice cream and sorbet was called for. It had to be ice cream on a day like this and thankfully we hadn’t attempted a match for it.
The winery deserves praise for the standard of this operation – it doesn’t aim for the heights but it does the basics very well. The location is only a kilometer or so from the airport’s international terminal and travelers with an hour or two to spare can spend the time more restfully and profitably over a meal or coffee here than in the airport environment.
And so we parted, bemoaning our 1 in 100 year drought, commiserating with the farmers and growers and luxuriating in the still-strong afternoon sun.
Please click here to view the invitation and menu.