Casablanca Valley, CHILE

Kingston Family

Our first stop in Chile was at the Kingston Family Vineyards in the Casablanca Valley. We spent a full three days hanging out with the team filming and photographing. We did interviews with the Managing Partner, Courtney Kingston, as well as the winemaker Amael Orrego. In addition we did an interview with the Paule brothers who were on a wine tasting holiday from the USA.

Thermometer. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Taking the temperature of the wine. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Pumping over. © Montager Productions Ltd.
The grape that got away. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Amael Orrego winemaker. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Kingston winery team. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Kingston Family Winery. © Montager Productions Ltd.
A wine tour at Kingston.© Montager Productions Ltd.
Vine leaves after harvesting. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Visiting Wineries in Chile. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Savouring Sauvignon Blanc. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Kevin working hard in the winery. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Kingston Family Photos. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Kingston Family Winery. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Barrels and a view. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Tasting the wine. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Yellow flower. © Montager Productions Ltd.

You can buy our images here on the Alamy stock photo agency page.

More info on the film is at www.vintagesixteen.com 

You can follow us on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram 

You can also visit our favourite wines page.

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The Andes

We took the bus from Mendoza in Argentina to the Chilean capital Santiago. Although the bus ticket was really good value the journey was long and made even longer by a long wait at the Los Libertadores border for customs and passport checks. However there was some stunning scenery on the way through.

Mendoza Province on the way to Chile. © Montager Productions Ltd.
The journey from Mendoza to Santiago. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Mountain views at the Chilean and Argentinian border. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Los Libertadores. © Montager Productions Ltd.

You can buy our images here on the Alamy stock photo agency page.

More info on the film is at www.vintagesixteen.com 

You can follow us on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram 

You can also visit our favourite wines page.

 

ARGENTINA, Mendoza

Wine Not

We didn’t have too much time available in Mendoza but we found this great cosy wine bar called ‘Wine Not’. Our host Raphael provided a thorough tasting session covering some of his favourite Mendoza based wines. Our favourites were:

Bodega Cuarto Dominio Tolentino Winemakers Selection Pinot Grigio 2015

Cuarto Surco Latente Selected Vineyard Syrah 2014

Familia Vargas Arizu Tierras Altas Malbec Roble 2011

Finca Molina Antenor Vida Malbec Reserva 2011

Staphyle Premium Cabernet Sauvignon 2009

 

You can buy our images here on the Alamy stock photo agency page.

More info on the film is at www.vintagesixteen.com 

You can follow us on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram 

You can also visit our favourite wines page.

ARGENTINA, San Juan

Borbore

We encountered more road woes on the next drive further south to get to the San Juan region. We couldn’t travel along the Ruta 40 due to roadworks so had an extended diversion via Chepes.

After a nights stay in San Juan we visited Bodegas Borbore which is nestled in the Tulum Valley. We did an interview with the owner Andres Berzenkovich and took in some great views of the valley from the huge tanks behind the winery.

The favourite wine selection from the ones we tasted here was the Avanti Malbec 2015.

Different shades of green. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Desde 1936 a family affair. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Statue at Bodegas Borbore. © Montager Productions Ltd.
De-stalking grapes at Bodegas Borbore. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Stalks falling into the truck. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Machinery at Bodegas Borbore. © Montager Productions Ltd.
View of the Tulum Valley. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Sign on tanks at Borbore. © Montager Productions Ltd.

You can buy our images here on the Alamy stock photo agency page.

More info on the film is at www.vintagesixteen.com 

You can follow us on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram 

You can also visit our favourite wines page.

ARGENTINA, Cafayate

Piatelli

We were now fully on the famous Ruta 40 road which runs the whole length of Argentina. We travelled from Molinos to Cafayate and we had already learnt that the amount of hours the satellite navigation system said was just lies.

Next stop was Piatelli Vineyards in the Cafayate region. We did an interview with the lead winemaker, Alejandro Nesman. Afterwards Alejandro sat with us and did a great tasting of the Piatelli wines. Our favourite wine on this session was the Grand Reserve Malbec 2013.

Mountain views from Piatelli. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Piatelli Wines. © Montager Productions Ltd.
A view from Piatelli. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Piatelli Winery in Argentina. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Tiny wine barrels at Piatelli Wines. © Montager Productions Ltd.

You can buy our images here on the Alamy stock photo agency page.

More info on the film is at www.vintagesixteen.com 

You can follow us on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram 

You can also visit our favourite wines page.

ARGENTINA, Salta

Colome

Our first winery stop in Argentina was Bodega Colome in the Salta region. It was a tough journey from Salta which included two stops at police checkpoints. One to tell us to keep our headlights on and another as a random check. The road quickly lost its tarmac properties as we headed across the Parque Nacional Los Cordons to get to the really quiet town of Molinos. We knew we were in a remote area when a petrol station we stopped at for a refuel didn’t accept any type of card payment. Luckily we managed to scrape together enough pesos for the fresh fuel.

Molinos felt remote not just because of the distance but the poor road surfaces. We knew instantly that a 4×4 would have been a better option for the Argentina section of the trip rather than a two door saloon. The next morning as we headed out on the 20km journey from Molinos to the Colome winery it took us an hour which demonstrates the state of the road.

We were rewarded with some fantastic views which surround the estate and tastings of the wine which come from the highest vineyards in the world. We met Thibaut Delmotte and we did an interview before being shown around the winery and the picking team who were in full swing in a nearby vineyard.

Our favourite wine here was the Estate Malbec 2013 which is a blend of three different heights of malbec vineyards: 1,700m, 2,300m and 2,600m blocks.

Mountains around Bodega Colome. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Working hard in the winery at Bodega Colome. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Colome colourful vine leaves. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Bringing the Colome grapes in. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Grapes at Bodega Colome. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Thibaut Delmotte and his team. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Rock in the vineyard. © Montager Productions Ltd.
A lone flower. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Colome vineyard. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Old vines at Colome. © Montager Productions Ltd.

More info about the project or copyright of images is on the about page.

You can follow us on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram or Pinterest.

You can also visit our alphabetical favourite wines page.

NEW ZEALAND, Waiheke Island

Waiheke Island

We spent the day touring Waiheke Island and its many vineyards. The island is just a short 45 minute ferry ride from Auckland. We visited four different vineyards. Our favourite wines from these tastings were:

Te Motu Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2004

Man O’ War Pinot Gris 2015

Mud brick Shepherds Point Syrah 2015

Stonyridge Larose 2014

Waiheke Island. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Te Motu vineyard. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Te Motu Cellar Door. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Looking back to Auckland. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Stonyridge fountain. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Man O War tasting room. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Beach on Waiheke Island. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Man O War olive oil. © Montager Productions Ltd.
View towards Auckland. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Waiheke vines. © Montager Productions Ltd.

More info about the project or copyright of images is on the about page.

You can follow us on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram or Pinterest.

You can also visit our alphabetical favourite wines page.

Gisborne, NEW ZEALAND

Millton

It was really interesting to meet the team at Millton Vineyards which is based in Gisborne. The figureheads here are James and Annie Millton who have been making wine on the site since 1984 and were some of the pioneers of biodynamic and organic wine in New Zealand.

Our favourite wine was the Orange Wine we tried from the barrel because this was just so cool.

Fermenting grapes. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Malbec at Millton. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Stirring the ferment. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Riverpoint Viognier. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Emptying the grapes at Millton. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Flags at Millton Vineyards. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Harvesting grapes at Millton. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Flowers and harvesting at Millton Vineyards. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Board at Millton Vineyards. © Montager Productions Ltd.

More info about the project or copyright of images is on the about page.

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You can also visit our alphabetical favourite wines page.

Hawke's Bay, NEW ZEALAND

Te Mata

Our journey had got to a stage where we flagging a bit just from the sheer amount of motor home driving. We were struggling to find the Te Mata vineyard we had been given directions for and were almost at the point of giving up when we got on the right single track road. It was such good fortune as the grape picking here was totally unique. It was done by a team of around 50 retirees with most of them being over 65 yrs old. We had seen nothing like this anywhere else. We did an interview with the vineyard manager and his oldest grape picker who just happened to be his Dad.

Natural and artificial light in the Te Mata historic cellar. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Te Mata sorting table. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Harvesting at Te Mata. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Red grapes at Te Mata. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Staff working at Te Mata. © Montager Productions Ltd.
GoPro on the wine. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Picking grapes at Te Mata. © Montager Productions Ltd.

More info about the project or copyright of images is on the about page.

You can follow us on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram or Pinterest.

You can also visit our alphabetical favourite wines page.

Martinborough

Ata Rangi

Next visit was another top rated Martinborough winery called Ata Rangi. We interviewed another great female winemaker here Helen Masters.

It was great how the team here had names for all the tanks in the winery which probably demonstrates the affection they have for the wine that develops inside them. They are not fermenting wine tanks but friends who will spend good time with you in the years ahead.

Our Favourite Wine here was the Pinot Noir.

Chris clearing the Juliet tank. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Helen driving the forklift. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Red wine falling from the press. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Helen and Chris working at Ata Rangi. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Red wine juice at Ata Rangi. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Ata Rangi of Martinborough. © Montager Productions Ltd.
Ata Rangi wines. © Montager Productions Ltd.

More info about the project or copyright of images is on the about page.

You can follow us on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram or Pinterest.

You can also visit our alphabetical favourite wines page.