I’m very excited that 2018 is underway. Happy New Year everyone!! In just 22 days I’ll be heading to New Zealand to visit one of my oldest friends and of course I’ll be visiting vineyards too. It would be rude not to.
I’m giddy.
My plans are quite well-formed … well actually I’m not organised at all. Celebrating friendship is the main reason I’m heading to the other side of the world for three weeks and so I’ve been dillying and dallying in my plans to explore New Zealand wineries. There’s just so much to see and so little time – where to start? It’s all coming together now though thanks to the help of my wine contacts and I’ll share updates very soon.
One thing’s for sure, I hope to visit Villa Maria’s vineyards either in the North Island near Auckland or at their home in Marlborough. I’m excited to visit the wineries in their heartland as Villa Maria wines are consistently classy affairs. Last summer I chatted to Villa Maria’s Angla Lewis at the Chatsworth Flower Show and discovered their emphasis on sustainability in the vineyard (oh, and I enjoyed a little tasting of their wines).
While I’ve been dreaming of my visit I discovered that Villa Maria has launched a competition to give people in the UK the chance to win their own trip of a lifetime to New Zealand. What’s not to love.
Two Villa Maria prizes are up for grabs:
- Return economy flights for the winner and one guest from the UK to New Zealand
- 10 nights’ accommodation
- Self-drive car rental for 10 days
- NZ$2000 spending money
Shoppers can enter the competition via a hidden URL and entry code found on stickers or neck collars on a range of Villa Maria Private Bin wines. They include bottles of sauvignon blanc, pinot grigio and pinot noir.
Look out for the special bottles in retailers such as Sainsburys, Waitrose, Tesco, Asda, Co-op and Majestic and independent wine shops.
The competition ends on February 19 2018 (the day I return home!!) and the lucky winners will be drawn on February 24.
Good luck. xx
- Find out more about Villa Maria wines at www.villamaria.co.nz or follow them on Twitter @villamaria_uk