Having watched complete strangers indulge in sphincter tightening bungy antics at the Kawarau bridge, we decided it was time to sample some of the local wines.

As an architectural photographer I naturally had an invested interest in visiting Peregrine Wines, since the award winning main building is designed to emulate the wing of a peregrine falcon as it soars on a local thermal. Certainly I found the building to be interesting, and the wines were pretty good. I did want to capture some images showing just the ‘wing,’ however unfortunately it was not to be since there was evidence of some reconstruction work in the garden and pond area in this area in front which did not lend itself to great photographs…

After Peregrine we headed on to Chard Farm Winery, which is accessed via a long and dusty driveway known as the Chard Road,  that offers superb views over the ‘bungy’ river and the surrounding area… The winery itself was originally established in I believe 1986 or 1987, and has a reputation for producing a fine Pinot Noir, which we were both very much contemplating on the drive…

On arriving at Chard Farm we were greeted by a lovely lady who proceeded to oversee our tasting; sadly I cannot remember her name, but she was so incredibly friendly and knowledgeable that we chatted for quite some time as we worked our way through the excellent wines on the menu. Naturally we concluded our visit hammering our credit card with a large order, which was then duly delivered to us a few weeks after our return to Melbourne…!