Dining out with Misha’s Vineyard

Two amazing opportunities for foodies and wine lovers to experience degustation menus matched with Misha’s Vineyard Wines happened in February.

The first event was a Long Lunch at The Nice Hotel in New Plymouth. The Nice Hotel with iconic host Terry Parkes have served Misha’s Vineyard wine for a long time. We’ve always been fascinated with this hotel and its reputation for beautiful décor, amazing food and hospitality that goes beyond just being a place to stay and dine. Terry knows just about everyone in New Plymouth and our three day stay at the hotel backed this up with a constant flow of locals dropping in any time – day or night. There is no distinction between guests and friends at The Nice Hotel – you are all treated as friends!

We were treated to a guest room in the “Best Suites” building which was amazing. Our Long Lunch on Sunday bought in a mix of regular guests of Table Restaurant and people who wanted to come along and see what the reputation was all about. None were disappointed. Chef Ben Crawshaw had prepared a fantastic 5 course menu of perfectly matched dishes which were served in leisurely style befitting a “Long Lunch” in the outdoor courtyard of Table restaurant. The sun was shining, the food was delicious, the chilled wines really popular and laughter louder than the music Terry had chosen to accompany lunch. It had been a long time since we were last in New Plymouth – but we’ll be back soon.

After a few days spent visiting customers in various towns in the southern part of the North Island we arrived at The Copthorne Hotel in Wellington for our long awaited Misha’s Vineyard Summer Degustation Dinner. Executive Chef and F & B Manager Chetan Pangam had hatched the idea with Misha’s some time ago and while schedules are always hard to align this was well worth waiting for. The dinner was sold out well ahead indicating how popular the dinners at One80 restaurant are.

The dinner was more than food and wine, it was theatre with an incredible view of Oriental Bay as the backdrop. The eight course degustation meals were plated on a large bench in front of the 80 guests with Chetan talking about intricacies of the dish as he and his team of chefs served and meticulously decorated each plate.

Misha and Andy took turns at introducing the wines and telling the story of Misha’s Vineyard, then our guest star of New Zealand Opera – and one of the touring 10 Tenors, Cameron Barclay, performed songs to match the wines! A High Note aria to match our estate Pinot Noir, a piece from an opera of the Verismo period to match our Reserve Pinot Noir and a Cadenza to match our Late Harvest Gewürztraminer. It was truly an amazing evening with local Wellingtonians and a number of overseas guests coming to see us after the dinner to congratulate us and Chetan on providing one of their most memorable evenings.

It’s always a treat to have these wonderful venues host lunches and dinners that not only feature our wines, but help us tell their customers who we are and why we love the wine business. Thanks to two incredible hosts for their passion and support in making these events happen.