Back to it. Holiday is over
I just had a week off.
I was feeling a bit sick of most things at the 2025 halfway mark, so it was great to do something different for a time.
So we (Arran and I) planned a holiday around food. And wine.
Three years ago, at about this time (school holidays), we had a family holiday in Napier New Zealand. The main reason for travelling to Napier was because:
a) Napier is an “art -deco” town. An earthquake in 1931 levelled the town and it was rebuilt over the following few years in the art-deco style of the time, that Arran and I love.
b) Napier is part of one of New Zealand’s wine regions, Hawkes Bay. Arran and I like wine.
We weren’t sure what the children were going to like but we brought them along anyway. Apparently you can’t leave them home alone.
We visited a winery. The children stayed in their car with their screens. Another winery. The same. We did play mini gold one day so that was child friendly.
Knowing nothing of the area or decent restaurants, a picked a random restaurant along marine parade (the aptly named street of every street along the coast in every city) and booked for Saturday night. Arran and I headed out sans children. They were left in the hotel with pizza. It seemed safe enough.
The restaurant was modest, humble. Having lived in New Zealand over three years now I would say, a relatively typical restaurant. However, it didn’t take long to work out we had stumbled into something quite special.
The pine tables and modest interior quickly gave way to an incredibly knowledgeable sommelier. And the food? Unbelievably good. Chef’s kiss.
It wasn’t long before we googled the restaurant to discover it was an award winning, top New Zealand restaurant. It’s called Pacifica.
Last year we made an excuse to visit again.
And then there was this year. Pacifica had advised they were closing in their current location and format. We organised a road trip around going there one more time (after shipping the kids to the grandparents in Brisbane).
Is there anything actually wrong about arranging a holiday around food and wine?
Nah!
First stop was Taupo, to take Arran to The Bistro. Lovely lovely food.
Next stop? Napier. Staying at Hotel Masonic. Beautifully renovated art deco gorgeousness. Recommend.
The first day we had late lunch and wine at Craggy Range, and then we went to bed early to read books (me One Hundred Years of Betty, by Debra Oswal. So good.) and Arran to play some computer game more addictive than crack.
The next night was the third and final dinner visit to Pacifica. Still so good. We got hugs when we left ❤️
Next stop? Gisborne. Another wine region, that unfortunately had very few cellar doors open. Apparently people don't visit during winter, but we found a couple of places along with some nice food.
The highlight of the trip? There were two for me.
The first was a recommendation for a wine bar in Hastings. We drove to this town so Arran could visit a gin distillery and do a tasting. While there we asked for a recommendation for lunch.
“Just walk down the street 80 metres to Cellar 495" we were told. And we did. And it was wonderful. One of our favourite finds.
The second was the sense of community we always find at cellar doors, wineries and great restaurants, particularly in regional areas.
It’s how we found Cellar 495. It’s how we were recommended to Milton Vineyards and Winery in Gisborne. And it’s how Arran and I had a great discussion with the person who was kind enough to open up and do a tasting just for us at Milton Winery. We stood outside for ages talking about the great restaurants we had recently been to on our trip and also back in Auckland.
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Lisa xx