Mud House Winery

This is the rather oddly named Mud House winery and vineyard, a perfect stop for lunch on the way back from Kaikoura.

It was the first day of winemaking for the year, a special occasion. We watched as the forklift brought the freshly picked grapes out of the storage containers...



And then loaded them into the presses. The presses are driven by air pressure and spin round to keep the grape squeezing process as even as possible. The skins then fall out the bottom and are taken away as deer food...



...while the precious juice goes into the stainless steel fermenting vats for a few weeks of fermentation. Red wines then get transferred to the oak barrels for aging, while white wines can usually be bottled directly.



We also indulged in a spot of tasting - and purchasing - of the finished product. An excellent day out!