Touring the Terroir

New Zealand wineries are preferable to those of France and California, for first-class tastings, scenery and cuisine, according to the Telegraph’s wine correspondent Robert Joseph. “This is a great place for wine tourism. In fact, having recently spent a year researching my wine travel guide, I would go as far as to say that no wine-producing country does a better job of welcoming tourists. In the South Island you’ll find this country’s cult Pinot Noir vineyards – and a brilliant set-up called the Big Picture in Cromwell, where, for NZ$20 (£8), you can sit back and watch a film that flies you across the region in a helicopter, dropping into five wineries, including the actor Sam Neill ‘s Two Paddocks. Maybe one day the winemakers of Bordeaux and Burgundy will come up with an idea this good. Until they do, I’m going to go on telling my wine-loving friends that it’s worth spending a day in a plane to get to New Zealand.”