So I’m having such a fun and intense time here in New Zealand, I’m finding it hard to blog every day. But here goes. Sunday saw the final day of the Pinot Noir celebration and it began with a grand Burgundy tasting, chaired by Nick Mills of Rippon, with celebrity guest Aubert de Villane of Domaine de la Romanee Conti. There were six Burgundies to taste, and the final two in particular, a pair of Echezeaux, were stunning to the point of being moving.

The tasting was followed by lunch: we split into several groups and each headed to a different restaurant in town. Mine was Botswana, and the lunch was long and delicious.

 It was a beautiful day and I was in danger of getting fat, so time for a nice long run along the shores of Lake Wakatipu. This blew away a few cobwebs, and set me up nicely for the grand dinner, held up at the top of the world in the skyline restaurant, which you access via a cable car. The buzz here was lovely: everyone brought along nice bottles of wine to share with their table.

And, of course, the stunning view of Queenstown and the Remarkables.

After dinner we headed into town, and kept going until the early hours, and then a bit beyond that. It had been a memorable event.