Toast Martinborough 2009 – the aftermath.
Bloody hell I ache all over today.
It’s a good ache mind you – it means I had a great time and went dancing – not something you get a lot of chance to do in the back of beyond.
Toast Martinborough is one of the three days a year that the tumbleweed strewn streets of Martinborough become packed with people. In this case, 99% drunken people staggering from vineyard to vineyard in a pretty spectacular “Pub Crawl”. It is a truly brilliant day out, and I think it’s one of the “most do’s” for anyone living in the lower north island.
The Wairarapa is a major wine growing area in New Zealand – and Martinborough is the epicentre (though it has to be said that some of the other wineries in the region are definitely better than some of the Martinborough ones). That being said – it was the town of Martinborough that decided to have the festival – and they do it exceeding well.
11 Wineries this year – we skipped 3 cos the bus drivers went the wrong way or missed stops which was a bit annoying. This year the biggest problem was gale force winds – which made getting around a bit tricky (and was pretty miserable for those not tanked up on masses of alcohol – I was driving). Every time we have been before the biggest issue of the day was getting out of the scorchin sun. Yesterdays issue was finding some space out of the wind.
Elvis at Alana Estate
My favourites of the day:
Best Food:
Salute’s Lamb Croquettes at Palliser winery
Best Band
The Jedi Knights playing at Tirohana, and of course The Beat Girls at Palliser for giving us something to really “boogie-oogie” to (that is NOT my word!)
Best Coffee
Ripe at Martinborough Vineyard – because it was there when I needed defrosting the most.
Most Outrageous food rip-off
The Crayfish at Alana Estate. It is a mark of how sorry hubby felt for me that he (unknown to me) swapped enough Festival Franks for a small piece of seafood to have allowed our group a glass of wine each.
Best Customer Service (in the end).
Ruth Pretty Catering. I ordered a Coq Au Vin pie (had them before – they are delish) and got a steak and kidney. Took it back and they replaced it – with a steak and \Kidney. Took it back again and they finally worked out they had mixed up some trays – so they took a fresh tray our and got me a piping hot Coc Au Vin pie. They were lovely and apologetic and took the time to sort me out even though it was a huge event and they were really busy.
Best Wines (from the general view of the group)
Alana Estate. (Which is up for sale if you have a few million lurking under the sofa cushions).
All in all – as ever it was a great day out. Despite the vast quantities of alcohol consumed – its always a friendly event. No fights, just fun. I do have some tips for people thinking about going though.
- Become a Friend.
Friends get to buy 6 tickets before they go on general release. It’s a must if you really want to go. It costs $120 for the first year, and $75 a year after that. With tickets at about $60 it makes it expensive if there’s only 2 of you, but when you know there’s a group going – it’s worth it.
- Buy Festival Franks in stages.
You cannot get refunds on your Franks. Only franks are taken on the day- you buy them with real cash or EftPOS. Each of the vineyards has “banks” so its best to remember to take out small quantities and then you are not left with unusable money at the end of the day. You can always buy bottles of wine back at the square with any leftover – but why should you?
- End up at Palliser.
This should always be your last stop – its where the Beat Girls play and its the best for a good party atmosphere.
- Don’t be stupid and Drink & Drive.
Drink Driving doesn’t always have the same bad rap here as it does back home – here many people think its acceptable. It’s not. And every road out of town has a breathalyser stop on it. Don’t be an arse. If you are the driver – don’t be tempted just soak up the atmosphere and make notes about the antics of your drunken companions.
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3 Comments on Toast Martinborough 2009 – the aftermath.
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Sarah on
Mon, 16th Nov 2009 10:49 pm
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Avalon on
Tue, 17th Nov 2009 2:19 pm
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Paola Brett on
Fri, 20th Nov 2009 11:38 pm
You lucky lady! What a FABULOUS time you had! I went one year and it was unforgettable. I’ve also been over to the Marlborough Food & Wine Festival, which was equally memorable. The food is always an equal highlight for me, along with the wine.
Glad you danced your socks off and didn’t get blown away!
We were attending the ‘Santa Parade’ on Sunday – something that’s become obligatory for us to attend since having children! If I wasn’t pregnant a nice wine would have gone down a treat 
Ive not yet made it to the marlborough festival – though I would like to at some point. Problem is it can get awfully expensive. For 5 of us it costs about $800 for toast – thats Friends Membership, tickets and then wine and food. And we only drink Taste portions – not full glasses 
The food is a great part of it. My “Diet” goes out the window, as its not something where you can say “hold the bread”.
I have heard mixed reports about the festival so interesting to read your post, as some “locals” panned it. My Mum was over from the UK and we didn’t have tickets but I took her up to Martinborough on Tuesday – BIG MISTAKE! They were still recovering from Sunday’s festivities!! Palliser Estate was closed, as was Vynfields where I planned to take Mum for lunch… very annoying! I didn’t go on Monday as I thought it would be bad idea day after the festival but by Tuesday I thought it might be back to business as usual… but apparently not!
Anyway, duly added to our “things to do” list!
Thanks!
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