A gourmet excuse for a weekend in Queenstown and Central Otago

Been meaning to visit Queenstown and Central Otago?

Why not time your trip to coincide with a gourmet experience at recently re-branded Rosewood Matakauri, one of New Zealand’s top luxury lodges?

Burn Cottage winemaker Claire Mulholland and executive chef Jonathan Rogers are set to host a gourmet weekend at Rosewood Matakauri from September 6-8.

The weekend will be a showcase of the acclaimed biodynamic wines of Burn Cottage, as well as of seasonality and local produce.

The presenting pair are both fanatical about the local terroir, promising a food and wine love letter to Queenstown and Central Otago.

Rogers’ Matakauri menus change every day. 

“It’s an incredibly rewarding way of cooking,” he said. “What I cook is dictated by my local community - the farmers, the growers and purveyors who supply the lodge, and this is what this wonderful weekend will showcase.”

Rosewood Matakauri has a stunning location on the edge of Lake Wakatipu and views of the Remarkables Mountain range and Cecil and Walter Peaks. 

Guests for the two-night weekend will arrive on Friday afternoon and enjoy a tutored wine tasting of different varietals and vintages from the Burn Cottage cellars. A relaxed and unstructured a la carte dinner will follow.

The food and wine events kick off on Saturday with a cooking demonstration in the morning and a grand finale dinner that night - a five course tasting menu matched to the premium Burn Cottage wines (vineyard above). 

The tariff for two nights is NZ$2180.00 per person, based on double occupancy (not cheap, but it is a special spot) and includes two night’s accommodation at Rosewood Matakauri; pre-dinner aperitif; full daily breakfast, and complimentary non-alcoholic minibar, cooking demonstration; tutored wine tasting of Burn Cottage wines with winemaker Claire Mulholland; a la carte dinner on Friday evening
and five-course tasting menu dinner on Saturday night with Burn Cottage wines to match.

For reservations at Rosewood Matakauri call +64 9407 0065 or email matakauri.reservations@rosewoodhotels.com

Champagne? Caviar? Luxury?

 

Champagne? Caviar? A luxury island retreat? 

Luxury lodge Lizard Island in Tropical North Queensland has unveiled plans for a special couple of days over a long weekend in June.

Lizard Island - the northernmost resort on the Great Barrier Reef - will pair with family-owned Champagne Lallier and caviar producer Yarra Valley Caviar over the weekend of June 28-30. 

The weekend will include masterclasses, tastings and leisurely dining events. 

Guests are promised some of the finest vintages of the century-old Champagne house, along with caviar from a sustainable aquaculture farm. 

Renowned ceramicists The McCorry Collection will also be on hand across the weekend. 

Lizard Island general manager Mark Leslie said: "Lallier Champagne and Yarra Caviar are two prestigious culinary products whose producers pride themselves on small-scale, sustainable production, and the proof is in the superior - and thoroughly enjoyable - tasting experience.” 

Lizard Island has 40 suites and villas offering access to white-sand beaches and is a founding member of the Luxury Lodges of Australia collection.

Lallier is a 115-year-old Champagne house with its barrel hall in Ay and production facilities in Oger.

See https://www.lizardisland.com.au/