Bad Rock Blog

I was mountain bike riding my regular Wild Rock Commute over Te Mata Peak and while riding down the foggy crest was confronted by a very angry Hereford cattle beast with a sore leg. The beast charged at me so I fended the first couple of blows with my handle bars.

Seizing an opportunity I jumped the fence and snapped a shot on my blackberry. Before I could react the angry fella charged at speed smashing the railings like twigs, I jumped another fence while he stomped on my bike – lucky for the carbon fiber strength it survived.

I was able to yell and scream at him and get him off my bike then hauled it over the fence to ‘safety’. I whistled and yelled at the beast to move on and grabbed a lump of wood to bang on the fence, which scare him away a few meters. Then I managed to jump over his side of the fence with my bike and ride down Te Mata (whilst looking over my shoulder) heading to Waimarama Road and work at Wild Rock Wine HQ at the Craggy Range Giants site.

Hawke's Bay Today Newspaper story http://goo.gl/DucBr

Check out the normal Wild Rock Commute on

http://bit.ly/TheWildRockGuyCommuteDHFastVersion

XTERRA Rotorua 2011 was fantastic! Last weekend Wild Rock Wine Sponsored XTERRA and a team of Wild Rock and Craggy Range crew gave it their all and competed in New Zealand’s largest and most professional multidiscipline event held around the stunning Blue Lake and Whakarewarewa Forest of Rotorua.

We all had a great time and achieved great results. 11KM RUN Becky Driver, 21KM RUN; Nikki Fox 36th 2.13, Scott Tasker 51st 2.06. XTERRA TEAM 12th 3.05 (Swim: Tania Wotherspoon, Mountain bike: Ash Ireland, Run: Michael Henley).

The setting was picturesque with a stunning blue sky day, warm temperatures, and no wind. The Blue Lake was like glass and the forest green and lush. You couldn’t help but notice all the happy healthy people enjoying each other’s company (and a few Wild Rock Wines). The actual event ran seamlessly with pumping music and great commentary all day. Wild Rock Wine had a tent selling our wine and was also on tap at the VIP tent. It was wonderful to see some of NZ’s best athletes perform alongside beginners and weekend warriors – all smiling (or grimacing in pain) and enjoying themselves.
Wild Rock Wine was also well supported in Rotorua with great accounts with awesome Wild Rock Wine displays in New World Westend Rotorua and Liquor King, Arawa Fine Wine, and listings at Distinction hotel, Scotties Restaurant (who had loads of people buying because we sponsored XTERRA), Urbano Bistro, Rotorua Events Centre, and Last Drop Inn…the list goes on

Check out the XTERRA Video
http://bit.ly/XTERRARotorua2011

Check out our Facebook too...
http://on.fb.me/FBXTERRARotorua2011
Cheers

Ash Ireland
The Wild Rock Guy

#wine, #NZwine, #mtb, #run, #triathlon

There seems to be a life changing event around every corner with less than the usual two degrees of separation. From helping my mother strengthen and repair her broken Christchurch house after the devastating earthquake in February to the checking on friends in Tokyo and on the island of Hokkaido after their devastating earthquake and tsunami. The closeness brings home the reality and puts other less important things into prospective – also reminds us to wake-up and smell the wine.

We are just harvesting our first grapes for the 2011 vintage and they are looking great. The teams are hand harvesting a smaller chardonnay block and we are whole bunch pressing with our small press. The timing of harvesting this chardonnay block was perfect as the leaves on the vines were gradually changing colour and most of the grapes were ripe and green with only a few bunches turning a little yellow or which have been effected by bird strike. The overall quality looks great and the yield as planned. The weather has been fantastic with a lovely Indian summer week after a recent cold wet snap which has raised the sugar brix level to around the 21-22 level of the chardonnay currently being harvested. The picking team are enjoying stunning Hawke's Bay autumn conditions in the vineyard which is a great introduction to harvest, and the new cellar hands in the winery have just started full of energy and passion.  Merlot is next on the harvest list and is expected to come in over the next few weeks - can't wait!

The Hawke's Bay is a hive of activity with most vineyards starting to harvest chardonnay and considering other varietals soon. Fingers crossed we might be looking at another great Hawke's bay vintage!

Cheers

Ash Ireland
The Wild Rock Guy

#wine, #NZwine