Sleeping in a Stable: Rustic Romance

Charm was around ever corner our entire Enn Zed trip. Pastoral scenery, enchanting people with captivating accents and darling spring lambs were everywhere you looked. One of the most charm-filled places was St. Leonards Vineyard Cottages in Marlborough.

St. Leonards is an 1880's homestead with accommodations housed in converted buildings from the old farm complex. The Woolshed, the Shearer's Quarters, the Old Dairy and the Stables are lovingly updated and very modern while retaining their original charm. We were housed in the Stables, a romantic hideaway with an efficiency kitchen.

Innkeepers Paul and Daphne Radmall provided fresh breakfast provisions every morning. I love this concept, one that appeared several times during our New Zealand stay. If you've been reading Sticks Forks Fingers for long, you know how much I love my breakfast. With nice ingredients provided and a means to turn them into breakfast, we were able to wake on our own schedule and didn't even have to dress for breakfast. This leisurely approach to beginning the vacation day works for me!

At St. Leonards, Paul told us during our room orientation that the basket of Araucana eggs came from their own hens. Daphne had provided her own preserves, shimmery quince jelly and tart grapefruit/lemon marmalade. It's those personal and homey touches that thrill me and make me feel like a valued guest.

These rich orange yolks...

... beat up so thickly for our scrambled eggs.

It is important to be fueled up before beginning a day of wine tasting!

Credit goes to the girls of St. Leonards for our delicious breakfast.

St. Leonards is set among a sunny lemon orchard,

the same orchard from which Daphne's marmalade was made.

Beyond the orchard is hectare after hectare of Marlborough region Chardonnay grapes and the stately mountains beyond.

The Radmill's keep deer in the orchard. We asked Daphne about them, and before she answered, she asked, "You're not vegetarian are you?" When we said no, she told us that they make their way into their freezer.

St. Leonard's made a terrific, restful launch pad from which to conduct our Marlborough wine tasting. An upcoming post will be on one of the most fabulous wine experiences I've ever had at Marlborough's Te Whare Ra.