Hawke's Bay is very tasty indeed - Saturday teatime

I am writing this from my mum's house in Spain looking forward to a Sunday lunch of pulpo a la gallega (boiled octopus garnished with paprika, olive oil and salt) followed by a great big paella. All this thought of food inspired me to finish off the second chapter in my Hawke's Bay wine and food odyssey.

We left Clearview with a half bottle of the noble Chardonnay each and I also grabbed a dessert wine called Sea Red which is a fortified blend of Merlot and Malbec. This is a great wine to finish a meal and is initially sweet but then has a lovely dry finish. The excellent winery restaurant (Jeremy has eaten there of course) looked and smelled very inviting but I couldn't really justify a snack just an hour after lunch. Anyway, we were late for our accommodation for the night.

There was no rush to get to my bed but a pressing concern was that the cellar door at Craggy Range closed at 5. We made it by ten to and were still treated to a full tour of this beautifully designed and situated winery followed by a tasting of some sensational wines. Amongst them was a really surprising Sauvignon Blanc. Neither Jeremy nor I get the Sav thing - it is just dry, dry acid with no fruit and does weird and unpleasant things to the back of my tongue. This one was different though being more aromatic and fruity but I'd still go for Chardonnay most of the time.

Our berth for the night was a really well appointed cottage set amongst the vines and looking up at Te Mata Peak. They have the smaller Vineyard Cottage with one bedroom and we were in the Cellar Master's Cottage with two ensuite bedrooms and an open plan living area. I eventually got the wood burner going which was a painful struggle (although this cannot be seen as any reflection on my masculinity as the wood was damp, honestly) and we waited for the highlight of the day.

Terroir is Craggy Range's restaurant and is rustic in style and has a nice relaxed atmosphere. We looked at the menu with another cleansing ale and the starter was obvious - crispy pig’s cheek, quince, black pudding Charlotte & sage. The main was a challenge and I was tempted by the sous vide lamb but in the end had to go with the more rustic confit stuffed rabbit leg with pancetta, pearl barley risotto, sautéed liver & chestnuts. We went to our table with a glass of superb “Les Beaux Cailloux” Gimblett Gravels Chardonnay and ordered a bottle Craggy Range's world class Syrah "Le Sol".

The pig's cheek was delicious and was followed by an amuse-bouche of a seared scallop on a puree of red pepper. My main was brilliant and although Jeremy enjoyed his trio plate of guinea fowl, duck confit ravioli and braised lamb shoulder, he had at least two good mouthfuls of my rabbit leg and kicked himself that he didn't have a full plate.

That was it for me. Too much food and alcohol and too little sleep in the last 48 hours meant that I was just about ready to crash and burn.