volante: new zealand

Band camp goes to Queenstown

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In Arrowtown, a historic gold mining town, 20 minutes from Queenstown, the band hit the Postmaster Restaurant. Taking their wines seriously, they set the wine menu first, and then paired the food to match the wines accordingly. Between the venison and pinot noir and the red sheep’s cheese with the montepulciano we had a Kiwi vodka green tea sorbet to clean our palettes. It was truly decadent to the senses.

There are several wine regions within New Zealand. Queenstown in the Central Otago region is known for its sauvignon blanc and pinot noirs. South African Johan Small-Smith at the Wine Deli in town pointed me in all the right wine directions. For a quick sample, try their Chard Farm pinot or a Villa Maria sauvignon blanc.

As per Johan’s suggestion, I made a stop at the famous Amisfield Winery & Bistro in Lake Hayes, just 10 minutes from town. Having lunch with the incredibly clever, 42 Below’s own guru, Geoff Ross, we went with the ‘Trust the Chef’, a mix of local dishes like oxtail, duck and zucchini, paired with its award-winning wines. It was a great way to pass a lazy day. When offered, which is often in Queenstown, always go with the ‘Trust the chef’.

EVERY NIGHT was complete with a Queenstown bar crawl. With a mix of locals and visitors, the bar options were endless. Bars were quaint and chic, which is Queenstown, fit with modern amenities, yet riddled with old-world charm.

The 42 bartenders were in (14) teams of three, e.g. US West, US East, UK 1 and UK 2, Dubai, North Asia, Australia, NZ Pro Flow. Each team had a home bar for the week in Queenstown to win over the locals and to practise for the final competition. Barmuda, Barup, Bardeaux, the Spire and Eichart’s were a few of the faboo cozy bars, many with fireplaces, great music and all with a great cocktail and wine lists.

Six days in, the official Cocktail World Cup competition took place in town for all to see, we the band and the many locals in front of a savvy panel of judges. The UK team took top prize with a look very far back with its mediæval concoction and Benedictine performance. It was truly a spiritual experience.

It was the first time a hot beverage won top prize. It was impressive and yummy to the tongue. To try this trick at home, you need:

2 eggs
1 heaped teaspoon of honey
80 ml cream
80 ml 42 Below manuka honey vodka
20 ml Tahiti Dark
5 ml Benedictine
1 dash Angostura bitters
Garnish of fresh cinnamon and nutmeg

Whisk all ingredients and warm on stove, then char all ingredients with a red-hot poker. (Yep, you heard right, a hot poker.) Serve in a teacup and saucer.

The last night, I was the quintessential American with one too many gushing goodbyes. It wasn’t only the beauty, the band or the booze that I would miss; it was life as it should be, hassle-free, full of fun and with genuinely good, friendly people. The Kiwis are incredibly special. That is what I will miss most, the locals. I had a big crush on this country! My lovely friend and fellow band member was tapping his exasperated British toe as we exited each establishment, so over my goodbyes, all of my gushing and my obvious crush.

With barely a wink; we piled on to the buses at 5.45 the next morning. Heading to the airport, I thought, ‘I’ll never have that much fun again,’ legally. The rambunctious bartenders, a few members of the band, a couple of judges and the producer and host of the TV show that was shot all took flight on our way to Auckland. As we were about to land, they announced that we lost our landing gear—or something didn’t pull out, or we lost a wheel or … Not really sure. My British buddy, the toe tapper and the unofficial leader of our band, seated next to me in the first row, said, ‘Don’t worry. It’s completely normal. It’s standard. They are circling the tower to get the okay to land. They do it all the time.’

Like a true, fearless leader I completely and ignorantly trusted and believed him. Now, an unofficial extreme, savvy and accomplished athlete, I sat back and relaxed through our extreme flight as we quickly, dipped, spun and circled.

Several circles later, the pilot said shakily, ‘We may land or we may land, then take off again … right away ... Ah, yeah.’ Hmmmm … As we landed, with several fire engines chasing us down the runway and grown men wiping tears from their masculine cheeks, I began to think that maybe it was more serious than I thought or was led to believe. Leave it to a leader to allay fear in his followers. I couldn’t help but think, ‘What a poetic ending to an incredible trip.’ If that was our last song, it was exactly the note I wanted to leave on: bliss! •

More info on 42 Below: www.42below.com
Cocktail World Cup: www.cocktailworldcup.com
How to get there: Air Tahiti: www.airtahitinui.com
Where to stay: the Heritage, a hop and a skip from town. With tennis courts overlooking the lake, request a Lakeview suite in the alpine hotel. You will wake up and think you’ve died and gone to heaven: www.heritagequeenstown.com

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As we were about to land, they announced that we lost our landing gear—or something didn’t pull out, or we lost a wheel or … Not really sure. As we landed, with several fire engines chasing us down the runway and grown men wiping tears from their masculine cheeks, I began to think that maybe it was more serious than I thought