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elcome to the latest edition of Peugeot Life!

Since 1810 Peugeot has associated its name, and later

its Lion badge, with saws, tools, coffee and pepper grinders,

sewing machines, bicycles, motorcycles and scooters – and, of

course, some of the most beautiful cars in the world. To each of these worlds

Peugeot has brought modernity, innovation and style, while laying emphasis on

its industrial origins, based on the working of steel.

With strong family values and ownership, Peugeot remains constantly

customer-focused and always open to change, with the clear ambition to climb

three places in the world ranking of car manufactures by 2015. True to its

heritage it will always be committed to producing products that connect with

our emotions – hence the brand-new signature line: MOTION &

EMOTION.

Late last year we were proud to see the expansion of our model range with our

first 4WD SUV, the 4007, followed by the launch of the new 3008 Crossover

and lastly the exquisite two-door sports coupé, the RCZ, recently awarded

international TopGear magazine’s Coupé of the Year.

This year promises to be one of our most exciting years ever, as we continue to

grow the brand with the arrival in June of the current 407 replacement, the

luxury new Peugeot 508 sedan and SW range. In this issue of Peugeot Life we

proudly feature a competitive motoring review by 40-year veteran motoring

writer Alistair Sloane on this award-winning new model range following his

recent trip to its debut in Alicante, Spain.

We also take a look at the new facelift 308 hatch, SW and CC model range

that will launch towards the end of the year.

Beyond 2011, Peugeot’s pioneering work with diesel-electric hybrid 4WD

technology, fully electric vehicles and a host of other environmentally compatible

mobility solutions will soon evolve in the form of desirable production vehicles

for everyday use.

We really hope you enjoy reading this edition of Peugeot Life. We have

attempted to include something for everyone and have collected stories on

everything from luxury travel to the Rugby World Cup and an exclusive

interview with well-known and loved NZ celebrity John Hawkesby.

We would also like to congratulate our 2010 “Tales of the Lion” competition

winner, Mr John Pearce, who submitted his inspirational tale about the family’s

“love affair with Peugeot”, which started in 1974 and still continues today – 11

Peugeots later! You can view the full published story at www.peugeot.co.nz.

As the executive management team for the New Zealand importer for Peugeot

we sincerely thank you for taking the time to learn a little more about our plans

for Peugeot in 2011 and we now invite you to visit one of our dealerships where

you can expect a personal, memorable and relaxed experience.

Yours sincerely,

Grant Smith Simon Rose

General Manager Divisional Manager

W

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508very tasty!

t was 4˚C in Paris and the eatery off the Champs-Élysées

offered up the usual French winter fare. One meal seemed

out of place: chitterlings.

“Guys, what do you know about chitterlings?,” said Simon

Rose, Peugeot New Zealand’s divisional manager. The “guys” were New Zealand

motoring writers including the author, Dave Moore (The Press), Peter Louisson

(Autocar) and Colin Smith (Bay of Plenty Times). We figured chitterlings must be

like “chit’lins”, a fried mix of mostly pig’s innards found in the southern states of

America: soul food.

The French waiter sort of confirmed it. Chitterlings is a French sausage

made from offal, he said. The recipe is hundreds of years old, he said. Very nice

too, he said. I resisted asking, knowing the distain the average Frenchman has

for British food, if chitterlings in any way resembled haggis, Scotland’s national

dish, or a Yorkshire black pudding.

Dave, Colin and I skipped the chitterlings and went for steak and chips. This

is a ritual of sorts, mostly in honour of the Café du Paris in Geneva, which has

served nothing but steak and chips since it opened in 1933. Go to Switzerland

and the Geneva motor show and the first port of call is the Café du Paris.

Simon and Peter decided on chicken. The waiter took our orders but quickly

returned. There was only one chicken dinner left. Simon and Peter spun the

I

cuisine roulette wheel. The numbers came up

chicken for Peter and something else for

Simon. Our host gambled on chitterlings.

“Hope it’s all right,” he said. “I had a dodgy

stomach last week and the last thing I want is

a repeat of that.”

We had stopped over in Paris for the night

on our way to the south of Spain to test-drive

the new Peugeot 508 sedan and station

wagon. Simon again pondered the unknown

over a pre-dinner drink. “Wonder if I should

have ordered something else?”

The eatery was in a back-street not far from

the glitzy Fiat-Alfa Romeo showroom that

opened last year. Up the road, closer to the

Arc de Triomphe, is Peugeot’s showroom. The

Peugeot family owns a big chunk of real estate

on the Champs-Élysées.

Chitterlings, say the history books, is a

medieval English word for animal innards,

fried or steamed. Chitterlings can be found

in various forms where pig intestines are used

as casings for sausages. The word first

appeared in an English cookbook in 1743 in

a recipe for calf ’s innards.

The Smithsonian Museum in Washington,

DC, honours chit’lins in an exhibit about

African-American celebrations. It is called the

The Chit’lin Market and centres on the slave

trade. The story goes that when Southern

plantation owners butchered pigs going into

Christmas they kept the best cuts of meat for

themselves and fed their slaves the remains,

such as fatback, snouts, ears, neck bones, feet,

and intestines.

Small intestines are found in traditional

dishes in the Caribbean, Latin America and

south America. In Chile, chitterlings are

called “chunchule”, meaning intestines.

Food hygiene guides say care must be taken

when preparing chitterlings. The innards

must be cleaned properly to avoid the risk of

disease. Cleaning includes soaking and

rinsing in several cycles of cool water. The

chitterlings are turned inside out, cleaned

and boiled, sometimes in baking soda, and

the water is discarded. Then they are

cooked, often battered and fried and served

with hot sauce.

In the southwest of France, in the celebrated

wine region of Gironde, chitterlings is

considered an expensive delicacy. It is made

from pig’s intestines, boiled in bouillon then

grilled on a fire of grapevine cane.

On the other side of the Pyrenees, in the

old streets of Logrono, the capital of Spain’s

Rioja wine region, sheep’s innards are served

as tapas, or snacks. The dish is called

embuchados. I have also eaten pig’s ears in

the tapas bars of Logrono. There is a pocket

of meat in the ear that is sweet. The rest is

hard to swallow. Wine helps.

Further south, in Madrid, a dish called

gallinejas often appears at festivals. It consists

of a sheep’s small intestine, spleen, and

pancreas, fried in their own grease in such a

manner that they form small spirals. The dish

is served hot. It is sometimes best to swallow

it before you can taste it. Again, a heavy red

wine, lots of garlic bread and marinated

chilies help.

There wasn’t such a wine on the table in

Paris when Simon’s chitterlings arrived. It was

indeed a sausage, or saucisse – boiled, pale,

bloated, much bigger than the Kiwi barbecue

variety and accompanied by a mix of

vegetables and mash. The vegetables offered

the only hint of colour on the plate. Simon

looked at the chitterlings warily and asked if

I wanted to try some. He sliced off a piece.

Me and horses have always been mates. My

grandfather Joe was the 1922 New Zealand

equestrian champion. It’s in Hansard records

in the Parliament House library. I had my

first horse at 6, up north on the farm. I settled

on its name before it arrived: Sinbad. But it

turned out to be a chestnut filly. So I called it

Cindy. It was three years old and the feistiest

female on the planet. I thought the battles I

had had with Cindy would prepare me for

challenges like chitterlings.

The sight of the saucisse was unnerving. It

sort of wobbled on the plate, pockets of fatty

liquid pressing here and there against its skin

as it moved. There was a moment when

I wondered if there perhaps was a piece

of Cindy in Simon’s saucisse. Cindy died

35 years ago. The saucisse, or what was in

it, said the waiter, had turned up its toes

more recently.

Simon wasn’t happy. He tried it but couldn’t

eat it. It was a gallant performance. People

were looking. He poked and prodded, sliced

and diced, all the time moving pieces around.

I nudged the slice he had given me clockwise

around the veranda of my plate. It started out

at 11 o’clock. I moved it towards 2 o’clock,

hiding it among the chips and telling Simon

I was making my way through it. It went

through 5 o’clock, 8 o’clock. It was still intact

at 10 o’clock, nestled under rag-ends of

potato and steak, when we left the eatery.

Simon said sorry to the waiter. Gee, the

chitterlings looked appetising, he said, but,

you know, these things happen. Long plane

flight and so on… bad stomach last week…

The waiter frowned a lot. We headed for an

underground train station, the anonymity of

a rush-hour crowd, and a plane trip to

Alicante, Spain.

The cuisine of Alicante has been influenced

by surrounding areas, like Valencia. Many

dishes are Alicante’s version of another region’s

dish. For example, paella alicantina is paella

prepared with chicken and rabbit, not seafood.

Just like variations of chitterlings: pig’s innards

in one country, cow’s innards in another.

The only dish in Alicante that could

remotely be linked to chitterlings, or black

pudding for that matter, is cocido de pelotas,

if only because pig’s blood is used to bind

balls made of egg, pork, breadcrumbs and

parsley. These are served with chicken or

turkey, lean pork and bacon fat, garbanzo

beans and spices.

We settled on tapas for the first meal in

Spain, a snack in a village high in hills about

130km from Alicante. It was the first stop on

the drive in the Peugeot 508. On the menu

was pimientos de Pardon, small green

capsicum peppers fried in olive oil and served

with coarse salt. I pretty much lived on them

once when walking for five weeks across

Spain. Most are mild and sweet; some are

fiery hot and spicy.

The Peugeots were parked in the village

courtyard, below the level of the tapas bar.

Two things catch the eye about the 508: it is

more conservative and aerodynamically

cleaner than recent Peugeot offerings; and

the interior is the best Peugeot has done

for years.

There is a slick centre console and

dashboard assembly. The switchgear has

moved up a class, too – it obviously benefits

from the carmaker’s new emphasis on an

efficient cabin layout. A head-up display is

part of the kit.

Peugeot’s new 508 sedan and station wagon

arrives in New Zealand in June to replace

both the previous 407 models and the

bigger 607.

Very few cars have been tasked with such a

role, straddling the ground previously

occupied by mid-range offerings and a

premium sedan.

Peugeot says the 508 offers interior space to

match the 607, but doesn’t take up as much

room on the road. The 508 is 10cm longer

than the 407, but 25kg lighter than the 407

four-door and 45kg lighter than the 407 five-

door SW. Lightweight components like the

composite boot lid/tailgate help save weight.

The 508 range will launch in New Zealand

with two engine choices: Euro5-rated 2.0-litre

or 2.2l turbo-diesels, mated to six-speed

automatic Aisin gearboxes with a conventional

torque converter. There is no dual-clutch set-

up; the torque converter is better, anyway, for

low-speed progress than a duel-clutch. There

is also no petrol option, although I hear

there is an entry-level model on the cards for

the future.

But there is a GT badge on the rear of the

2.2l model. “We haven’t had a GT badge on

a sedan for a very long time,” said Simon.

Simon says he wants to try to keep pricing

in line with the outgoing 407 range, starting

at around $54,990 for the 2l HDi sedan

through to perhaps $65,990 for the 2.2l GT

four-door and $68,990 for the SW.

The 2.0l diesel delivers 120kW at 3750rpm

and 340Nm between 2,000–3,000rpm. The

2.2l unit dishes out 150kW at 3,500rpm and

a whopping 450Nm between 2,000–

2,750rpm. Both engines are quiet and offer

brisk performance.

Peak torque comes in slightly higher in the

rev range than in some diesel rivals, a

deliberate engineering move by Peugeot to aid

fuel consumption. It claims town-and-around

fuel use for both cars of 5.7l/100km, or

50mpg, from the 75-litre fuel tank. Exhaust

emissions are rated at around 150g/km.

In a nutshell, the 508 brings back to life

the ride/handling blend that characterised

Peugeots for years, especially the 405 sedan of

around 20 years ago.

It’s a bigger car and isn’t as edgy as the 405,

but it nosed its way through mountain

bends north of Alicante with fine body

control, all the while remaining predictable,

adjustable and with better balance than most

front-drive rivals.

The six-speed auto was at its best on

motorway sections, where the marriage

between engine and gearbox remained free

from squabbles.

The 508 cabin is impressively quiet, no

doubt helped by an acoustic windscreen as

standard and dampers on the front axle to

reduce engine vibration. One of the highlights

is the whopping panoramic glass roof in the

station wagon. It offered Simon Rose a view

of a world far removed from a plate of

chitterlings.

WHAT’S NEW

2011

ALL-NEW 508

The brand-new 508 sedan and wagon,

which will replace the highly regarded 407

series from mid-year in Australia and New

Zealand, takes Peugeot in a whole new

direction. Th e range stays true to the Peugeot

tenets of performance, efficiency and

practicality, but also takes the brand further

upmarket than ever before in terms of style,

cabin quality and equipment levels.

If any one car embodies the new philosophy

of Peugeot, this is it. The look has been

inspired by the breathtaking SR1 concept car

from 2010, while the driving experience and

sheer quality will give real cause for concern

among the makers of much more expensive

luxury cars.

At the front is a single-shape grille rendered

in Peugeot’s new “fl oating” style, and

piercing headlamps give the car a

particularly marked visual

expression, with LED

tubes visible

by both day and night. At the rear, three red

“claws” mask three rows of LEDs on the

sedan. The estate version has a more

composite feel, with a red band that lights up

when the rear lights are activated.

The 508 is aimed at customers who are

active, committed, experienced and in search

of modernity and status without ostentation.

Th ey hold fast to certain values and are aware

of their responsibilities. Such buyers are

drawn increasingly to spacious, timeless and

effi cient cars.

At launch, the star performers will be the

HDi turbo-diesel models. Especially the

flagship GT, which will feature a 2.2-litre

HDi with over 150kW. Premium features

include sports suspension, a unique seat

design with sumptuous leather upholstery,

directional gas-discharge headlights and an

aircraft-style head-up display.

Also available will be a 2.0-litre HDi with

120kW, but with no less emphasis on a

quality driving and occupant experience.

Features on the 508 include a panoramic

glass roof and four-zone climate-

control air conditioning. Th is will

truly be a car to enjoy.

It’s early days for the all-

new 508, so especially

signifi cant that it is already

picking up automotive

a w a rd s . Re a d e r s o f

fortnightly German car

magazine Auto Zeitung

voted the new Peugeot

top in its segment, over

18 rival models.

For the 2010 prize winners, the participating readers chose from

400 models present or due for imminent launch on the German

market, split into several categories. Even before it went on

sale, 18 per cent of votes cast the new Peugeot 508 as number one

in its segment.

Jean-Marc Gales, a member of the PSA Peugeot Citroën

managing board and executive vice-president of brands, accepted

the prize at the awards evening, saying: “The 508 marks the return

of Peugeot to the large touring car segment. Its style and appeal,

combined with its sheer quality and new-generation technologies,

illustrate Peugeot’s ambitions in this category of the market.”

This is just the start of the 508 success story. Already in Europe

it has been chosen for a number of new efficiency technologies,

such as e-HDi with stop-start. In 2012, you can even expect to see

a 508 with the full HYbrid4 diesel-electric powertrain, a next-

generation technology package perfected and recently launched on

the 3008 (see page 22).

THE NEW 308

The hugely successful 308 also benefits from Peugeot’s new

corporate identity, with a revitalised range arriving late this year.

The hatchback, station wagon and Coupé Cabriolet (CC) have

been subtly restyled at the front with elegant and sophisticated

results: intricate chrome detailing gives the 308 a more luxurious

appearance, the new Peugeot Lion is front and centre and the new

model gets a major boost in active safety, with the addition of

LED-powered daytime running lights – a feature more commonly

associated with high-priced prestige cars.

The new look is a fitting celebration of a car that has sold a

staggering 900,000 units in more than 100 countries. Technical

advancements include the new EURO 5-compliant 2.0-litre HDi

engine (just introduced on the current 308), improved

aerodynamics thanks to the restyled front end and weight loss

across the range due to careful re-engineering – around 25kg

depending on model.

The new 308 hatchback and estate versions will be the first to

arrive in Australasia, followed by the CC models.

MEAN MACHINE

isappointment and more than

its share of bad luck at Le Mans

last year has brought even more

determination from Peugeot Sport

for the 2011 season. Its all-new racer, with a

3.7-litre V8 HDi engine, retains the 908

name of its predecessor and will contest the

full Intercontinental Le Mans Cup (ILMC)

campaign.

Peugeot’s previous 908 was widely regarded

as the fastest car on the track at the Le Mans

24 Hours race in 2010, but its three

contenders were ultimately sidelined by

mechanical problems and could not finish.

Such bad luck at one of the world’s glamour

motor-racing events attracted plenty of

publicity, although the 908 went on to win

the ILMC title for 2010.

The all-new car, built to the revised

technical regulations introduced for 2011,

was originally given the code name 90X.

However, with the 908 HDi FAP’s string of

successes – the title in the 2007 Le Mans

Series, a one-two finish at Le Mans in 2009

and the inaugural ILMC crown in 2010 – it

was decided to keep the same name for the

new car.

“We have chosen 908 as the name of the

new car in order to build on the wave of

success with which it is associated,” says

Peugeot’s director of marketing and

communications, Xavier Peugeot. “At the

same time, the new car fits perfectly with the

brand’s new modern image. It mirrors the

modernity that is clearly visible in the new

508 and the recently announced new 308. At

Peugeot, we have always sought to associate

our commitment to motor sport with the real

world and with our model range. The name

908 stood out as the obvious choice.”

Following in the wake of the legendary

Peugeot 905 and the 908 HDi FAP, the 908

is the third car to have been developed by

Peugeot Sport for endurance racing. Like the

previous cars, its mission will be to extend

Peugeot’s winning record at Le Mans that

already stands at three wins: in 1992, 1993

and 2009.

It is a closed-cockpit car, with the same size

front and rear wheels, and is powered by a

new 3.7l V8 HDi FAP 410kW diesel engine.

It means Peugeot Sport will be competing in

endurance racing for the fifth year running

with a diesel engine equipped with a

particulate filter (FAP).

The 908 shares the same technology used

in all Peugeot’s HDi diesel road cars.

There is a very close collaboration between

the group’s engineers and specialists and

their counterparts at Peugeot Sport, to ensure

that exper t i se in areas such as fuel

consumption, respect for the environment

and performance is shared between road cars

and motor sport.

The Intercontinental Le Mans Cup has

expanded from three rounds in 2010 to a

seven-round championship in 2011,

including two races in the USA (Sebring and

Petit Le Mans Road Atlanta), three in Europe

(Spa-Francorchamps, Imola and Silverstone)

and one in China, plus the Le Mans 24

Hours.

Peugeot has created a truly new racing

machine to tackle the series. Just how new?

The only component carried over from the

previous car is the windscreen wiper!

D

INTO THE FUTURE

he Peugeot 3008 HYbrid4 is a

production model now on sale to the

public in Europe, expanding not only

the marque’s environmentally friendly family car

offerings, but also laying a foundation of high

technology that will underpin generations of models

to come.

As maker of some of the most advanced diesel

engines in the world, Peugeot is convinced HDi

technology is the right choice for a hybrid powertrain

over the less fuel-effi cient petrol engines employed

by rival makers. Th e 3008 HYbrid4’s 2.0-litre HDi

powerplant and electric motor achieve combined

cycle fuel economy of 3.79 litres per 100km and

break the magic 100g/km CO emissions barrier

(99g/km) – a 30 per cent improvement over a

conventional diesel car, yet with the performance

and safety benefi ts of all-wheel drive.

Th e 3008 HYbrid4 benefi ts from the combined

power of the HDi engine and electric motor during

acceleration: 121kW from the former and 28kW

from the latter. Maximum torque of 500Nm

is available, split 300Nm from the diesel engine

at the front and 200Nm from the electric motor at

the rear.

How do you manage all this technology and

performance? Well, the car does it for you. Th ere’s a

control selector on the centre console that allows the

driver to choose between four different modes:

automatic, zero-emissions, four-wheel drive and

sport. Each tailors the behaviour and interaction of

the diesel-electric systems to suit.

Peugeot’s expertise in diesel technology is well

known. But it also has considerable experience in

battery-powered vehicles: its 106 Electric, marketed

in Europe from 1995–2003, remains the world’s

top-selling zero-emissions vehicle. Also just launched

in Europe is a latest-generation electric car, the

Peugeot iOn.

In the 3008 HYbrid4, the combination of diesel

and electric power ensures optimum operating

characteristics regardless of the driving conditions.

An HDi engine is still the most effi cient propulsion

method for open-road journeys, while the electric

motor takes over during times of low power demand,

such as urban commuting and deceleration. The

automated six-speed manual gearbox is electronically

controlled and features a second-generation stop-

start system for the ultimate in urban fuel

effi ciency.

T

Incredibly, there are no mechanical links between the front and

rear powertrains – it’s all controlled “by wire”, which offers many

advantages. There are no structural constraints, meaning that the

same technology can be applied to many different vehicles.

Different-capacity engines could easily be used up front with no

compatibility problems, and four-wheel drive can be offered with

minimal weight penalty because there are no heavy shafts and

differentials connecting front and rear.

Ease-of-use has been a defining factor in the design of the 3008

HYbrid4, however there’s no doubt that the cabin provides a

uniquely high-tech ambience. Many of the instruments and

controls have been inspired by the world of aviation – especially

the stylised gear lever and special two-tone leather finish. A seven-

inch display provides real-time information on the flow of power

around the car.

HYbrid4 technology has been integrated into the 3008 with

minimum disruption to the car’s impressive practicality. The boot

offers 420 litres of loadspace, with an additional 66 litres

beneath the cargo floor. The innovative split tailgate remains, with

switches just inside the open door to fold the rear seats back with

a single touch. Thus configured, the 3008 HYbrid4 boasts 1,501

litres of load space.

So the future really is here, now. The 3008 HYbrid4 has even

won a major new-car award: German monthly Autobild Allrad, the

leading European magazine on all-wheel drives, has given its “All

Wheel Drive Innovation of the Year” prize to the new Peugeot.

Having proved HYbrid4’s performance and reliability by

developing a production 3008 diesel-hybrid, Peugeot is now taking

a slightly different version of this technology onto the racetrack.

Following the launch of the latest 908 Le Mans racer in February,

Peugeot Sport unveiled a prototype HYbrid4 version of the

competition car at March’s Geneva Motor Show.

The system employed by the Peugeot 908 HYbrid4 recovers and

stores the kinetic energy generated under braking, feeding it back

into the driveline during acceleration.

The system provides a short power boost of 60kW for a few

seconds when it is activated. Recovered energy is stored in lithium-

ion batteries before being automatically released to power the rear

wheels under acceleration. It will also be possible to run in electric-

only mode along the pit-lane.

Peugeot Sport has now turned its attention to meeting a very

specific target for the new car: to run the 908 HYbrid4 at the

official pre-Le Mans 24 Hours test day at the French circuit on

24 April this year.

xpert, intelligent, irreverent, sometimes

outrageous: British television show and

motoring magazine TopGear is never afraid to tell

it like it is. And here’s how it is for the new Peugeot

RCZ: the sleek two-door was named Coupé of the Year in

the 2010 TopGear Awards.

So enthusiastic was the publication about Peugeot’s new

coupé, that it took the RCZ on a true adventure – all the

way to China’s Great Wall – as part of its award celebrations.

In the midst of this great driving adventure, TopGear’s

journalists praised everything from the RCZ’s cutting-edge

exterior design to its sports-car handling.

In particular, the magazine noted how the car seemed to

get more attractive with every viewing and every diff erent

setting: “Th e RCZ looks better than ever, sculpted arches

and sleek rear deck. It’s a grower, this car... the RCZ is

starting to look like a design icon.”

TopGear also discovered that the Peugeot delivered a

dynamic driving experience on the most demanding roads

imaginable: “Th e RCZ is a beautifully balanced car, easy

to drive quickly. Low and wide, it always feels completely

on your side, gripping hard, resorting to understeer only at

the limit.”

The RCZ represents a watershed moment in the

development of the Peugeot portfolio: the marque’s fi rst-

ever bespoke sports coupé and the fi rst product to benefi t

from the brand’s new corporate identity.

Its name also symbolises its singular position – the fi rst

specialist car not to utilise the numbering system with a

central or double zero.

Th e RCZ is built at a production centre specialising in

exclusive vehicles at the Magna Steyr plant in Graz, Austria.

With its reduced weight, fi nely honed aerodynamics and

modern engine technologies, the RCZ off ers an innovative

balance of performance and environmental friendliness. To

provide a new driving experience, the RCZ has distilled all

of Peugeot’s expertise in terms of handling and roadholding.

It features a low centre of gravity, with wide front and rear

tracks and reinforced suspension and wheels. Th e sensuality

of the car’s double-bubble roof and rear windscreen

combine with its two aluminium arches to produce its most

distinctive features.

Other international accolades awarded to the RCZ

include Th e Most Beautiful Car of the Year 2009 by more

than 100,000 online voters from 62 countries at the 25th

International Automobile Festival, Auto Express magazine’s

Best Coupé and Diesel Car magazine’s Best Sports Car of

the Year 2010.

Coupé of the year

E

“The RCZ is a beautifully balanced car, easy to drive quickly. Low and wide, it always feels completely on your side.”

SHOCK AND AWE

he Peugeot EX1 is not merely a stunning show car – although

it certainly is that, having been one of the star attractions at last

year’s Paris Motor Show as part of the marque’s 200th anniversary

celebrations.

But away from show stands, the EX1 is a fully working electric-roadster

prototype and the holder of a host of real-world records for standing-start

acceleration. Late last year – driven by famous French explorer and fi lm-maker

Nicolas Vanier – the EX1 set new world records for vehicles weighing under

1 tonne, for the standing ⅛ mile, ¼ mile, 500 metres, ½ mile, 1 kilometre and

mile. It rocketed through the 0–96km/h (0–60mph) sprint in a supercar-like

3.55 seconds. More recently, in China, the EX1 broke every one of those records

again and managed 0–96km/h in 3.49 seconds.

Who said electric cars had to be dull? The EX1 is testament to the sheer

performance potential of plug-in power, achieving the ultimate in driving

dynamics through light weight, highly advanced aerodynamics (the shape is

inspired by a droplet of water) and all-wheel drive thanks to a 250kW brace of

electric motors – one for each axle.

Based on the experience gained from creating the 1996 Asphalte concept car

and the two 20Cup models from 2005, the architecture of the EX1 has enabled

the size of the passenger compartment to be reduced and ensures that there is no

extra weight in the overhangs. Th e EX1 is dramatically low and wide: under a

metre tall, yet 1,770mm wide.

T

Driver and passenger climb into the passenger compartment

through a reverse-opening door and sit virtually at road level. Th e

vehicle is controlled with two joystick-style handles, providing an

experience similar to that of an aircraft pilot or video game.

Th is is a high-speed roadster, but the occupants are protected by

the height of the passenger cell, which has sufficient overhead

clearance to include a roll-over protection bar. The integrated

wind defl ector allows the car to be driven on a daily basis without

a helmet.

Th e suspension employs a number of technical solutions that

ensure road-holding of a very high level. Th e front consists of a

drop-link double wishbone arrangement. At the rear is a single

swing arm linked to a centrally mounted shock absorber.

Th e body structure is manufactured from a carbon/honeycomb

composite to optimise weight and rigidity. It also incorporates all

of the mounting points for the car’s mechanical components.

Underneath the EX1, the two electric motors (powered by

lithium-ion batteries) produce identical 125kW outputs and an

immediately available peak torque fi gure of 240Nm front and rear.

Th is architecture allows not only ideal weight distribution, but

also all-wheel drive: a further example of the positional benefi ts of

HYbrid4 technology already seen on the diesel-electric 3008,

which has its conventional engine at the front and battery power

at the rear.

Th e EX1 is an undeniably exciting vehicle, but also one with

special resonance for Peugeot. Th e marque’s fi rst-ever production

electric car, the iOn, has just gone on sale in Europe.

n September 1953 Australians were gripped

by newspaper and radio reports of daring

driving, bush-bashing, high-speed crashes,

hardship and amazing ingenuity as 187 cars

tried to conquer the Australian outback. Aussies around the

country were following day-by-day reports of a gruelling

long-distance reliability trial stretching over 14 days.

A 50,000-strong crowd jammed Driver Avenue outside

the Sydney Showground on August 30th to see the cars off .

A further 150,000 people lined the streets through Sydney’s

northern suburbs to watch them whistle by. Competitors

were driving standard cars. Holden and Ford were locked in

a fi erce rivalry that continues today. Chrysler and Plymouth

were entered, along with Jaguar and Humber. Th e feeling

then, as now, was that a big car was needed to conquer a

big country; yet there were a good number of small cars,

too – Austins and Morrises, MGs and one Porsche. But the

number-one choice among small-car fans was the Peugeot

203, the eventual winner.

Th e 1953 Redex Trial ran on sealed roads for the fi rst two

days, then, after leaving Townsville on the third day, into

real Aussie bush. Th ey struck corrugations, culverts, cattle

grids, wash-aways, dry creek beds and other obstacles that

the vast, hot, harsh continent threw at them. Th e phrase

“horror stretch” entered the Australian vocabulary when

reporters began sending back details of the ongoing

automotive battle with the “roads” and the elements.

Engines were thrashed beyond endurance, cooling systems

boiled, suspensions collapsed, tyres blew, wheels were split,

hubs stripped, chassis cracked. Mechanical mayhem ruled

in the Australian bush.

That first Redex Trial has gone down in the annals of

Australian automotive history as one of the harshest long-

distance motoring events ever run. And although Peugeots

had been sold in Australia since the early 1900s, winning

that Redex Trial showed what the car was really made of.

Not only did Ken Tubman and John Marshall come home

ahead of far bigger and more powerful cars but,

astoundingly, their Peugeot 203 was in near-mint condition

at the fi nish!

A tribute to that epic event was run in 2003 to celebrate

the 50th anniversary of the trial. In 2010 Peugeot Australia

did it all over again with the launch of the 3008 SUV and

to coincide with Peugeot’s 200th anniversary. The first

Redex Trial was run over 6,500 miles (10,460km), from

Sydney to Townsville, across to Darwin, down to Port

Augusta and back to Sydney via Adelaide and Melbourne.

It took two weeks. Th e Peugeot 3008 Redex Tribute was

run over 10,200km in 15 days, beginning on Friday, July

16. The last leg of that adventure was captured live on

television by Mark Beretta and Seven Network’s Sunrise

crew. Both 3008s returned an average combined-cycle fuel

consumption of approximately 5.3 litres per 100km. Th e

best fuel consumption records returned were 5.1l/100km

on the leg from Brisbane to Rockhampton in Queensland

and 5.0l/100km from Hamilton to Nagambie, in Victoria.

TRIAL WITHOUT TRIBULATION

I

n early-morning balloon fl ight over

the Yarra Valley; a glass of Riesling in

an old Clare Valley cottage; a wine-

matched lunch overlooking McLaren Vale;

a golden twilight stroll in the Adelaide Hills… The

sprawling, sun-drenched wine regions of Australia are a rich

source of romantic memories – to say nothing of the fi ne

wine and food for which they are famous.

Wine flows out to the world from Australia’s 60-odd

wine regions. I’ve been fascinated to see where the

famous labels were born – names like Penfolds, Yalumba,

Saltram, Jacob’s Creek, Tyrrell, Wolf Blass, Seppelt, Wynns,

Hardys, McWilliams – as well as discovering the smaller

regional heroes.

Australia’s fi rst vines were planted in 1788 and the fi rst

commercial vineyard and winery was established in the

early 1800s. Today, the country has around 2,300 wine

companies, some occupying historic, picturesque wineries

run by fi fth- or six-generation winemakers.

South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria, Western

Australia, Tasmania and even Queensland all produce wine

to a greater or lesser degree. South Australia being the

country’s largest wine producer by far, it’s a good place to

begin. I hope you’ll forgive us if we don’t include every

region…

South Australia

Barossa Valley: An hour’s drive north of Adelaide, the

Barossa is known as the heart of Australian winemaking.

Apart from being home to some of the biggest names in

Australian wine, the region is full of character, with pretty

towns and villages built by German settlers in the 1840s.

Th e valley boasts a great range of accommodation options,

excellent restaurants and fine local produce (don’t miss

Maggie Beer’s Farm Shop at Nuriootpa).

Shiraz is the undisputed star of the Barossa. Th e other

main styles are Chardonnay, Riesling, Semillon, Grenache,

Mourvedre and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Th ere are large, modern visitor centres at Jacob’s Creek, at

Rowland Flat and Wolf Blass (Nuriootpa) and classic cellar-

door experiences at venerable institutions such as Peter

Lehmann and Yalumba, Australia’s oldest family-owned

winery. You can try your hand at wine blending at

Penfolds, at Nuriootpa, and if you call 24 hours ahead you

can book – at a price – a private tasting of Grange and

other premium wines.

Clare Valley: An hour further on, in the northern Mt

Lofty Ranges, Clare is arguably Australia’s most scenic wine

region. We loved it. Higher and cooler than the Barossa, it

produces some of the country’s fi nest Rieslings. Th e other

main Clare Valley specialties are Shiraz, a distinctive

Happy Trails

A

Cabernet Sauvignon and a fruity Semillon.

The region is home to about 50 wineries,

including Annie’s Lane (which has an

interesting museum and art gallery), Jim

Barry, Leasingham, Mount Horrocks (in a

revamped railway station), Pikes Polish River,

the Jesuit winery of Sevenhills, and Taylors.

Bike or walk – as we did – the Riesling Trail

to make your own surprising discoveries.

The annual Clare Valley Gourmet Weekend

is held at participating wineries in May (this

year May 14-15; see www.clarevalleygourmet.

com.au).

Adelaide Hills: The closest wine region to

Adelaide is a 20-minute drive east of the city.

It’s a pretty area, especially in autumn, with

golden vines rising and falling through the

hills. Its cooler climate suits the region’s main

wine styles like Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay,

Riesling and Pinot Noir.

With some 90 often widely separated

wineries in the region, it’s worth taking a

“country drive” to enjoy the great scenery and

characterful towns and villages. Petaluma’s

atmospheric Bridgewater Mill is a good

lunch stop on the way up from Adelaide.

Other fine wineries with cellar doors include

Chain of Ponds, Bird in Hand (great olive

oil, too), Hahndorf Hill, Shaw and Smith,

Nepenthe and The Lane, which also does an

excellent lunch.

McLaren Vale: South of the Adelaide Hills,

McLaren Vale is tucked between the Mount

Lofty Ranges and the white, sandy beaches of

the Gulf of St Vincent. A cooler maritime

climate, I was told, lends the wines here a

softer, smoother character. Certainly, we

tasted delicious examples of Shiraz, and

Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese, Semillon,

Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay.

This old-established wine region boasts

around 110 wineries and many attractive

cellar doors, including d’Arenberg, Coriole,

Fox Creek (try their sparkling Shiraz!),

Hardys Reynella, High Hamilton and Wirra

Wirra. For great food, try d’Arry’s Verandah

Restaurant or the Salopian Inn.

You can sample wine-matched seafood

delights at the Bank SA McLaren Vale Sea

a n d V i n e s Fe s t i v a l ( Ju n e 1 1 - 1 2 ;

www.mclarenvale.info/seaandvines).

Coonawarra: Some of Australia’s best red

wine comes from this region between the

Victorian border and the Limestone Coast,

including its signature drop, Cabernet

Sauvignon. Coonawarra’s secret ingredients

are a maritime climate and its famous “terra

rossa” soil – well-drained red loam over

limestone. Cabernet grown in this stuff has

“vibrancy, elegance and finesse”, as one wine

writer puts it. Besides the powerful and

elegant reds, Chardonnay and Riesling do

well here, too.

Notable cellar doors include Wynns

Coonawarra Estate, Hollick, Jamiesons Run,

Katnook, Leconfield and Balnaves.

New South Wales

Hunter Valley: New South Wales has 14

distinct wine regions, but the most famous

by far lies less than two hours’ drive north of

Sydney. Wineries tend to cluster around the

town of Cessnock in the south and Denman

in the north. Wine buffs wax lyrical about

the Hunter’s great Semi l lons , wi th

Chardonnay, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon

the region’s other stars.

This is Australia’s oldest producing wine

region, planted back in the 1820s and a place

that still exudes history and tradition. Scott

McWilliam, senior winemaker at McWilliams’

Mount Pleasant winery, for example, is the

sixth generation in the family to fill the role.

McWillams is one of around 130 wineries

in the Hunter. Standout cellar doors include

McGuigan, Tyrrell and Drayton and, among

the boutique offerings, Allandale, Tintilla and

Emma’s Cottage Wines.

Accommodation ranges from country pubs

to five-star resorts such as the new Chateau

Élan at the Vintage. Golf, balloon flights and

spa treatments are among the Hunter Valley’s

non-wine attractions.

June is Hunter Valley Wine & Food month.

Check out www.hunterwineandfood.com.au

Victoria

Yarra Valley: Like the Hunter, the Yarra

Valley – under an hour from Melbourne –

serves as a sophisticated weekend getaway for

city dwellers, with all attendant pleasures and

attractions.

The Yarra is known for its cool-climate

wines, in particular premium Chardonnays

and Pinot Noirs. You’ll find some fine

sparkling wines, too, along with Cabernet

Sauvignon, Shiraz and other styles, at its 80-

odd wineries.

If you enjoy top-class bubbles, make for

Chandon at Coldstream, an Aussie outreach

of Moet & Chandon (it also has a very

good brasserie). Other notable cellar doors

include De Bortoli, Dominique Portet, Giant

Steps, Ten Men Wines, the historic Yering

Station at Yarra Glen and the striking

TarraWarra Estate.

Mornington Peninsula: An hour south of

Melbourne, the Mornington Peninsula is

home to some 50 wineries. Chardonnay and

Pinot Noir are the region’s flagships, but a

spicy Shiraz, an aromatic Pinot Gris and

Viognier are other drawcards. Wineries are

mostly small but produce some distinctive

wines in the diverse microclimates around the

hinterland villages of Red Hill, Main Ridge

and Moorooduc, and Merricks, Balnarring

and Dromana on the coast.

Cellar doors include Box Stall ion,

Hickinbotham of Dromana, Morning Sun and

the quirkily named Ten Minutes By Tractor.

And when you tire of wine, make for the beach,

swim with dolphins or tee off at one of the

dozen or so golf courses in the area.

Tasmania

This picturesque island state is gaining an

international reputation for its premium

wines: intensely flavoured Pinot Noir,

Chardonnay and Riesling and award-

winning bubbly.

Though Tasmania is regarded as one wine

region, around 76 wineries and vineyards

stretch from the Pipers River and Tamar

Valley areas in the north to the Coal River

and Derwent Valley districts in the south.

Stunning scenery and fresh gourmet produce

– think prime cheeses, premium beef, honey,

mushrooms and some of Australia’s top

boutique beers – add extra appeal to

Tasmanian wine trailing.

Some cellars worth checking out: Domaine

& Stoney Vineyard (top drop: Domain A

Cabernet Sauvignon), Apsley Gorge (Pinot

Noir), Jansz (“Methode Tasmanoise”), Stefano

Lubiano (Estate Pinot Noir) and Stoney Rise

(Holyman Chardonnay).

Western Australia

Margaret River: Once better known for its

classic surf breaks, this region 3½ hours’ drive

south of Perth has become an important

contributor to the Aussie wine scene. And

while it represents less that one per cent of

the nation’s output, it makes more than 15

per cent of its premium wine.

It’s a compact region, lying between Cape

Naturaliste and Cape Leeuwin and bounded

by the Indian Ocean, with a cluster of

characterful towns in between.

Highly rated for its powerful but stylish

Cabernet Sauvignon, Margaret River also has

a reputation for Shiraz, Chardonnay and

Semillon Sauvignon blends.

Great wine and food, smart boutique

accommodation, charming towns – and, of

course, sea and surf – make Margaret River a

buzzy wine destination. Not all of the 115

wineries are open to casual visitors, but you’ll

find plenty of welcoming cellar doors,

including arty Leeuwin Estate, Voyager,

Flying Fish Cove and Knee Deep – the

winery that put Margaret River Chardonnay

on the map.

Great Southern: Along with Margaret

River, Great Southern leads the way among

this huge state’s nine wine regions. Unlike

Margaret River, though, this is a vast region

that includes the five subregions of Albany,

Denmark, Frankland River, Mount Barker

and the Porongorups, creating great diversity

in wine styles and making wine-trailing here

an exciting exercise. Altogether, Great

Southern is home to 40-odd wineries.

The region makes some outstanding varietal

styles of Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and

Merlot, with excellent Pinot Noir in selected

areas. Riesling, Chardonnay and Sauvignon

Blanc are the main white varieties. Cellar

doors? Depends where you are, but a few

suggestions: Alkoomi at Frankland River,

Oranje Tractor at Albany, 3Drops at Mount

Barker and Ironwood at Porongurup...

For more information on Australia’s wine

regions, check out www.apluswines.com

ine writer John Hawkesby, a 10-year

resident of Waiheke Island, and our

guide for the day, tells this story: “Once

there was a time when a Waiheke Island pub

held a weekly raffl e where the prize was a choice between a

piece of waterfront property or a chicken. Th e winner chose

the chicken because no one there had enough money to pay

for the rates on the land. Today, that same piece of property

is worth more than $3 million!”

Th at’s just one measure of the impact of vineyards on the

island. Grapes were grown in the 1950s but they were for

eating, not drinking. Wine production began in the 1970s

when Kim Goldwater planted Cabernet Sauvignon and

Chardonnay. But even then, his wine was initially intended

for family and friends only.

Goldwater Estate became a commercial label more by

accident than design. Making world-beating wines on

Waiheke Island began in earnest in the mid-1980s, when

Stephen White founded Stonyridge Vineyard with the

intention of producing high-quality Bordeaux blends. With

a degree in horticulture and three years’ viticulture

experience in France, Stephen was not merely passing the

time of day. He was the first to recognise similarities in

climate and soil between Bordeaux and the north-facing

slopes of the island. And before long he had produced his

1987 Larose, at the time a wine regarded by critics as the

best red wine ever made in New Zealand. Larose remains

among the top New Zealand reds.

Th e success of Stonyridge opened the proverbial fl ood

gates: there are 24 wineries on Waiheke Island today.

Wine tours and tastings with gourmet lunches and dinners

at vineyard wine bars and restaurants have become de

rigueur for locals and tourists alike. The island’s

microclimates, where daily mean temperatures and soil

types can vary considerably from one bay to the next,

have resulted in a veritable menu of grape varieties

and styles of wine that altogether make a visit to Waiheke

Island one of the most enjoyable ways of spending time in

New Zealand.

Where Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and the

primary Bordeaux blends (Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec

and Petit Verdot) were the original varietals, today plantings

include the more esoteric Viognier, Pinot Gris, and

Montepulciano. As we got about in the Peugeot 3008, we

learned that the latest trend is towards Syrah, a response no

doubt to the likes of Kennedy Point and Hay Paddock,

among others vineyards, winning major international

awards for their vintages.

Our tour began on the mainland, at the Half Moon Bay

Marina, southeast of Auckland, where we met the Sealink

Island of Wine

W

Waiheke is the “Island of wine tourism” attracting up to 800,000 visitors a year to its 24 wineries.

car ferry. What is there not to like about the

3008? It’s innovative (e.g. the Head-up

Display), safer (e.g. the Distance Alert system)

and it only takes a short test drive to feel the

craftsmanship that has created an interior at

once ergonomic and stylish. Four adults,

including our designated driver, experienced

a comfortable ride with plenty of leg room,

front and back.

Our first stop on the island was at Te Whau

Vineyard, a winery and café that has been

recognised seven times by the authoritative

Wine Spectator magazine for its overall

excellence in food and wine. Sitting atop Te

Whau Point with a direct view back down

the Hauraki Gulf to the Auckland skyline, Te

Whau grows all its grapes onsite – no

Marlborough imports here. Two hectares of

steep, north-facing slopes are covered in

Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc

and Malbec vines.

The vineyard’s topography ensures shelter

from the prevailing cool southerlies while its

orientation gathers heat from the sun. Te

Whau is the first New Zealand vineyard to be

established from the outset according to

sustainable viticulture practices. The

winemaking approach involves strict fruit

selection, the gentle hand-picking at harvest

and minimal intervention by the winemaker.

In a sense the wine then makes itself, resting

inside barrels of French oak over 12 to 18

months in an underground cellar at a

constant, year-round temperature.

Tony and Moira Forsythe set up Te Whau

in 1993. Since then they have received critical

acclaim many times for The Point, their

Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon,

Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec. Their

award-winning restaurant, considered by

many to be the best vineyard restaurant on

the island, has received standing ovations

from the likes of Fodor’s, Wine International

Magazine and The New York Times.

After our brief inspection of the wine cellar,

Tony told us: “Given our total focus on the

quality of our wines, Te Whau is at an

exciting stage. With 15 years of non-irrigated

v i n e a g e , o u r p l a n t s a r e t h ro u g h

adolescence; the roots have penetrated the

subsoil and we will see a further lift in

concentration, balance and purity of fruit,

which has been our hallmark since our first

vintage in 1999.”

We drove back down Te Whau Drive and

onto the main road to Stonyridge Vineyard,

five minutes away. As noted, Stonyridge is the

original commercial vineyard on the island,

yet after more than 20 years little seems to

have changed. It’s still producing world-

beating Bordeaux reds of the kind revered

British wine writer Hugh Johnson once

declared were among “the 1001 wines you

must try before you die”. Wine connoisseur

Billy Gibbons, of the rock band ZZ Top, may

have spoken for the entire host of celebs who

have passed this way when he declared:

“Visiting Stonyridge has been the highlight

of my time in New Zealand.”

We arrived to find people enjoying lunch

in the café. We weren’t there long, however,

before running into the founder, Stephen

White, who told us the aim of the vineyard

was “same as it’s always been: to produce

the highest-quality Bordeaux blend from

organically grown grapes and to enrich

people’s lives; maybe even inspire them to

do something they otherwise might not

have done”.

We drove to the eastern side of the island,

to Man O’ War vineyard, where they had

started to harvest their 2011 vintage. Harvest

is always the busiest time of the year, yet

vineyard manager Matt Allen took time to

open up the modest tasting room by the

beach. With a name like Man O’ War, it

follows that labels are in black and white and

the names of vintages borrowed from the

names of battleships.

Man O’ War’s Ironclad Waiheke Island

Bordeaux 2008, for example, was named by

one critic as The Best New World Red Wine

for that year. The Dreadnought Syrah 2008,

named for the warship slogan “Fear God and

dread nought”, won a rare Double Gold

medal at the 2010 Decanter Wine Awards

and the International Wine Challenge, a

competition involving more than 40 countries

and 11,000 entries.

As Matt noted, Waiheke winemakers can

only make a real go of it if they export. Man

O’ War recently struck up a partnership with

O’Brien’s, the largest family-owned drinks

retailer in Ireland and last year they launched

into the Asian market at an event attended by

the godfather of wine critics, American

Robert Parker, who subsequently gave Man

O’ War wines high marks in the industry

bible, The Wine Advocate.

Waiheke Island vineyards are surrounded

by water, so the ocean acts as both a cooling

element and an insulator. Temperatures are as

important as soil types for growing grapes

that make fine wine and the maritime

influence is critical in creating award-winning

wines at Cable Bay Vineyards, on the western

side of the island.

In 2004, Cable Bay replanted part of its

Waiheke vineyard with Pinot Gris, Viognier

and Syrah, alongside Chardonnay and the

Bordeaux blends. Sauvignon Blanc grapes are

sourced from Marlborough and Pinot Noir

from Central Otago. All wine is made here,

however and altogether the varieties provide

Cable Bay with a stunning wine list for its

chic wine bar, where chef William Thorpe has

created a new Small Plates menu – a selection

of cured meats, French cheeses, seafood

delights and freshly baked bread and dips.

Meanwhile, the restaurant continues to

attract accolades from locals and overseas

visitors alike. Sculpture and a panoramic view

of the Hauraki Gulf enhance the wine and

fine food experience and make Cable Bay one

of the most popular stops on the Waiheke

Wine Trail.

Our final destination was just around the

corner from Cable Bay, at Mudbrick Vineyard,

where the first thing a visitor notes on arrival

is the sculptured French-style garden. Here

the owners Nick and Robyn Jones grow herbs,

edible flowers and cleansing teas, amongst

other plants that have become essential

ingredients of the sumptuous delights they

serve in their wine bar and restaurant.

We were told Mudbrick was the most

popular wedding venue in New Zealand and

when you stand on the steps and look back

over the Hauraki Gulf to the Auckland

skyline, it’s not hard to see why. Add prized

food and wine to the view and you’ve got the

makings of a perfect romance.

Mudbrick’s Shepherd’s Point Syrah 2009

won a Gold Medal at this year’s Royal Easter

Show and its Reserve Syrah was voted the

best at a tri-nations competition in Australia

last year, where 352 wines were judged from

New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.

For our part, we celebrated our day on the

road with one of the few remaining bottles of

Mudbrick’s Velvet 2008 ($189), so-called

because it tastes – well – like velvet. This

extremely smooth blend is a secret recipe.

Only 1,450 bottles were produced.

“I think of Mudbrick these days as a

maturing oak,” Robyn Jones told us. “It

continues to grow, with new branches, like

the wine bar. We are also fortunate to have

just received yet another gold medal at the

recent Air New Zealand awards, too.”

The testimonials on its website speak for

themselves. Mudbrick embodies all that is

best of Waiheke Island wineries, from its

formal garden to its spectacular outlook and,

most of all, its world-class food and wine.

After a final salute to a great day out, our

designated driver drove the 3008 back to

Kennedy Point to meet the car ferry. Stops at

other vineyards, like Obsidian, Passage Rock

and Te Motu, would have to wait till next

time – and we had no doubt there would be

a next time.

For a full guide to Waiheke Island wines,

check out www.waihekewine.co.nz

Wine on Waiheke Taste of Waiheke

Hawaii – by Georges!

een there, done that, so I had not

felt the need to return – there are

other places in the world to visit

besides Hawaii, even if the tropical

heat makes for the perfect escape from a New

Zealand winter. But then something happened to

change my mind…

The seed was sown one New Year’s Eve in New

York City. The love of my life and I had escaped

from the big freeze at the corner of Broadway and

Central Park West into the warmth and elegance of

Jean Georges, a place many critics claim is one of the

best French restaurants in the world and is certainly

the best in the city that never sleeps.

That night we had one of our most memorable

meals ever (or I wouldn’t be writing about it now)

and wound up remaining there to see the New Year

in with champagne and disco. Altogether it ranks as

the best US$500 I have ever spent on dinner out.

We haven’t been back to New York since, so when

I read that Jean-Georges Vongerichten had opened a

restaurant in Hawaii, of all places, my first thought

was: how soon can we get there?

“There” would be Kaua’i, Hawaii’s “Garden Island”

(pronounced ka-wai-ee). It would mean tropical

heat cooled by sea breezes, a golf course, spa and a

gentle pool overlooking Hanalei Bay. It would not

be midtown Manhattan in winter, but we could

handle that.

And in all climates, if there’s one hotel brand that

most recalls the glory of New York, it’s the St. Regis.

The original St. Regis, founded by John Jacob Astor

IV in 1904, is a New York landmark. The St. Regis

Princeville Resort on the north coast of Kaua’i is the

site of Jean-Georges’ latest incarnation, the Kaua’i

Grill.

The resort is a 50-minute drive from the airport at

Lihue. For readers travelling to Hawaii, I’d suggest

taking Air New Zealand, which has a direct flight of

about eight hours. It arrives in Honolulu around

9pm (the day before!), which is too late to enjoy a

connecting Hawaiian Airlines flight to any of the

other islands. Plan a night or two in Honolulu, take

in Waikiki Beach (and perhaps see an episode being

shot of the latest TV hit – a remake of Hawaii

Five-O – along the way). Then catch a quick

20-minute flight to Kaua’i. After landing at Lihue,

hire a car: the distance from the airport to the resort

B

makes car rental less expensive than taking a taxi and

you get the freedom to use the hotel as a base for

exploring the island.

Did we fly to Hawaii just to dine at the Kaua’i

Grill? Not entirely, but that was our inspiration.

Other attractions – the tropical temperature, the

ocean views, golf, spa, Hanalei Town – added flavour

(pun intended), but we purposely saved the Kaua’i

Grill for a ceremonial and celebratory last night

before heading home. No disco this time, but a

talented singer performing at the bar in the lobby.

The St. Regis made its Hawaiian debut at

Princeville after a multi-million-dollar makeover of

the previous resort, turning it into one of Starwood

Hotels’ Luxury Collection – a group of upmarket

properties that includes The Romanos (Greece), The

Astor (China) and The Andaman (Malaysia).

Prior to the comprehensive facelift, this was simply

The Princeville Resort and while the location has

always been popular with guests looking to escape

the bustle of Oahu (for Kaua’i is not called “the

“Garden Island” for nothing), the coming of St.

Regis has brought the grandeur of New York to an

island that is itself culturally rich.

Redesigned in collaboration with the design firm

WATG and Hawaiian-based architects Group 70,

the resort has 252 plush guestrooms, 51 of them

with stunning ocean views. Add the Makai Golf

Club, the Halele’a Spa, the Nalu Kai Restaurant

and The Kaua’i Grill and it’s easy to spend a few

days doing nothing else but leaving the rest of the

world behind.

The Makai golf course is a Robert Trent Jones Jr

design that rolls beautifully across gentle hills,

around lakes and, most spectacularly, along a coastal

clifftop where the signature hole is the par-three 7th,

213 yards (194 metres) long from the back tee

playing across a steep, bush-clad cliff face where

only fools look for lost balls. Makai is managed by

Troon Golf and may have the highest tee elevation

in the entire Pacific: the par-three 3rd hole drops

200m from tee to green across a small lake.

Nice. Meanwhile, the first visit to the spa

begins with a wellness consultant who customised

your spa programme.

At the Kaua’i Grill – with its floor-to-ceiling

windows showcasing Hanalei Bay – the food is not

strictly French so much as international, created in

Hawaii with a French twist. The fresh ingredients

and the definitive Jean-Georges attention to detail

are fundamental to his culinary concepts that here

on this lovely island so different from the rest of

Hawaii, he applies to meat and seafood.

For us, that meant an unbelievably tender, tasty

grilled black pepper octopus with onions and lime

and nut and mustard seed-crusted moi, a popular

local fish. As the chef said at the restaurant’s

opening, “Working with local fishermen and organic

farmers, Kaua’i Grill offers a world-class dining

experience that highlights the best of what Hawaii

has to offer.”

www.starwoodhotels.com/stregis

Why Kaua’i?Hiring a car on the island allows you to explore other parts of

Kaua’i, starting with Hanalei Town, five minutes up the road

from Princeville. Here you’ll find a charming collection of

shops and galleries and Bubba Burgers – the best burgers in

Hawaii. The Na Pali Coast, on the western side of the island, is

inaccessible by road, but a catamaran tour is a great way to

spend a day at sea, (food and drink included) and to view

1,200m-high cliffs and an other-worldly landscape you might

recognise from a host of films, such as Jurassic Park, that were

shot there. The drive around and up to the rim of Waimea

Canyon is worth the effort, for this incredible chasm inspired

writer Mark Twain to label it “the Grand Canyon of the

Pacific”. Not far from Lihue, along Ma’alo Road, is the

25m-high Wailua Falls, and if your golf game is on song (and

you feel like taking a break from the Makai course at

Princeville), try the Wailua Golf Club, the best public course

in Hawaii, located about midway between Lihue and Princeville

on the main road. The Puakea Golf Club, in Lihue, is also

good value; the setting is beautiful and, we note, it was

designed by Hawaii’s most accomplished designer, Robin

Nelson. To learn more about Hawaii’s “Garden Island” of

Kaua’i, visit www.kauaidiscovery.com

The Samoan Way

amoa is wired to the internet like

the rest of the world, but here it

takes just one night and half a day on

a beach for visitors to altogether forget

there was ever such a thing as cyberspace. It’s a

mystery, but somehow life seems to become simple

all over again.

Call it Fa’a Samoa – “The Samoan Way” – call it

what you will, but a day on Lalomanu Beach or an

evening sunset, viewed, drink in hand, from a terrace

at Aggie Grey’s Lagoon, Beach Resort & Spa, and

suddenly the world is free of worry. The food’s not

bad either!

Once, the critical word on South Pacific cuisine

was that it was best eaten somewhere other than the

Pacific Islands. Staples such as seafood, root crops

and fruit, as cooked in the islands, it was agreed,

lacked a certain style and sophistication.

Okay, so somewhere on Upolu or Savai’i someone

is boiling up a pot of taro just as they’ve been doing

forever. But at new hotels and resorts, traditional

foods, fresh and locally grown, are being combined

with the skill and imagination of talented Samoan

and European chefs.

One of the leaders of this culinary revolution is

Aggie Grey’s Hotel & Bungalows in Apia and its

sister establishment, Aggie Grey’s Lagoon, Beach

Resort & Spa. Ever since the late Aggie Grey began

serving hot dogs and hamburgers to US Marines on

R & R from the war in the Pacific, the menu at the

legendary hotel has always been a reason to stay.

Today, the cuisine has moved from hot dogs to

South Pacific buffets that for many guests are the

highlight of their stay. Samoan food is not spicy and

the main ingredients tend to be fresh fish, chicken,

pork, bananas and coconut – often cooked using hot

stones and the traditional Samoan umu or earth

oven.

Away from full-service resorts, meanwhile, there is

a host of family-run restaurants where menus express

the diversity of modern cuisine in Samoa. In Apia,

Paddles specialises in Italian food. The menu at

Roko’s is more broadly European. The Sydneyside

Café serves what many believe is the best coffee in

S

town. These are just three places that visitors have

raved about on their return to the “real world”.

Samoa is also known as the South Pacific escape of

famed Scottish-born writer, Robert Louis Stevenson,

the author of Treasure Island and other classic titles,

who is buried on top of Mt Vaea, near Apia. His

grave is a regular stop for visitors paying their

respects. Stevenson’s restored colonial homestead in

the village of Vailima features and informative one-

hour guided tour.

Long-zippering walls, rippable A-frame peaks,

draining barrels – this is the language of surfing that

describes the variety of waves found between the

islands of Upolu and Savai’i. Samoa has only recently

become known as a surfing paradise. Some of the

best surfers in the world, caught in their eternal

search for the perfect wave, have found breaks

here unlike any they’ve experienced before and

have given them names like Dragon’s Breath and

Pudding Rock.

Surfing aside, Samoa is simply an aquatic

wonderland, with some of the best snorkelling and

diving in the South Pacific.

But after a day in or on the water, exploring the

island, or just hanging out on a beach, one of the

best ways of separating day from night is a spa

treatment. Samoa is blessed with a host of

therapeutic plants that have inspired traditional

healing techniques, developed over the years to treat

all manner of ailments. The mamala tree, found in

Samoa’s last remaining rainforest, on Savai’i, is a

traditional treatment for fever that is now being

studied as a possible cure for AIDS. Banana and

papaya, organic honey, coconut oil and local herbs

are just a few of the basic ingredients used by

Samoan spas in their quest to rejuvenate and relax

folk from less laid-back climes.

www.aggiegreys.com

A legend in the South Pacific for over 70 years.

Centrally located in the harbour town of Apia and set amongst colourful tropical gardens, Aggie Grey’s Hotel & Bungalows offers a unique blend of warm, friendly Polynesian hospitality and first class service. The perfect base to discover Samoa.

HOTEL & BUNGALOWS

www.aggiegreys.com

In a land where unspoiled customs, culture and courtesies still exist, we invite you to share our piece of coastal paradise for your next tropical escape.

Aggie Grey’s Lagoon Beach Resort & Spa… a whole new holiday experience in Samoa.

LAGOON, BEACH RESORT & SPA

eaders who have joined the

growing number of “cruise-oholics”

may know of the fi ve-star reputation

of Oceania Cruises f rom their

experience aboard one of their three R-class ships:

Regatta, Nautica and Insignia.

Th ese were the only mid-sized, luxury ships in the

Oceania Cruises fleet until this year, when the

company launched its fourth in the series, Marina,

which will sail between European ports starting this

Northern Hemisphere summer.

Marina is the fi rst of two sister ships that will raise

the bar on elegance and sophistication. Th e other,

Riviera, will be launched next year and will no doubt

attract as much worldwide attention as Marina.

Marina truly sets a new standard of comfort,

service and, most importantly, culinary excellence.

Designed to carry up to 1,250 passengers (in double-

occupancy cabins), the ship has 800 staff , making its

staff -to-guest ratio one of the highest on the high

seas. So whenever a guest takes a seat at one of the

many fi ne restaurants, cool cafés and bars, they can

expect nothing less than fi ve-star service.

Th is is not Marina’s only point of diff erence from

other cruise liners. Among the ship’s standout

features is the Bon Appétit Culinary Centre, the fi rst

hands-on cooking school at sea, and Marina is the

fi rst and only ship with a restaurant by master chef

Jacques Pépin. The ship’s Owner’s Suites are

furnished by Ralph Lauren Home; there’s a wine

appreciation programme in association with Wine

Spectator magazine and a spa that’s managed by

Canyon Ranch R.

Speaking at the launch, Frank Del Rio, founder of

Oceania Cruises and chairman and CEO of parent

company Prestige Cruise Holdings, said, “Marina is

unlike any ship built in the past 50 years. It is

destined to be a game-changer in the industry. Th e

superb gourmet restaurants and exquisite residential

interiors reflect the best of what makes Oceania

Cruises such an unrivalled experience.”

Six of the 10 dining venues are no-charge gourmet

restaurants. Tuxedo-clad waiters serve a six-course

menu in the classic setting of the Grand Dining

Room. Illuminated etched-glass panels provide a

dramatic backdrop for traditional Italian family

recipes served in Toscana restaurant. Th e Polo Grill,

with its leather upholstery and mahogany panels,

Oceania RAISES THE BAR

R

evokes the glamour of a vintage Hollywood

steakhouse. There’s Jacque Pepin’s French bistro and

Red Ginger, a restaurant specialising in gourmet

Asian cuisine.

Marina is designed to carry guests in elegance and

style to the world’s most alluring ports and cities.

Comfortably mid-sized, it is larger than its three

sisters – Regatta, Insignia and Nautica each carry 684

passengers – yet it delivers the same warmth and

charm, with a country club ambience and a similar

level of service. The ship’s inaugural European season

begins this northern spring with cruises to northern

Europe and the Mediterranean.

www.oceaniacruises.com

riving is fun and travel by train is

quick, but for readers searching for

an alternative way of seeing France,

why not kick back and just go with the

fl ow – literally so – down one of the rivers or canals

that run through the heart of Burgundy, Provence

and the Rhône Valley?

The Orient-Express Collection of Unique

Experiences includes Afl oat in France, fi ve luxury

barges that each carry from four and 12 people.

These exceptional péniche-hotels, or barge hotels,

cruise between major cities and remote landscapes of

forest, fi elds and hidden villages with a surprising

variety of options along the way, from wine tasting

to golf.

The Canal de Bourgogne, for example, extends

150 kilometres through the vineyards, towns and

villages of this most famous wine-making region and

the waterways linked to it include the Saone river,

which runs south to the Mediterranean, and the

Yvonne, which flows north to join the Seine.

Escommes, Dijon, and St. Leger are among the

stopping-off points in Burgundy for three of the fi ve

barges – the Fleur de Lys, Amaryllis and Hirondelle.

Orient-Express uses Fleur de Lys, which sleeps six,

and Amaryllis, with room for eight, on its hugely

popular Grand Cru wine cruise – a cruise that

includes an introduction to more than 30 Burgundy

Grand Crus. Th ese trips commonly begin in Dijon

and fl oat south to Lyon.

Hirondelle, meanwhile, can take up to eight people

in four cabins as it drifts north through Burgundy to

Rogny, taking in the most scenic aspects of Franche-

Comté – a region of unspoilt wide-open spaces

famous for its high-quality cheeses and deli products.

Franche-Comté has long been a melting pot for

cultural and architectural infl uences, ranging from the

Roman Empire to Louis XVI to the Hapsburgs. For

this reason, the regional capital, Besançon, is nothing

less than one of France’s fi nest provincial towns.

Of course, the wines of Burgundy have their

honoured place in the cellars and on the tables of

wine lovers the world over. Today, Burgundy

contains some 23,000 hectares of vineyards,

Going with the FlowD

spreading over regions that include Chablis, Côte de

Nuits, Côte de Beaune, Côte Chalonnaise and

Mâconnais. Afl oat in France takes you to all of these

regions with stops at historic sites, village markets

and seductive country towns along the way.

A fourth barge, Alouette, sleeps four people and

follows the Canal du Midi, which flows between

Toulouse and the Mediterranean port of Sète with

90 locks in between. A hub of cultural activity,

including the art galleries and bistros that have

transformed former lock-keepers’ cottages, Canal du

Midi allows guests of Alouette to experience the best

of the Languedoc-Roussillon region. Alouette

bargees can visit the famed wine and bullfi ghting

town of Béziers and the medieval fortifi ed city of

Carcassonne. Carcassonne is a UNESCO World

Heritage site, with evidence of human settlement

since 3,500BC. It was fortified by the Romans

around 100BC.

Th e fi fth barge is the Napoleon, which plies the

River Rhône through Provence, from Chalon to

Arles and Avignon and the wine region of

Châteauneuf-du-Pape. It sleeps up to 12 people in

six cabins and in that way off ers the best option for

guests who do not wish to book an entire barge.

Here they share the boat’s three decks and restaurant

with other guests.

Like Burgundy, the Côtes du Rhône is one of the

world’s great wine-producing regions. From Lyon,

the barge stops at Vienne to allow guests to visit one

of the largest theatres of Roman Gaul and a temple

specialising in orgiastic celebrations of the goddess

Cybele.

As you might guess, the fi ve Orient-Express barges

are fi ve-star quality, with the best of French cuisine

and wines along the way. They operate in the

Northern Hemisphere summer and some, like

Alouette, have an onboard chef if required. For more

details on the barges, their routes and special off ers

for 2011, visit www.afl oatinfrance.com

Aroa Beach + Lagoon Marine ReserveRarotonga l COOK ISLANDS

P (+682) 25800 l F 25799 info@rarotongan.co.ck | TheRarotongan.com

Motu Akitua (Akitua Island) Aitutaki Lagoon | COOK ISLANDS

P (+682) 31 200 l F 31 202info@aitutakilagoonresort.com | AitutakiLagoonResort.com

S A N C T U A R Yrarotonga

Aroa Beach + Lagoon Marine Reserve Rarotonga l COOK ISLANDS P (+682) 25 900 l F 25 988

info@sanctuaryrarotonga.com | SanctuaryRarotonga.com

Sanctuary Rarotonga-on the beach.

Rarotonga’s leading new adults-only

absolute beachfront resort. Stunning swim-up

pool bar! South Seas sophistication.

A itutaki Lagoon Resort & Spa. The only resort

directly on the World’s Most Beautiful Lagoon,

Aitutaki. Breathtaking views. One of the World’s 12 Best

Private Islands. Your bucket list must-do!

The Rarotongan Beach Resort & Spa. Rarotonga’s

leading beach holiday, wedding group and family resort.

Experience the true Cook Islands spirit! NEW creche (0-3yrs)!

NEW teen zone! KIDS STAY, PLAY + EAT FREE!

John Lennon once said: “Life happens when you’re busy making other plans”. Now is the time to reconnect with yourself, your partner

or your family. Our lovely sister resorts offer you the place, the space and the freedom to make beautiful memories together.

Take the time now to stop and … smell the frangipani!

C O O K I S L A N D S ’ I C O N I C S I S T E R R E S O R T S

ife is not Measured by the Breaths we take, but by the Moments that take our Breath Away.

Champagne

&Châteaux

emember, gentlemen, it’s not just

France we are fighting for, it’s

Champagne.” – Winston Churchill.

Throughout the decade s ,

countless quotes have been uttered about this

celebrated alcoholic drink. With its regal associations

and magical lustre, champagne evokes images of

style, pleasure, elegance, romance and celebration.

According to tradition, the ingenious idea of

mixing various grape varieties from the Champagne

region of northeastern France and sealing the lot

with a cork held in place with a wire collar to

withstand the fermentation pressure, came from

Dom Pérignon (1638-1715), cellarmaster at the

Benedictine Abbey of Hautvillers.

Champagne is the finest example of a sparkling

wine and traditionally is made using a blend of three

varieties of grape: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot

Meunier. Once the juice is extracted, champagne

undergoes two fermentation processes; first in casks

and second after the wine has been bottled and had

sugar and yeast added. This allows the carbon

dioxide to become trapped in the wine, giving rise to

those famous and distinctive bubbles. Non-sparkling

wines are fermented only once, in casks.

An excellent way to learn more about the

champagne-making process is to explore the

signposted roads that make up the Route Touristique

du Champagne (Champagne Tourist Route) –

600km long and divided into various circuits that

meander through the region’s principal wine-growing

areas, including Montagne de Reims (between the

two champagne centres of Reims and Épernay),

Côte des Blancs (south of Épernay) and, further

south, the Côte des Bar, specialising in smaller

producteurs (champagne producers) that welcome

thirsty travellers.

Land of liquid gold

It’s the last week in September and harvest time in

the Côte des Bar. Driving along the Route

Touristique du Champagne through grape country

is pure pleasure; beautiful vistas abound, with each

view better than the last. In between picturesque

villages, neatly tended vines cover the hillsides and

colourful grape pickers dot the slopes. A heady,

sweet aroma fills the air and every second vehicle

seems to be a tractor pulling a trailer-load of the

precious fruit.

In the village of Urville we visit Champagne

Drappier, a family of sparkling-wine producers

who’ve been cultivating their vineyards for more

than two centuries. Michel Drappier, the current

and passionate “House Director”, controls the

winemaking process, while his father Andre, with a

lifetime of harvests behind him, keeps a watchful eye

on proceedings. Drappier produces around 1.5

million bottles a year, distributed worldwide to some

90 countries, and over the years its superb

champagnes have seduced a number of prestigious

personalities, including Charles de Gaulle and

Luciano Pavarotti.

“The House of Drappier has a range of bottle sizes

in its portfolio, including the giant Melchizedek that

R“

is unique in the champagne world,“ says Michel

Drappier, as we chat in the salon, with its beautiful

fireplace and superb wood detailing. With a record

content of 30 litres (equivalent to 40 standard

bottles), weighing 58kg and costing around €3,800

(about $7,300), this is a rare bottle indeed and only

a few are sold every year.

Made in the traditional way, each bottle of

Melchizedek has its own fermentation and is turned,

riddled and disgorged by hand.

“It’s the perfect size for New Year’s Eve,

anniversaries or weddings and last year we sold a pair

to launch a luxury cruise ship in Florida called Silver

Seas. Much more affordable is the better-known

magnum, which is two standard bottles, and just

right for a romantic interlude for two, or as we say

in France, a tête-à-tête,” says Michel with a knowing

smile.

Once occupied by Cistercian monks from

Clairvaux Abbey, the seat of the Drappier House

includes some magnificent 12th-century vaulted

cellars (or caves). Here, gently ageing in racks, are

the cuvées speciales, as well as the company’s big

guns, with names like Balthazar (12 litres),

Nabuchodonsor (15 litres), Salomon (18 litres), and

Melchizedek, the granddaddy of them all.

“Come and see us again sometime. We’ve been

here for 850 years, so won’t be moving in a hurry,”

says Michel, as we say our goodbyes and drive

towards historic Troyes, noted for its fine collection

of medieval and Renaissance half-timbered houses

and finally, our bed for the night, Château d’Etoges,

in the small village of the same name, surrounded by

vineyards.

Royal accommodation

Staying at or visiting one of the region’s 150 historic

châteaux, manor houses and stately homes beautifully

complements a visit to Champagne and goes hand-

in-hand with the champagne lifestyle.

Built at the beginning of the 17th century, the

Château d’Etoges was once a privileged place where

the Kings of France enjoyed staying on their way to

the east. Louis XIV, it’s said, greatly admired the

beauty of the château’s garden, fountains and ponds.

Overlooking a quintessential moat, this beautifully

renovated château has 20 individually appointed

bedrooms furnished with genuine antiques and

tapestries. Downstairs, an imposing fireplace bears

witness to banquets, meetings and celebrations from

a medieval past. Classy French cuisine (with a good

selection of wines and, of course, champagnes) is

served in the adjoining L’Orangerie dining room.

A short drive north from Château d’Etoges is the

provincial town of Épernay and the best place for

champagne tasting. Underneath the streets of the

“capital of bubbly”, in some 100km of subterranean

cellars, millions of dusty bottles of sparkling wine

are maturing side-by-side, awaiting the day they’re

popped open in celebration.

Épernay is home to some of the world’s most

famous champagne houses, such as Moët &

Chandon, De Castellane and Mercier, the most

popular brand in France. Many of them are situated

on or near the Avenue de Champagne and offer

entertaining, informative tours followed by tastings

and a visit to the factory-outlet bubbly shop.

In nearby Rue Gambetta, at the cool, sophisticated

bar and cellar combo of C. Commes Champagne,

we sink into a couple of red leather armchairs to

sample some champagne by the glass. “We represent

50 small independent winemakers from 50 villages

in the main regions, and each week we feature a

selection of six different champagnes in 10cl glasses

for €27.50 [$53],” says Aurelie Hermant, one of the

friendly bar staff, who speaks excellent English.

The great thing about C. Commes Champagne is

that if you like a certain champagne, you simply walk

down into the cellar below the bar and buy one.

Every house is clearly labelled and prices are very

affordable, with few bottles costing more than €20.

From Épernay, it’s only a 6km drive north to

Hautvillers, where Dom Pérignon first created

champagne three centuries ago. Hautvillers translates

as “high place” and it’s one of those picture-perfect

French villages with a bar, church and a few pretty

houses. In the square you’ll find the Tourist Office,

where for a few euros you get a gentle walking tour

with an explanation of Pérignon’s life and the effect

he had on perfecting champagne.

Treetop champagne

Situated in the wooded hills around Verzy,

northeast of Hautvillers, is a totally new concept in

the enjoyment of champagne. A 10-minute walk

through the forest creates a sense of anticipation for

arrival at Le Perching Bar – the world’s first

champagne bar in the trees. The brainchild of co-

designers Germain Morisseau and Oliver Couteau,

the bar sits on a wooden platform supported on

6m-high stilts and accessed by a number of

boardwalks suspended between the trees.

Cool sounds emanate from the speakers; several

local champagnes are on offer and the views are

exceptional. “Everything runs on solar power and we

have future plans to create some sleeping pods in

open-fronted geometric designs in the trees called

‘Perching Pads’, so romantic couples can stay the

night,” Oliver tells us.

From Verzy, it’s just a flute or two of bubbly to

Reims, which, together with Épernay, is the most

important centre of champagne production. Reims

is home to some prestigious producers such as

Mumm, Tattinger, Pommery and Louis Roederer.

Founded in 1776, Louis Roederer is one of the last

major independent, family-run champagne houses.

In 1876, upon the request of Tsar Alexander II,

Louis Roederer Cristal was created in bottles made

of transparent crystal glass with a flat bottom,

making them easily identifiable.

For more than a century, the appearance of the

patented Cristal bottle has remained unique,

unchanged… and much imitated. Characterized by

its great finesse and elegance (a high proportion of

Chardonnay), its delicate bouquet and its perfect

balance, Cristal is highly prized by connoisseurs.

We spend our last night at Château de Montaubois,

a beautiful 18th-century building set in 4 hectares

of parkland in Signy l’Abbaye (northeast of Reims).

The owners, Jean-François Monteil and his

wife Elizabeth, have spent nearly three decades

renovating the château to its former glory, with

original features and period furniture. They now

offer B&B accommodation, with five sumptuous

guest rooms.

After being shown to our beautiful rooms we

watch a fascinating PowerPoint presentation on the

history of the château and the renovation process. In

the evening, we share a delicious home-cooked meal

with our hosts and then the eccentric Jean-Francois,

a prolific inventor, shows us his new interactive card

game called Champagne Discovery. Sipping on my

flute of chilled champagne, I ponder one of the

questions: “How many litres of champagne in the

Salmanasar bottle size?” It’s a fitting finale to our

visit to France’s Champagne region.

www.aube-champagne.com

Champagne Trivia

arlier this year, in RBS Six Nations rugby,

France lost to Italy for the very fi rst time.

Italy, invariably the weakest team in the

competition, had never beaten “Les Bleus” so

it was a shocking upset – to the point where French

coach Marc Lievremont, a former fl anker with 29

caps, afterwards called his team “cowards”.

Th e following week, however, France closed out its

2011 RBS Six Nations season with a decisive 28-9

win over Wales. Th is time the coach described the

play of his team as a “manly reaction” to the

embarrassing loss to Italy the week before, even if

the win over Wales left France, the champions in

2010, as a humble runners-up to England this year.

Cowards one week, men of action the next;

champions one year, chokers the next. So it goes

with French rugby and a team that is arguably the

most mercurial of the 16 taking part in this year’s

Rugby World Cup, which kicks off on September 9

in Auckland. Hosts New Zealand play Tonga. France

plays its first match, against Japan and also in

Auckland, the following day.

Th e Rugby World Cup has been played every four

years since 1987. France has never won. In that

inaugural year they reached the fi nal but lost to New

Zealand. In 1999, they reached the fi nal again, only

to lose to Australia. Despite those two critical

defeats, neither New Zealand nor Australia has been

the worst thorn in the France’s side. If France has a

World Cup nemesis it is England, a team that, in the

Les BLEUSE

last two Cups anyway, has sent Les Bleus packing in

the semi-final.

This time around, Australia perhaps will loom

largest in the eyes of the French after the Wallabies

thrashed them by a whopping 59-16 last November.

Luckily, Australia will turn up this year playing in a

different pool (see box), which means coach

Lievremont and company can put Australia out of

mind until – and if – they should meet in a post-

pool round.

Until then, France will be using their first match

against Japan and their second against Canada as a

build-up, more or less, for their ultimate battle in

Auckland on September 24 against the All Blacks.

France will have to be at their best because it’s highly

likely the All Blacks will once again be favourites to

win the Webb Ellis Cup, as the game’s greatest

trophy is called.

Yet, who can figure out the All Blacks at times like

these? Favoured to win past World Cups, three of

their most memorable matches were against France.

The first was the 1987 final, played in Auckland,

when the All Blacks defeated France 29-9.

The other two matches are painful to remember,

for they were two of the most emotional defeats the

ABs have ever suffered and both came at the hands

(and legs) of France. In 1999, at Twickenham, New

Zealand blew a 24-10 second half lead. Behind the

heart-stopping play of Christophe Lamaison and

Christophe Dominici, France scored an extraordinary

33 straight points to win 43-31. That stunning

reversal of fortune sent Les Bleus to the final, where

they lost to Australia 35-12.

In 2007, at Cardiff, France struck again. With

New Zealand once again the World Cup favourites,

France beat the All Blacks 20-18 in the quarter-final.

The quarter-final! The result was – and still is –

controversial for a forward pass (no question) that

set up the game-winning try.

Australia, England and South Africa will no doubt

be teams to watch as the World Cup unfolds. But

few will argue that of the matches to watch, France

versus the All Blacks tops the list. Should they by

chance meet a second time in post-pool play, the

ghosts of World Cups past are sure to make that

match one of the most anticipated of the entire

tournament.

Previous French RWC results

1987 lost final to New Zealand 29-9

1991 lost quarter-final to England 19-10

1995 lost semi-final to South Africa 19-15

1999 lost final to Australia 35-12

2003 lost semi-final to England 24-7

2007 lost semi-final to England 14-9

Rugby World Cup Pools

Pool A

France, New Zealand

Japan, Tonga, Canada

Pool B

Argentina, England

Georgia, Romania, Scotland

Pool C

Australia, Ireland, Italy

Russia, USA

Pool D

Fiji, Namibia, Samoa

South Africa, Wales

French Fixtures

Date Versus Venue

10 Sept Japan Auckland

18 Sept Canada Napier

24 Sept New Zealand Auckland

1 Oct Tonga Wellington 2011

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Live Breathe Drive Europe

After sailing for

two weeks with

friends from Istanbul

down the west coast of

Turkey into the Greek

Islands, and a glorious week basking on

Santorini, we knew that stage three of our

honeymoon would be yet another memorable,

but completely diff erent, experience.

On the fl ight from Santorini to Rome, we

agreed that the plan would be to pick up our

brand-new Peugeot from the EuroLease depot

at Rome Airport and head straight for

Tuscany. In Rome we collected our luggage

and then called EuroLease. A driver arrived

soon after and we were taken to collect our

car. We signed the pre-prepared paperwork,

accepted the keys and quickly familiarised

ourselves with the sleek Peugeot 308 HDi

1.6L diesel manual that was to be our touring

companion for the next two weeks. And with

Bill confi dently at the wheel we were soon on

the road.

With two weeks to get from Rome to

Prague and with no specific route planned

out – just a handful of “must-see’s” along the

way – our adventure began.

I had toured through this area some 20

years before, so I had a good idea of the

general direction we wanted to head in, and

when I saw the sign saying “Siena”, I knew

that was a place worth seeing. It was now late

afternoon and once in Siena we decided to

look for a hotel. Armed with a portable GPS

device (which turned out to be an absolute

Godsend) we keyed in “accommodation” and

were directed a few hundred metres to a

3.5-star hotel. It looked quite nice, although

not quite what I had in mind – and anyway

they were full. I explained to the receptionist

that we were, in fact, hoping to get on the

road to the Tuscany wine region and stay in

some local “villas”. He replied that if we

turned right out of their gates and headed

towards Chianti, we would fi nd exactly what

we were looking for within a few minutes’

drive.

Sure enough, 10 minutes later we were in

heaven: Hotel La Loggia, a beautiful local villa

in the small town of Quercegrossa. We checked

in and drew a breath at our surroundings. Th is

was exactly the Italy I had wanted Bill to

experience, as he had never been here before.

An amazing dinner that night at a family-

owned restaurant was the start of a marvellous

culinary journey – fresh caprese salads, home-

made spaghetti Bolognese and true Italian

thin-crust pizzas, all washed down with local

Chianti. The next morning we studied the

map over a delicious alfresco breakfast on the

balcony overlooking the vineyard, and agreed

that we would hit the backroads in the general

direction of Florence.

Th e scenery through the Tuscany/Chianti

wine region was spectacular and we were

most impressed with our Peugeot diesel. Bill,

a particularly harsh car critic, quickly gave it

top marks as an ideal vehicle for the touring

we were doing.

In Florence we found a very nice and

central five-star boutique hotel called

Michelangelo and set off to explore Florence

on foot. With the mandatory shopping spree

out of the way, we settled in at one of the

many restaurants in the town square, and

enjoyed another superb Italian meal.

My only son was christened Lorenzo, so we

decided to head into the mountains via a

small, very quaint town called Borgo San

Lorenzo and then across to the Adriatic

Coast. We drove relatively short distances

each day up this coast, stopping wherever we

liked the look of the town. Despite the

commercial style of the beach resorts

themselves, we were pleasantly surprised that

we could enjoy a high-quality casual dinner

of, say, Risotto a la marinara and Pizza

Margherita, washed down with a very nice

local Pino Grigio or Chianti, for around 40

Euros (around $74) – definitely cheaper than

at home!

After a most enjoyable week driving

through Italy, we decided to stay off the

Autostrada and bypass Venice, instead

heading through some very pretty small

Italian towns – Chioggia, Mira, Mestre,

Treviso and Belluno. Then we found ourselves

at the base of the Dolomite Alps, and in what

was to be the last Italian town of our stay –

Cortina d’Ampezzo. We crossed the border

from Italy into Austria and were immediately

impressed by the lush green hills and pretty

little villages. Our first stop here was Lienz,

where we checked in to a lovely hotel. Tired

and hungry, we ventured down to the town

square and enjoyed a typical Austrian meal of

Wiener schnitzel and pommes frites.

We still had a fair way to travel through the

Dolomites, but it was no hardship; the

combination of a comfortable car, wonderful

roads and spectacular scenery made it very

enjoyable. A highlight was the Felbertauern

Tunnel heading towards Salzburg – an

engineering masterpiece, 4km long with a

smooth four-lane highway running through

it. We arrived in the Austrian town of Linz

late afternoon and settled in to a very pleasant

hotel right in the middle of town and ate a

good and very reasonably priced dinner in a

lovely garden restaurant.

The next day we hit the road to Prague,

where we were going to catch up with good

friends of mine from New Zealand, David

and Maria, who now live in Prague, in a large

house about 10km out of the city. We only

had about 250km to travel, but it turned out

to be quite a slow drive once we crossed the

Czech border – mostly one-lane roads and a

lot of traffic, especially trucks. It was

interesting crossing the border at Halanky:

from the clean, green Austria to the dull, grey

Czech Republic! Even the weather changed;

suddenly we had left the European summer

behind and were into autumn, with

temperatures some 25˚C less than we had

become accustomed to.

Despite this, however, Prague itself is a

beautiful city. After arriving at our friends’

house and enjoying a long-overdue reunion,

we ventured into Prague the next day, with

Maria – who is Czech – as our most

wonderful tour guide. We had three great

days in Prague, then we were ready to pack

the Peugeot up again and head for our final

destination of Frankfurt, via Nürnberg.

By now we were quite attached to our

Peugeot and we realised that over the

approximately 2,300km we had travelled in

two weeks we’d only used three tanks of diesel!

But, alas, our journey was almost at an end.

We decided to drop the car off to the

designated Holiday Inn depot the day before

we flew out as we didn’t want to be rushing at

busy Frankfurt Airport the morning of our

flight home. We parked the car in the carpark,

took photos of it (to prove that it was still in

mint condition!) and then dropped the key

with the agent. He duly destroyed the lease-

to-buy agreement we had signed as part of our

contract, and we said goodbye to our silver

Peugeot 308 HDi, now destined to be sold as

a second-hand car, as is standard practice.

We certainly felt Peugeot EuroLease was an

excellent option, as opposed to a standard

rental, given the flexibility of unlimited

kilometres, comprehensive insurance (with

no excess) and, most importantly, the ease

with which you can pick a car up in one

European country and drop off it in another

for a relatively small cost.

A final word of advice: make sure you book

a car with in-built GPS, or take your own

portable GPS – it avoided the usual husband-

wife navigation arguments and certainly

ensured that our honeymoon was the start of

a long and happy journey!

eugeot owners Tony and Christine

Peek, of Coatesville, were the centre

of attention on the last Garden

Ramble, a day of garden visits organised

by the Rotary Club of Albany. Five

superior gardens in the region opened their gates for

this bi-annual event to raise funds for the Albany

Rotary Charitable Trust.

The authoritative Royal NZ Institute of

Horticulture has rated the Peeks’ Woodbridge

Gardens, on Glenmore Road, a garden of National

Signifi cance – which is to say it’s one of the most

extraordinary gardens in the country, especially

considering that Tony and Christine have developed

it from bare farmland since in 1991.

Th e Peeks, proud owners of a Peugeot 407, have

created nothing less than a masterpiece on their

gently rolling property of three hectares complete

with bucolic country vistas, natural streams and a

rose-covered country cottage. Th eir property is not

one garden but a collection of plantings that include

rare and unusual perennials, a much-praised bluebell

wood, a dry garden, a potager and a croquet lawn.

Th e Coatesville Garden Ramble is sponsored by

Peugeot NZ. It includes stops at five properties.

Most of the gardens taking part have been recognised

by the Royal Institute of Horticulture as having

national signifi cance.

Woodbridge Gardens is open to the public by

appointment. Tony and Christine Peek (pictured

above) are experienced hosts, having entertained

guests from all over the world. Coatesville is a

25-minute drive from downtown Auckland.

Primroses, camellias, jonquils, rhododendrons,

Dutch irises and daff odils will be among the stars of

the show at Woodbridge Gardens over the coming

months. Learn more at www.woodbridgegardens.

co.nz and phone (09) 415 7525 to book a visit.

P

Peugeot Around New Zealand

Th at Gary Harris is back in London

as you read this will come as no

surprise to anyone closely connected

to the Royal New Zealand Ballet. His

departure was announced late last year.

But since not all readers keep tabs on

RNZB news it must be said that the

accomplished Mr Harris did not leave

under a cloud. He left in good health,

to return to the city of his birth, where

his career began.

“I just feel it’s time for me personally

to move on,” he told us before his fi nal

nod – a performance of the pre-

Christmas hit Th e Nutcracker. “It was

just time for a change, really. Nothing

made me think, ‘that’s it, I’ve had

enough’. Th e truth is, I’ve enjoyed the

work very much and wanted to leave

while the company was on a high. I

wanted to leave in a positive way and

that’s what I’m doing.”

Gary is back in London now and if

he’s not directing or designing or

choreographing or notating – such is

the breadth of his talent – that’s okay.

He suggested that, with the coming of

spring in London, nothing would suit

him more than spending more time in

his garden.

“I don’t know what I’ll be doing,

really,” he said. “All I know is I’m going

back to London because I have a house

there where I can take time out. My

entire career until now has felt full-on

so I’ve never taken the opportunity to

just sit back and take a breath. Th at’s

what I’m aiming to do now.”

Gary said that after taking over from

the company’s previous artistic

director, Matz Skoog, in 2001, “I

wanted to establish a stable of

choreographers working here more

often, so we brought in Christopher

Hampson, Javier De Frutos and

Adrian Burnett to work with the

company; and that was hugely

successful.

“And for me, personally, I grew to

love the honesty and openness – the

sense of ‘get on with it’ – this country

has. I was also lucky because I arrived

here at a time when people were

travelling more. New Zealand was no

longer thought of as a place so far

away. Th e best dancers are now willing

to come here.” Today, some of the best

dancers need not travel at all. The

majority of the 32 dancers of the Royal

NZ Ballet, 16 women and the same

number of men, are recruited from the

NZ School of Dance in Wellington.

Under Gary Harris, the company

settled on three seasons a year, not

four. And split tours of the North

Island and South Island, playing one

night only in provincial hubs, proved

successful. “People think there is

something about ballet they cannot

understand, so they are scared to try.

Th ey feel a need to know what’s going

on, what it all means – when really it

means nothing. It’s just a silent art

form with movement set to lovely

music and you’re watching the most

highly trained athletic bodies do the

most amazing things, usually in pairs,

with little clothing on. And here you

can take your drink in with you!

“I’m pleased where the company

is,” Gary said. “It’s in a good place

financially and the Ministry for

Culture & Heritage, Meridian, Tower,

the Lion Foundation and Peugeot

r e m a i n i t s m a i n s u p p o r t e r s .

Meanwhile, ballet worldwide is in a

healthy state despite the fact it can get

really hoity-toity and leave people

behind. People want to go to the

theatre to be entertained, to cry and to

laugh – and ballet can do that. And so

many kids want to do ballet! I once

read that more kids in New Zealand

do ballet than play rugby!”

For a complete preview of what’s on

in 2011, visit www.nzballet.org.nz.

Peugeot Around New Zealand

I remember when a day-trip to the

beach was a spontaneous affair;

something my wife Dee and I enjoyed

doing pretty much at the drop of a hat

when the summer scorch got too

much to bear.

T h a t , o f c o u r s e , w a s p r e -

parenthood. Despite living within

acceptable driving range from the

coast, in the last 12 months, since

little Oscar joined the squad, sand

beneath the toes has seemed a million

miles away.

Even now, as we’ve practically

become experts, just heading off into

the blue yonder whenever the desire

takes us is a thing of the past. The

balmy weather has all but gone for the

year but we’re determined not to let

the ocean pass us by any longer; today

is our fi rst attempt at a beach getaway

with bubs and it requires the planning

of a military operation. Inventory

check: sun block, the all-terrain buggy

(for “off -road” stuff ), sun tent, more

sun block, matching havaianas for dad

and lad, towels, rash vest, nappies,

wipes, assorted creams including

emergency sun block and, importantly,

ice cream money.

Th ankfully, we’ve found our 3008 to

be an island of sanity in the day-to-

day chaos of a busy young family. It

has a split-level cargo area that we love,

so accommodating all the essentials

is easy and we can keep wet and sandy

gear separate from the buggy, etc., on

our return.

Oscar’s pretty happy with it too. We

have an ISOFIX child seat that clips

into the 3008’s safety structure

without fussing around with seatbelts

and the rear windows have retractable

sunblinds. Brilliant. He clearly senses

we’re doing something a bit diff erent,

watching intently from his stroller and

giggling excitedly as the deluge of baby

accoutrements are pulled from the car

and hung around any spare limb Dee

and I have.

Th e sea is calm, but as sun catches

the forever-lapping tide, the most

intense golden refl ections fl icker like

the arc of a welder. Gulls strut around

unfazed by the baking sand and from

the water comes the sounds of other

parents and children splashing

playfully, swimming and otherwise

seeking respite from the heat of such a

beautiful day. We’ve missed this and

while we’re aware we probably over-

prepared, (the sun tent is now listing

awkwardly) this to us represents a

relaxation long overdue.

Like his old man, Oscar is a real

water baby, greasy with a lather of

sun screen, he momentarily plops his

head under the surface and emerges

with a laugh that makes us relish the

day even more.

Th e familiar noise of Mr Whippy’s

rendition of Greensleeves tolls the end

of the day. Worn out, but completely

satisfi ed and with little creamy rivers

melting through our fi ngers, we reload

the day’s essentials into the car, made

easy by the 3008’s fl ip-down tailgate

and we’re back on the road.

It might not be the spur-of-the-

moment exercise it once was, but our

first family trip to the beach augurs

well for the years we’ll enjoy together

in the future. Now comfortable we

have everything to make the journey

fun and easy, we’ll be doing it a lot

more frequently next summer.

Words: Steve Vermeulen

For the fi rst time in New Zealand,

Peugeot is bringing a kids’ driving

school to children aged 3 to 6 years

old.

“Safety is something that you are

never too young to learn,” explains

Peugeot general manager for New

Zealand, Grant Smith. “We have seen

a similar concept overseas and wanted

to bring the safety message home.”

With two trials under their safety

belts, the team at Peugeot are preparing

for their next big event, before the

nationwide dealer-based roadshow that

begins in May, with a media launch

just days before Easter.

“Th e road toll just seems to climb

during this time of year, so we have

enlisted the help of some very

important people from the New

Zealand Police and Automobile

Association to help us spread the safety

message,” continues Grant.

Up to 18 children can participate at

any one time in the one-hour driving

school. Children receive a special

“driver’s licence” and handbook when

they arrive at the Peugeot showrooms,

where they learn about signs on the

road, as well as different types of

traffi c. “Awesome” Peugeot pedal cars

are the main feature of the training

and the kids have the chance to bring

the safety signs and message to life

while driving on the track. Th e track

has a pedestrian crossing, a Give Way

sign, traffi c light, Stop sign and even

several animals the children must

watch out for.

After the kids have a go on the track,

they receive a certificate for their

efforts as a reminder that they have

driven safely and participated in the

Peugeot Kids Driving School.

If you are interested in enrolling your

children, grandchildren or sharing this

information with your neighbours,

please visit the website to learn when

the Peugeot Kids Driving School will

be at a Peugeot dealer near you.

www.peugeot.co.nz

Peugeot has cemented its position as

purveyor of some of New Zealand’s

most environmentally friendly family

cars with the addition of Euro 5 diesel

engines to its 308 range.

What is Euro 5? It refers to exhaust

emissions standards, set by the

European Union but embraced by

many countries elsewhere in the

world, which give maximum limits for

emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx),

total hydroCarbon (THC), non-

methane hydroCarbons (NMHC),

carbon monoxide (CO) and particulate

matter (PM). Th ese strict regulations

ensure the cleanest possible operation

of both petrol and diesel engines – an

area in which Peugeot has always led

the way.

Th e Euro 5-compliant 2.0-litre HDi

engine is now fitted to the 308

hatchback, SW and CC models, as

well as the new 3008 Crossover. Th is

ensures Peugeot owners will remain on

the cutting edge of clean-engine

technology for years to come: the next

step of emissions rules, Euro 6, does

not come into force until 2014.

The adoption of Euro 5 and an

astonishingly broad range of family

models means peace of mind and no-

compromise choice for New Zealand

buyers. The 308 hatchback and CC

provide sporty small-to-medium

motoring; the 3008 Crossover has

established a whole new genre with its

rugged styling and increased ride

height; and the 308 SW (pictured)

remains the surprise-and-delight

off ering, with distinctive looks and the

option of seven seats.

Peugeot, of course, is famous for its

stylish and practical wagons and the

latest 308 SW is no exception. The

SW off ers stunning cabin ambience,

thanks to its stylish dashboard

architecture and full-length panoramic

glass roof. Th ere are three individual

seats in the rear, which can be folded

away or removed completely. The

third-row seating option is similarly

confi gured: each of the rear chairs can

be lifted out by one person and easily

stowed. Sporty hatch, family wagon,

people carrier or even a super-stylish

cargo carrier – with the 308 SW you

can have it all.

As with every other 308/3008

variant, the Euro 5 2.0l HDi off ers a

level of power and torque you’d

normally associate with a six-cylinder

petrol engine – 120kW/340Nm – yet

it still sips fuel at the rate of just

7.1litres per 100km. Th e HDi engine

is perfectly matched to a smooth six-

speed automatic transmission.

Peugeot Around New Zealand

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