Alas, awake to more rain. Have breakfast in the hotel brasserie and discuss plans. Decide to call a wine tour operator on the off chance and they have a tour leaving in half an hour! Decide this is a better bet than walking in the rain or driving around the vineyards (and not drinking). Quickly book the tour and set off. Every cloud has a silver lining and this turns out to be a good move. The tour is really good – better than the Waiheke one. We visit 4 vineyards – Alana, Muirlea Rise, Te Kairanga and Murdoch James. Try 21 different wines and have a nice lunch in the cafe (with more wine) and then finish the day with a platter of cheese and coffee! Have a long conversation over lunch about the war with the other tour members, an Australian couple and an American chap. Conversation gets more animated the more wine we try! All the vineyards were fun to visit, but Muirlea Rise, which is the smallest of the ones we visited (only 4 acres), was the most interesting because the owner talked us through his whole wine making process, showed us his equipment and talked about the problems he faced from the weather and disease and why he made the type of wine he did. After a little shopping we return to our hotel and later have a nice dinner in the “Fine Dining” restaurant to celebrate Valentines Day (day early because tomorrow we’ll be with Catherine, Ursula etc).  Gorgeous choc souffle pudding but can’t finish the port it comes with – I’m all wined out.