Isabel lived with her husband Ned in their quaint Black Cottage in the
mesmerising New Zealand countryside. Their estate was nothing if not
picturesque, nestled quietly in Spy Valley, with the awe-inspiring
Mount Difficulty rising to the East, and the equally Majestic Peak, the
Lawson Hill to the West. The cottage itself was situated on the banks
of the Blind River, a meandering snake of water that flowed from the
Craggy Ranges in the mountains to the ocean only a few kilometres away,
where the River met the Bay of Oysters - named so due to the fact it
had a lot of Oysters. It was a beautiful monday morning in July, the
Cloudy outlook over the Bay that had been ever present the previous few
days had vanished leaving nothing but endless blue skies and a burning
bright sun. The sun bounced off the River; glistening in the heat.
Every year the River would take on an almost Gold-like appearance. It
was this amazing River of Gold that had been stumbled upon Centuries
ago by the first inhabitants, The Ata Rangi Tribe, who had then
adoringly named the phenomenon 'Goldwater', as it was still known to
this day. Isabel, who was half Italian on her father's side, awoke to a
somewhat unusual sound that day - the sound of silence. Normally she
was rudely awakened by her loving dog, the hilariously-named Point, due
to his long, endearing pointy nose. But today there was no sound. No
barking, no yapping, no tail wagging, no begging, which both Ned and
Isabel had grown accustomed to since they had saved Point from a local
shelter a year earlier. "Ned, wake up!" exclaimed Isabel, as she rocked
Ned from his slumber. "What is it my love?" came the voice from below
the duvet. "Ned, Ned, where is Point? I can't hear him," cried Isabel
as she threw the duvet off herself and ran to the living room. She
hoped Point was still asleep in his homemade basket made from special
dried cereal, the Bran Cott. Arriving at the living room Isabel stopped
and looked around, the silence bellowing from the room was deafening.
Isabel struggled to think. Trying to come to terms with what was going
on, Isabel noticed that a window had been left ajar overnight, and
realising that Point must have jumped through the window she shrieked:
"Why Mea....?!" Isabel's Italian accent always came out when she raised
her voice; "Why has this happened to me? I Dont understand, my beloved
Dog, Point has run away!" she screeched. Isabel and Ned dressed as
quick as they could and ran to the spare room to wake up Isabel's
cousin Maria, who was visiting from the States, where she owned a Villa
in Montana. Ready for the hunt, the triumvirate raced out the door.
There was no immediate sign of Point, but they hoped he hadn't gone too
far. Knowing that Point was always happiest when he was swimming in the
nearby River, they thought it best to go there first. Their Run down
the Riverlands was cut short by one of their neighbours. A handsome
young man named Jackson, who had been out on his morning run. Jackson
was walking back to his home, after his exertions had given him a
Stitch - and he needed some recovery time. "Jackson, have you seen
Point?" shouted Ned, as the 3 of them ran towards him, like a herd of
escaped bulls - something you would more likely see in the streets of
Pamplona than out in the New Zealand wilderness! "No sorry." was his
reply. Not stopping for any further correspondence, Isabel, Ned, and
Maria kept on running. A Peregrine flew over. The trio became anxious.
A little further down the River they came came across another local,
Clair, who was out walking her dog, ironically named Roaring Meg, due
to her quiet, sheepish demeanour. Seeing the herd running towards her
she called out, "is something wrong Ned? Isabel what is it?" "Point has
gone, ran away, please you must help us, maybe Meg could help sniff her
down," Isabel responded speedily. Clair joined the group and the search
continued. "Lets check the palace" said Clair, "Im sure I saw a dog in
the distance over there earlier, and the King owes me a Favour, maybe I
could get him to send out a
few search teams?" It wasn't common for the King to hand out Favours,
but Clair had taught the young monarch how to dance Salsa for the
Jubilee event just weeks away; in the local tongue the event was
affectionately known as the 'Pelorus Brut NV (Priced £14.99) Dance,'
although nobody really knew why. Nevertheless, the King was eternally
grateful to Clair. "Great idea Clair, lets go." the three said almost
simultaneously. The heat was almost unbearable now and it had began to
slow the search. Tired and upset, Isabel was starting to Wither in the
Hills leading to the Palace. Despite this, Ned was Fairleigh confident
that they were on the right track and encouraged the group onward
towards the King's Palace. Finally they had arrived. Entering the
Palace garden they became surrounded by the King's Thorns and other
flowering delights. Approaching the door, the mob rang the door buzzer
and spoke to Lin Dauer (the King's secretary). "Hello Lin Dauer, it's
Clair here - we must ask the King for a Favour immediately. My friend
Isabel has lost her Dog, Point - can the King assist us in anyway
whatsoever? She's terribly upset and is beginning to wonder Wither or
not he's still alive. She loves that dog." The King's secretary Lin
Dauer failed to respond - there was an awkward, eery silence. The group
began to wonder if they were welcome or not - was the King unwilling to
help? At times, the King could be unpredictable. Then suddenly, the
huge door to the Palace swung open and there was the King in all his
glory - and right beside him, wagging his tail and twitching his huge,
pointy nose, was Isabel's Dog, Point. "Point! You're alive! You're
safe!" Isabel cried. Ned was relieved. Now he could go back to work on
his boat, The Nautilus. "You really are a Saint, Clair for spotting
Point in the Palace grounds." Clair blushed. "How can we ever repay you
your Highness? We must send you the most Prestigious of Parcels
immediately," Isabel proclaimed. The King smirked and replied regally:
"Not a problem subjects, why you must pop in and have a glass of
Argento Malbec." How lovely the gang thought. But Isabel had other
ideas. "Before that, I must call my Italian father, Coney Pizzicato,
and tell him of the events here in New Zealand." They all laughed out
loud and strolled into the King's Palace. Point the Dog yelped and
wagged his tail. What a day it had been. The above story is a
fictional text, with the intention of highlighting our diverse New
Zealand range! How many of our wines can you spot?! Watch out for the
red herring! Why not come and explore our range for yourselves down at
Majestic Muswell Hill. Thanks for reading!