I’m going to be planning a trip to New Zealand over the next few months and am looking for advice on which wineries to visit (and anything else that I shouldn’t miss). I would like to focus on Martinborough (Pinot Noir, etc) and Hawkes Bay (Syrah, etc), but I do want to stop in other regions as well. We’ll be there for about 12 days (14 including travel – I know, not long enough). I’d like to try to visit some of the top producers to get an idea of how good the wine has gotten at this point. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance.
Spent a couple weeks there in 2008 and absolutely loved it. Some winery suggestions:
Here are my recommendations, I’m sure others can chime in as well.
Hawke’s Bay:
Stonecroft
Hatton Estate
Unison
Craggy Range
Askerne
Te Mata
Esk Valley
Brooksfield
Clearview Estate
Sacred Hill
Black Barn (Great place for lunch)
Trinity Hills
Martinborough:
Palliser
Margrain
Ata Rangi
Martinborough Vineyard
Tirohana
Alana Estate (Great place for lunch)
Porters
Te Kairanga
Dry River (You can get an appointment, talk to Poppy)
Escarpment
Central Otago:
Mt. Diffuculty
Chard Farm
Anthem
Olssens
Felton Road
Carrick (great for lunch)
Mount Edward (appointment)
Akaru
Amisfield (best lunch I had in NZ)
Bannock Brae
Bald Hills
Quartz Reef
Rockburn
Gibbston Valley
Peregrine
Rippon (a healthy drive but worth it)
I get back to the home country every few years.
Probably my favourite area/region to visit is Central Otago, around Queensland. Stunning scenery, Pinots and some nice accommodation. Millbrook resort, about 20kms out of Queenstown is great if you are a golfer.
Martinborough is only an hour or so from Wellington, which is a lovely city and has some really great dining options. Can blow a bit though.
The ferry crossing from Wellington on the North Island to Picton on the South is stunning on the right day. Marlborough is Savvy central, and not so much my cup of tea, but some nice wineries and lunch options.
I would recommend the drive down from Marlborough to Christchurch - stunning coastal scenery. Stop at Kaikoura for a night or two. Drop into Waipara wineries north of Christchurch.
Havn’t been to Hawke’s bay since I was a kid, but have admired Craggy range wines for some time.
have a great trip - you will be blown away by teh scenery and people I am sure.
Cheers,
kent
Thank you both for the great responses. If anyone has anything to add, fire away.
Can we update this for the curious? Anyone been to any great NZ wineries/restaurants/sights in the last 3 years?
I’ll just provide a brief list of my picks, but happy to provide more comment if desired (note most of these have cellar doors, some you would need to book private tastings):
Waiheke (Auckland): Man O War, Kennedy Point, Passage Rock, Stonyridge, Cable Bay
Kumeu (Auckland): Kumeu River
Hawkes Bay: Te Mata, Bilancia, Craggy Range, Trinity Hill, Unison, Red Barrel/Alluviale, Stonecroft
Martinborough: Dry River, Ata Rangi, Escarpment, Martinborough Vineyards
Marlborough: Terravin, Seresin, Fromm, Dog Point, Greywacke, Auntsfield Huia, Te Whare Ra, Cloudy Bay
Northern Canterbury: Pyramid Valley, Bell Hill, Pegasus Bay, Mountford
Central Otago: Felton Road, Valli, Burn Cottage, Ripppon, Maude
Neudorf in Moutere, Vinoptima and Milton in Gisborne are a couple of out of the way ones i’d also recommend if you;re in those areas.
Millton Vineyards as mentioned above in Gisborne …http://www.millton.co.nz/ . Also check out events at the Family of Twelve(12 wineries) … http://www.familyoftwelve.co.nz/news/events/ …Gary
Bump. Still looking for recommendations for wineries, restaurants, and other activities.
Napier is probably my favourite city visually/architecturally. I never understood art deco until I went there. With so many fine examples, most in good condition, the charm really struck home. It is so close to Hawkes Bay it could be a good base, with plenty of good restaurants to walk to.
Martinborough has plenty of good places, so worth asking locally of any up and coming producers. I would have recommended Benfield and Delamere for their stubborn commitment to bdx blends, but recall they eventually gave in, which was a shame. My last visit was a few years ago, so difficult to suggest specific wineries, but in general I would suggest balancing small unknowns with more famous wineries, as the little unknowns can often surprise, but also tend to make for a more memorable visit.
Again a while since I’ve been to Hawkes Bay, but I’ll put in a good word for Mission Estate, with the Jewelstone range very impressive. Their history and setup is unusual as well. Te Mata are well known but good.
Other attractions… Lake Taupo is nice for a chilled time, and scenic cellars is good for wine thrills. Rotorua is up the road, but the smell was too much for my weak stomach after the journey over the Rumatakas (sp?) a notorious drive for inducing nausea.
Finally just enjoy the scenery (too much to fit into the landscape) and the people who are typically friendly and engaging.
Well almost finally… Do try some of the nz chocolate bars with typically firm nz marshmallow, e.g. Chocolate fish, buzz bars, pinkies and the wonderful easter eggs. Moro bars are brilliant too, like our mars bars but more chewy/less sickly.
In Central Otago, Carrick winery in Bannockburn and Amisfield winery near Arrowtown have excellent winery restaurants that are well worth a visit (the former is only for lunch). About 35 minutes from Cromwell and close to the little town of Omakau is the tiny village of Ophir. This is Central Otago Rail Trail country (an old railway line turned into a cycle trail) so you will see lots of cyclists: don’t go if you are repulsed by lycra! In Ophir in a marvellously restored old building is Pitches Store. A lovely restaurant as well as accommodation. Very much worth the detour.
+1 Valli.
Where’d you go Doug?
I don’t remember all, but these were some of the highlights as far as wineries:
Craggy Range
Ata Rangi
Martinborough Vineyards
Pyramid Valley
Felton Road
Mount Difficulty
Chard Farm
I also realized through drinking some of their wines at restaurants there and since we’ve been back that a reservation at Escarpment would have been a great idea. Also, I know I’m forgetting a couple that we really liked. If I can find my notebook from the trip, I’ll post a couple of other wineries and some restaurants.