19 Day Classic New Zealand Wine Trail

Make your way to the Auckland ferry terminal and board your ferry at Downtown Auckland Ferry Terminal for a pleasant cruise through the Hauraki Gulf to Waiheke Island. You’ll enjoy a day of wine and olive tasting at three vineyards and an olive grove, plus have the chance to indulge in locally produced foods such as mouth watering preserves and world class olive oils. Tour includes a light lunch at Stonyridge Vineyard. After your tour, explore the island further before returning to Auckland by ferry.

This morning you will be collected from your hotel. Leave the bustle of the city and relax on the one hour drive north through the rolling green hills and past beautiful coastline before arriving at The Honey Centre. Here you find New Zealand’s largest display of live bees and a huge range of honeys available for tasting as well as honey mead and fruit-wine. Then we visit a local vineyard and taste award-winning wines and local cheese in a platter match. Nearby, in the heart of Matakana Coast Wine Country, is Morris & James Pottery, where you are greeted by a pure visual spectacle of layer upon layer of design and colour from matt black to luscious red. Lunch is at Mahurangi River Winery with its contemporary New Zealand architecture and wide pastoral views. Tour the winery and barrel room and sample their wine (made only from grapes grown on the property) before taking time to enjoy the local cuisine. From here Brick Bay Sculpture Trail showcases an ever-changing exhibition of contemporary sculptures by leading New Zealand artists. Sample their hand crafted wines in the unique Glass House building before heading back to the city. The day is rounded off with a stop at Chocolate Brown – where they hand-make outrageously fine chocolates.

Collect your rental car this morning and head south to Taupo. You might like to go via Waitomo and take a guided tour of the glow-worm caves. In Taupo, relax and enjoy the Scenic Cellars for wine-tasting and shopping. Lake Taupo has a great cafe culture and is home to every type of dining from casual restaurants serving comforting pub food to internationally renowned silver service dining and everything in between.

Leisurely morning in Taupo – enjoy coffee beside the lake, or take a swim in the hot pools. From here you have quite a variety of scenery as you ascend to the volcanic plateau then across mountains and valleys to Hawke’s Bay. (2 nights)

A complete action packed day highlighting the best Hawke’s Bay has to offer. Start the day in the picturesque Esk Valley Region. Take a full behind the scenes tour of Church Road winery, the Tom McDonald Cellar and NZ’s only wine museum. Enjoy lunch with wine at the country’s oldest and grandest winery, the Mission Estate. After lunch visit one of Hawke’s Bay’s small boutique wineries and take another behind the scenes look at how wine evolves from the vine to the glass on a smaller scale. A great contrast to the larger production winery from the morning. Travel through NZ’s most prestigious wine growing district the Gimblett Gravels from which we taste award winning wines throughout the day. Finish with a gourmet platter at award winning restaurant and winery Vidal. Indulge in the finest local produce including meat, seafood, cheese, marinated vegetables, olives, breads and dips.

Today’s route has you driving through some of New Zealand’s rural heartland with a mixture of sheep, dairy and crop farming. You may like to visit the Tui Brewery at Mangatainoka – tour the brewery and taste a selection of ales. Carterton is a good place to shop for Paua shell souvenirs. Browse the antique, homeware and fashion shops and art galleries in the colonial village of Greytown before making your way to Martinborough. (2 nights)

This unique and exclusive wine tour takes you behind the scenes, often where the general public can’t access. Your friendly, knowledgeable wine tour host, Jill Fraser, will ensure your day is pleasurable and enlightening. You will have the opportunity to taste regional cuisine and sample wines; meet local winemakers and growers; and experience the culture of Martinborough including a visit to an olive oil producer.

Climb up and over the Rimutaka Range – great views in every direction. Once the mountains are behind you, it’s easy driving for the rest of your journey. You’ll wind through the picturesque Hutt Valley then a fast moving motorway will whisk you towards the city. You may like to take a detour to Wharekauhau, one of New Zealand’s most exclusive lodges, for lunch (contact your consultant for this option). (2 nights)

This mouth-watering culinary experience concludes with a delicious, light, three course tasting lunch with matched New Zealand wines at top Wellington restaurant. Over a relaxed 4 hour walking gourmet tour around Wellington’s best food places, your personal guide will introduce you to new and favourite flavours. Tour content can vary seasonally, and you may visit a boutique coffee roaster and stylish cafe, renowned specialist fresh produce and gourmet food stores, and a unique contemporary chocolatier. The remainder of the afternoon is free to explore Wellington – Walk around downtown and harbour-side, visit galleries and shopping in Lambton Quay and the national museum of Te Papa Tongarewa on the harbour waterfront.

This morning you will be transferred to the ferry terminal where you board Interislander ferry across the Cook Strait to Picton. On arrival collect your rental car and make your way to Blenheim in Marlborough – home to over 160 wineries. (2 nights)

Head out into the stunning Marlborough wine region to sample the world famous Sauvignon Blanc. Marlborough is renowned as the wine capital of New Zealand with over half of New Zealand’s wine grown in the region. Marlborough has gained a reputation as one of the finest wine-growing regions in the world. See why our Sauvignon Blanc is world famous, try the aromatic Riesling, Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer or sample the complexities of our Merlot and Pinot Noir. Visit Marlborough’s Icon winery, Cloudy Bay, for a tasting of the range of award winning wines. Enjoy the Pelorus Bubbles, the Sauvignon Blanc, and the complexities of Te Koko Sauvignon and Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir.

Visit “The Village” where you can try stunning wines from a selection of boutique wine companies, along with Prenzel Schnapps, Marlborough Olive oils or view the crafts of Quilters Barn. After a morning of wine tastings we will head through to Havelock, the gateway to the Pelorus and Kenepuru Sounds. Time to enjoy a nice lunch (own cost) at the Slip Inn Cafe before boarding your launch for the Greenshell Mussel cruise. Enjoy an informative and relaxing afternoon cruising the inner Pelorus and Kenepuru Sounds. Take in the natural beauty of this tranquil environment, learn about the history of the Marlborough Sounds and the pioneering families who have settled here. Visit a Greenshell Mussel farm. Learn about the intricacies of growing this delicacy and taste freshly steamed mussels with a glass of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.

Today travel south along the east coast of the South Island through the Wairarapa wine region to Christchurch, the South Island’s largest city, Christchurch is an entertaining mixture of refined lifestyle and cultural excitement. Following the 2011 earthquake, Christchurch has re-emerged as a vibrant, ever-changing city, and there is plenty to experience and see. New restaurants and bars are popping up nearly every day and the food and wine scene is exciting.

Drive through the MacKenzie Country to Lake Tekapo, where you stop view the tiny Church of the Good Shepherd, built of local stone and oak in 1935. Then it’s on to the Mt Cook National Park, a World Heritage listed site. Mt Cook is Australasia’s highest mountain at 3764 metres. The park covers over 70,000 hectares of breathtaking alpine scenery and is also home to the Tasman Glacier; the longest in the Southern hemisphere (optional ski-plane & helicopter flights are available subject to weather conditions).

The easy drive to Omarama takes you through picturesque sheep farming country fringed with mountain ranges. You’ll have the chance to detour to the fascinating Paritea cliffs, which are constantly being exposed by the active Osler fault line. You could also pause to cast a line into the Ahuriri River – famous for sizeable rainbow and brown trout.

Your trip to Wanaka then takes you through the beautiful Lindis Pass – just magic when there’s snow around. Then at Tarras, a small sheep farming settlement on State Highway 8, not far from the southern end of the Lindis Pass, you might like to stop at one of the vineyards that have been established here in recent years (mainly pinot noir and Riesling) before you head inland to reach your destination of the peaceful and picturesque lakeside town Wanaka.

Only a short drive today. Take the route from Wanaka to Queenstown that runs along the Clutha River, Lake Dunstan and the Shotover River. This area is better known as the Central Otago Wine Trail region encompassing Wanaka, Cromwell, Bannockburn, Bendigo, Alexandra, and Gibbston with an international reputation for Pinot Noir. There are over 30 wineries and vineyards in this area offering tastings, tours, lunches and meals. Further along SH6 and 15 minutes from central Queenstown is the Arrowtown Junction at Lake Hayes. On the corner you will find the exquisite Amisfield Winery & Bistro which should not be missed. (3 nights)

A relaxed day of fine cuisine, good company, sampling local cheeses and tasting premium cool-climate wines. Taste wine at 5 vineyards in the Gibbston Valley, Cromwell and Bannockburn regions. Take a tour through New Zealand’s largest underground wine cave and enjoy a tasting of local cheeses at one of the vineyards. A delightful platter style lunch is included.

A full day to further explore Queenstown and the surrounding area. Make sure you visit The Winery – located right in the heart of Queenstown, Wine Tastes is one of the largest wine tasting experiences in the world. Serve yourself a taste, half or full glass from over 80 different wines for tasting using the state-of-the-art Enomatic Wine Serving System.

Sadly, your holiday is at an end and you deliver your car back to the rental car depot at Queenstown airport today for your onward flight. Here, we bid you a fond farewell and hope you leave with many happy memories of your stay in Aotearoa, New Zealand.