New Zealand is known for many things, unique untouched landscapes, prehistoric glaciers, a biodiversity that’s incomparable but also, for its unique wine regions.
The culture of the country is very much reflected in the wines that are produced. With 11 main wine regions, New Zealand’s wine regions are scattered throughout the whole country – ranging from subtropical Northland (36° S) down to Central Otago (46° S). With wine regions extending 1,600 km, you can also find the world’s southernmost vineyards here, along with the incredible Waiheke Island – New Zealand’s most famous vineyard island.
Long sunshine hours, nights that are cooled by the sea and a moderating effect of the maritime climate make it the ideal place for the grapes.
(Updated November 2024)
During my one-year stay, I visited many New Zealand wine regions, tried my fair share of wine, and vineyards and consumed more bottles than I have ever before.
From the boom of natural wines in Wellington to falling even more for oaky chardonnays and discovering that a rosé can actually taste incredibly good – this post helps you plan to visit some of the best New Zealand wine regions, how to get there, which vineyards are worth visiting and which wine is a must-try!
New Zealand Wine Regions
Hawke’s Bay Wineries
Napier & Hastings
Wellington to Napier: 4 hours by car | 5 hours 40 minutes by bus
Hawke’s Bay is New Zealand’s Art Deco capital as well as the first stop on the Classic New Zealand Wine Trail. It’s a popular place for self-guided wine tours, with flat cycling trails allowing you to visit more than 30+ cellar doors.
You shouldn’t miss this gorgeous city and its pastel-coloured Art Deco buildings by no means. Take a map from the local i-visit and go on a street art walking tour and admire the cool ocean conversation-inspired murals.
Keen to taste your way through the Hawke’s Bay wineries in style? I recommend you book this traveller-favourite Hawkes Bay Cellar Tour that will visit all the region’s gems in a 1970 combi!
How To Get Into Hawke’s Bay
I recommend renting a car to allow for a fun New Zealand road trip and cover other sights in the cities that are worth visiting! From Wellington, it’s a 4-hour drive that leads you through Palmerston North to the two wine cities of the region. Coming from Auckland, it takes a good 6-7 hours with stops for 400 km. You can also take the InterCity buses which stop in either Hastings or Napier city centre.
Hawke’s Bay Wine Tour
Church Road Winery
This one got me hooked way before I even went to Napier. As I am a big fan of oaky chardonnay – Church Road Winery is such a winner! This wholesome half-day Napier Wine & Art Decor Tour lets you explore the cities Art Deco sights and ends with a visit to Chruch Road Winery. Try to go for a cheese platter at lunch and relax outside in their bean bags, sipping away on a glass. They also have a wide range of tasting experiences, starting at $5 per person.
Clearview Estate
Family-owned since 1986, cellar door visitors can enjoy a beautifully bespoke wine tasting. The restaurant serves Mediterranean-style dining in a green vineyard setting. Make sure to try their chardonnay! Clearview Estate is a superb Hawk’s Bay winery and has produced wine for 30 years- winning continuous five-star gold medal awards for it!
To make it an active experience, I recommend reserving this self-guided vineyard cycling tour! Starting on the coast trail, you’ll pass some wildlife and head from vineyard to vineyard – all in your own time!
Mission Estate
Established in 1851, Mission Estate Winery is New Zealand’s oldest winery. It’s located in an elegant seminary and offers lots of outdoor seating and a history-rich interior. This had to be one of my favorite vineyards to visit, especially since the place was to pretty!
Combine tasting two premium wines, with a gourmet platter and a gin tasting with this classic Napier Luncheon & Wine Tasting Tour. The tasting features interesting wines and also includes a lovely branded glass.
Wairarapa
Martinborough Wineries
Wellington to Martinborough: 75 minutes by car | 1 hour 15 minutes by train |
2 hours by shuttle
The Wairarapa is a region in the southeastern corner of New Zealand’s North Island – near Wellington. It’s a compact and varied region, full of boutique vineyards producing wine of exceptional quality. The Martinborough wineries produce some of the world’s best pinot noir alongside outstanding Martinborough Sauvignon Blanc, stylish Chardonnay, syrah and dessert wines.
The vineyards are in the heart of the Classic New Zealand Wine Trail, only 30 km from the sea – welcoming people with a variety of wine tourism activities.
The Wairarapa is divided into three sub-regions: Martinborough, Masterton and Gladstone.
To see the best-kept Martinborough wineries, I’d recommend joining this full-day tour with lunch!
From personal experience, the Martinborough wineries have to be my favourite New Zealand wineries, not just because it’s a stone’s throw away from Wellington, but also because you’ve got 20+ wineries nearby.
Get Into Martinborough
The most convenient option is to get there in a car and stay the night in town. As accommodation in Martinborough is limited and gets pricey, consider staying in the nearby village of Greytown. A charming little place that won the award of being ‘New Zealand’s Most Beautiful Small Town’ – with good reason.
Alternatively, you can take the train (Wairarapa Line) from the Wellington train station in the morning and get it back in the late afternoon. You would get off in Featherston to catch the bus to Martinborough. Conveniently, the buses are scheduled to wait for the train at the station. Price: One-way $17.50 (cash) or $10.09 (Snapper)
Once in Martinborough hop on a bike from Green Jersey Cycle Tours and start your self-guided wine tour! Full-day bike hire will cost $40 – make sure to book in advance as they can fill up quickly!
Wine Tour Martinborough
Poppies
The best atmosphere in all of Martinborough – Poppies is worth a visit for their homegrown wine as much as it is for their delicious, varied sharing platters. An elegant but laid-back venue, surrounded by their vineyard makes it the ideal place for a wedding reception or big celebration. A wine tasting will cost $10 and lets you try 6 wines. You can buy their wine exclusively from the cellar door – so make sure to stock up on some!
Schubert Wines
Established in 1998, Schubert Wines is a small but welcoming vineyard that serves great pinot noir. Even on a rainy day, you can have a cosy wine tasting. My favourite happened to be their 2019 Rosé – with notes of strawberry and pomegranate. So good! The wine tasting costs $10 per person, with 5 wines to try.
Colombo Martinborough
One of my favourite vineyards, to which I went back twice! Colombo Martinborough settled on the far end of the Martinborough wine area, with a great outdoor area. In summer, it’s the perfect place to enjoy a glass (or two) accompanied by their tasty pizza. Here, you can choose between a regular wine tasting and flights of 4 or 6 wines. We opted for a flight of 4 to share ($20). Again, one of the tastiest ones was their Rose!
Alana Estate
A premium boutique winery, situated at the entrance to Martinborough. Alana got a great laid-back, intimate atmosphere, which allowed us to taste the wines seated outdoors. I would recommend adding Alana Estate to your Martinborough Wine Tour!
Haythornthwaite Wines
Lovely boutique vineyard with substantial platters and cosy, covered outdoor seating. Haythornthwaite is rather a small place in terms of restaurant space, but still a great stop for lunch (no reservation needed) and a taste of their 6 homegrown wines. The tasting costs $10 and a platter cost around $44.
Palliser Estate
Palliser Wines is one of New Zealand’s premier wine brands that you can find in restaurants worldwide. Beautiful space, an outstanding range of wines – definitely worth a visit!
Margrain Vineyard
Their signature wine are pinot noir and chenin blanc (which you can only buy on the cellar door or by mail-order). However, their pinot gris is made from some of the oldest vines in New Zealand.
Cambridge Road
Go to Cambridge Road Vineyard to enjoy an intimate wine tasting with great views of the adjacent vines.
Wine Tour Marlborough
Blenheim & Renwick
Wellington via Picton to Blenheim: 4 hours by ferry + 20 minutes by car or 26 minutes by train
Marlborough, nestled at the top of the South Island, is the largest wine-growing region in New Zealand. With 90% of the country’s sauvignon blanc plantings, many call Marlborough the world’s sauvignon blanc capital. With vines as far as the eye can see, it’s part of the 380km Class New Zealand Wine Trail, featuring more than 30 cellar doors to choose for a wine tasting.
If you’re looking for Marlborough wine tours from Picton, check out this awesome wine tour that lets you start the trip right when you arrive!
The second runner-up in terms of wine grapes is pinot noir, along with fruity chardonnays and crisp rieslings.
The whole region of Marlborough circulates the towns of Blenheim and Picton. From there, you would start your wine adventure or go on a trip through the beautiful Marlborough Sounds. This is one of New Zealand’s best wine regions!
How To Get Into Marlborough
If you are coming from the North Island, taking the ferry from either Bluebridge or Interislander is a good choice when having your own car. Otherwise, if I’d do it again, I would take the plane directly to Blenheim.
Tip: When on the ferry, make sure to sit up the top in case it gets too bumpy inside.
Best Wine Tours Marlborough
To make the most of the experience, I recommend choosing a self-guided tour from Wine Tours by Bike. They include a pick-up from Blenheim & Renwick, an informative introduction to the area, recommendations on where to have lunch and a great map to use. From Renwick, you got a circle of 24 km in which you find more wineries than you can visit in a day. Saddle up to try some outstanding Marlborough sauvignon blanc and more!
Little side note, visit the farthest one first and make your way slowly back, towards the bike rental place.
If you’re up for an organized full-day wine tour and let yourself be guided, this Marlborough wine tour including the tasting is your best bet!
Wairau River
The famous Wairau River Cellar Door and Restaurant is one of Marlborough’s prime wine destinations. Not only can you enjoy a delicious lunch within an outdoor seating, but also a wine tasting to learn more about the origins and history of the place. My favourite happened to their 2019 Wairau River Rosé, which displayed notes of raspberry and strawberry.
Bladen Wines
This award-winning cellar door is another must-visit winery. The owners passionately share the history of their Bladen Wines vineyard, the outdoor seating is lovely and the views of the adjacent vineyards are so worth it. Make sure to try the Gewürztraminer! It’s unlike anything I have tried before, with outstanding notes of Turkish delight, rose petals and lychee. Wine tastings of six wines cost $10 per person.
Gibson Bridge Vineyard
Gibson Bridge Vineyard should come onto your list if you want to try an array of pinot gris. The tasting studio used to be the old workshop. Nowadays it’s fitted with crystal chandeliers and candles, greeting visitors to try their award-winning wines. Our favourite was the 2018 Pinot Gris Rosé. A wine tasting of five wines costs $10.
Giesen
The Giesen winery is just a must-visit, especially for lunch! No real wine-tasting tour is complete without having a platter to snack (or in this case, feast on). It’s loaded with local produce and hands-down, was the best platter I had in all New Zealand! Include a wine tasting here as well, prices start at 10$ per tasting.
Nelson Tasman
Blenheim to Nelson: 1 hour 35 minutes by car
Although being rather one of the smaller wine regions of the country, it’s the home of the first commercial vineyard in the South Island. The mild maritime and sunny climate contributes to some of New Zealand’s most intensely flavoured sauvignon blanc and chardonnay, as well as a lively pinot noir.
Getting Into Nelson
Once you experienced the best of Marlborough, take the State Highway 6 towards Nelson. I’m not gonna lie, the roads are windy and narrow but it’s the shortest way. If you are a seafood fan, you should stop in Havelock for some of their famous green lip mussels at The Musselpot.
If you’re in Nelson already and are keen for a wine tour, why not join the hop-on-and-off wine tour?
Best Wineries in Nelson Tasman
Unkel
As a very new winery (without a cellar door yet), you physically cannot visit Unkel Wines. However, you can order their fantastic organic, unfiltered wines online ie at Everyday Wine. One of my favourites is the Carnival Sauvignon Blanc. If you are in Wellington, make sure to stop at Ascot Bar, as they often have them stocked! It’s the best natural wine I had so far.
Moutere Hills Winery
Ok, so Moutere Hills Winery is a bit of a drive away – but super lovely and worth it! Nestled among picturesque hills, this family-owned boutique winery is the ideal place to stop for a tasting and snack on a platter outside in their garden.
Seifried Estate Winery
Another long-standing one, Seifried Estate Winery exports its wine to 28 countries and is home to New Zealand’s most awarded dessert wine, the ‘Sweet Agnes Nelson Riesling’.
Neudorf Vineyards
Located on the Moutere Hills, Neudorf wines are served in various European restaurants. They highly focus on sustainability and are a proud producer of chardonnay, pinot noir and Aromatics.
Visiting New Zealand wineries and tasting new wines are definitely my new favourite things to do. To go on a wine-tasting tour in New Zealand is such a fun thing to do. I hope this post helps you plan and decide on where to go. I’m sure no matter which one you decide on, it will be fantastic!
If you liked this post on New Zealand wine regions, check out my comprehensive South Island Photography Spots Itinerary!
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