Danny de Hek

One of our newest, rapidly expanding wine growing areas is in a quiet North Canterbury town, an hour’s drive north of Christchurch.

It is no coincidence that New Zealand’s most famous wine region has the largest grape production and the highest sunshine hours in the country. Marlborough far exceeds the output of any other region.

Picture this! A sumptuous lunch with local fish delicacies, cheeses, olives and fresh fruit. All in a very popular, stylish holiday destination, which is famous for sunshine, beaches, forests, wine, seafood and creative arts.

A town with a laid-back village atmosphere has emerged as the hub of this prestigious wine region. Martinborough launched itself onto the world wine scene with superlative Burgundy style Pinot Noir reds in the 1980’s.

Catch the classic New Zealand wine trail safari through this bountiful, sun-drenched region. Hawke’s Bay has over 40 vineyards and is second to Marlborough in terms of total grape production.

The title of ‘Chardonnay Capital of New Zealand’ actually belongs to the most easterly wine region in the world.

This ‘Island Suburb’ in Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf is the perfect place for a combined seaside holiday and wine trail exploration.

Explore the lush Waikato land and the broad sweep of country inland from the Bay of Plenty, where a dozen wineries produce around 3% of New Zealand’s wine.

For four generations these dedicated pioneer viticulturists tended their vines as the city grew around them slowly engulfing their productive slopes within dense urban conurbations.

The Auckland region is home to New Zealand’s three largest wine producers each having state of the art winemaking equipment and modern blending and bottling facilities.

The western slopes of our most populous city are New Zealand’s traditional winemaking region. Here in Kumeu, Huapai and Waimauku are some of the long established and most respected wine companies in New Zealand.