If you are a tourist some top places to visit are
Auckland Area Day Trip to the KUMEU RIVER region
1 Soljans Estate Winery Cellar Door
A great shop sells wines, and glasses with the letter S (for Soljans, therefore handy if you wish to remember the company, or if your name is Sarah, Susan, Simon, or Smith). The shop also has tempting caps, bags and scarves.
The wine tasting was 15 New Zealand dollars per person for five wines. I loved the great wine from my favourite Gewuztraminer grape.
2 Kumeu River Winery
Run by the famous Michael Brajkovich, who makes a huge range of seriously interesting wines. He was New Zealand's first Master of wine, a pioneer of the Croation families from the Dalmation coast.
Auckland to Rotorua
From Auckland, we went to the Rotorua hot springs area, in the Waikato wine region (Wai is the Maori word for water). Near Rotorua we visited the evocatively named
3 Volcanic Hills winery.
Up the cable car to the tastings at the top. Great view of the top of the cable car and down the hillsides. Huge tasting room. Friendly and knowledgeable staff.
4 In Ohaupo we went to the Vilagrad winery.
Napier Area - A winery open 7 days a week for tastings
5 Urban Winery, in art deco Napier, on Hawke's Bay 'the garden of New Zealand'. Open seven days a week. Wine tastings. Music nights. Some food some hours from a short menu.
Novelty - Egg shape barrels! In both wood and concrete. You can glimpse the egg barrels through the glass.Their business cards feature eggs with fancy designs.
Concrete eggs are great for fermentation because they keep the temperature level. Natural convection needs no stirring. They know the history of their barrels - the wood is traced back to the selected trees.
We admired one of their six eggs.
As for the wines, the names are amusing. Golden egg wine. Fat and Sassy.
On The Road - weekend tastings
6 Leveret & Mills Reef Winery
at Katikati in the BAY OF PLENTY WINE AREA
A lovely old vine grows over their entrance forming a shady roof from the sun or maybe some shelter from worse weather.
Their symbol is three rabbits chasing each other inside a circle. Look carefully and you'll see the number of ears is not six.
We were greeted by Andrea, who originated from Hong Kong. She had attractively decorated the showroom with orange lanterns for Chinese / Lunar New Year in early February 2025.
Then she decorated the shop with pink and red hearts for Valentine's Day later in mid February. She even wore heart-shaped ear-rings she'd bought in Hong Kong.
Katikati Cellar Door shop open 9.30 am -5 pm daily for sales only, no tastings.
Wine tastings for your long weekends, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Phone 64 77 552 0795.
WAIHEKE ISLAND
7 Casita Miro, Waiheke Island
The back of their business card.
Another stunning and memorable winery which we visited was Casita Miro, Casito being Spanish for little house, and Miro the artist. Casita Miro is most notable for its wacky, colourful decor. The astonishing and delightful show starts with the long, lively murals along the drive-in, continuing at every turn with pictures and amusing objects around the restaurant, which views the picnic lawn, and in restrooms.
A wine tasting room cum shop on the far side of the car park.
A larger restaurant room with views, is a great place for a lunch with wines.
8 Man O'War
Named after the beach which is named after a war boat. Despite a drive along a narrow road, a tour bus comes this way. Tasting room, plus an open sided lunch resturant overlooing the dtrees behind the beach. They say it's the only beachside winery in Waiheke, and probably New Zealand and possibly the world.
NORTHLANDS Wine Region has four places we visited.
9 Paroa Bay - Gourmet Dinner
From Russell take a winding road, or the shuttle bus free for diners at the Paroa Bay restaurant. On the hilltop overlooking their vinery is a top grade restaurant, with a tasting menu. At lunchtime or early evening there is a fine view, which we captured when we stopped there and on seeing the menu immediately made a booking. But returning late at night with twilight we found outdoors breezy, chilly, and took their advice regarding tables and happily ate indoors.
We had a private look at the vineyards and winemaking below the next day. The novelty for me was seeing the wines drawn out of the barrel by the winemaking to check the tast, using what looked like a huge pipette.
10 The Omata Estate - for a perfect pizza
We stopped around lunch time, watched them cooking pizza in a hot pizza oven. After sampling wines, we ordered a pizza, the best pizza I've ever had. Just a thin base, not overwhelming you with filling flour, supporting and spread with a mixture of savoury white cheese and sweet red cranberry which was divine.
11 Marsden Winery, Russell, Northlands
Marsden Winery was big and bustling, a very popular eating place. A location with a story. The current, chatty, owner who we met, was greeting regular customers at the door and bar counter. In between, he was keen to tell us how he had bought the place and battled to keep it going as a winery. Competing interests were thinking the site was better used by uprooting the vines and tradition and introducing a modern new housing estate.
12 Dancing Petrel Paewhenua Island, Northlands
By contrast, the Dancing Petrel is a quiet secluded place. But the label is dinsttive and memorable. It shows a sea bird, the dancing petrel. We sat in the back yard of the owners who are small scale producers, nature lovers, whilst they described the petrel they promote on their label.
13 Millton Vineyard Winery
We saw the vines and orange trees outside.
Their label Libiamo is from Verdi's opera, the old Italian word which is the equivalent of 'Cheers!'
While the owner was away, we had a private chat with a knowledgeable staff member. He told us that their 2020 Te Arai (grape chenin blanc) is from the Maori words, te meaning the and arai, river. The cow is the symbol of biodynamic production.
I loved their muscat wines. I always love sweet muscat. The aroma was sweet, though the wine struck me as dry. About 30 NZ dollars a bottle, and $180 for a case of 6.
Fou can join their mailing list. Freight $12 North island and $18 South Isalnd, with a $4 rural delivery charge.
14 Mission Estate
Historic estate. Lots of pictures downstairs. Lots to look at.
15 Vilagrad, at Ohaupo, in the Wikato region,
16 Craggy Range
17 Bushmere
18 Matawhero
19 Stonyridge
20 Goldie Estate
Useful Websites
Casita Miro
Casitamiro.co.nz
Leveret
www.wineportfolio.co.nz
Soljans
www.soljans.co.nz
Urban Winery
theurbanwinery.co.nz
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