Here are a few tour itineraries to get you started :
Suggested Itinerary (The Iconic Wineries)
This is a range of winery labels that you may see all around the world. Well know wineries producing fabulous wines.
10.00am: Collection from your accommodation and depart out into the fabulous Marlborough wine region
Arrive at Montana Brancott Winery, the largest wine producer in Marlborough. There is the option here to take an educational tour through the winery (additional cost applies). The tour follows the process of wine making from the fruit arrival area right through the winery. The tour concludes with a educational wine tasting of a range of Montana wines.
Arrive at Cloudy Bay, Marlborough's iconic Winery for a tasting of the world renown range of wines. As Marlborough's best known winery this is a must see winery on the tour. Your tastings today may include the award winning Methode Traditionelle "Pelorus" or the stunning "Te Koko" a unique oak aged Sauvignon Blanc.
For lunch visit Wither Hills winery. A place where the architecture is as impressive as the fabulous wines!! Taste a brilliant selection of wines including the Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and take some time to explore the building from the top floor lookout to the ground floor Pinot cellar.
After a great wine tasting enjoy a wonderful lunch in the Wither Hills winery restaurant. One of Marlborough's best restaurants..
Arrive at Nautilus Estate for a tasting of the range of wines including the multi-award winning Bubbles and Pinot Noir. Seriously good wines
Finish the wine tasings with a visit to Saint Clair Estate This is the home of more awards and wine trophys than anywere else!!
"Saint Clair now makes the country’s and perhaps the world’s best Sauvignon Blanc. Saint Clair has won more top awards for Sauvignon Blanc in recent years than any of the three or four hundred other local producers" Bob Campbell, Master of Wine.
Also on site at Saint Clair is Traditional Country Preserves, a nice tasting of home made jams, preserves and chutneys. Complete the food theme with a visit to Makana Chocolates to sample the divine hand made chocolates. A perfect sweet treat to complete the day!!
4.00pm: Depart for Accommodation
9.45am: Collection from your accommodation and depart out into the fabulous Marlborough wine region
Start with a visit to Te Whare Ra wines, meaning "the house in the sun" a nice reflection on its sunny location in the heart of the wine region. This is certainly the oldest boutique winery in Marlborough, and a winery focused on producing fine estate grown wines. From this small winery and cellar door come a selection of fabulous wines with the Gewurztraminer and Pinot Noir an absolute standout. Family owned and operated so an absolute favourite. A nice option here is to take the tour (optional) through the winery, its an interesting focus on producing fine wines and includes some great tastings along the way (tour incurs additional cost and needs to be pre-booked).
Visit to Mahi wines . The name Mahi, meaning ‘our work, our craft’ gives a great indication that these people are passionate about fine wines. Enjoy a wander through the underground cellar and a tasting of fabulous wines.
Arrive at Rock Ferry a wonderful new winery cafe with a fabulous range of wines and a nice cafe. Enjoy lunch in the cellar door or out in the gardens. This is a great opportunity to try the range of Rock Ferry wines from Marlborough and Otago.
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Arrive at Herzog Luxury Winery Restaurant for a very special lunch and wine tastings.. Rated as one of Australasia's finest restaurants this is a very special place and perfect for that special occasion.
Arrive at Framingham Wine Company. While Framingham produce an extensive range of wines they are best known for their range of Rieslings. Depending on when you visit you may get to try the Dry, the Classic or the Select Rieslings. Also look out for some fantastic reds such as Pinot Noir and Montepulciano.
Visit Bladen Estate, possibly the smallest cellar door in Marlborough, but a winery producing seriously good aromatic wines such as Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer and Riesling. Family owned and operated and always a favourite..
Arrive at the The Village. A fantastic combination of tasting experiences with Bouldevine wines along with the Schnapps of Prenzel Distillery, the Marlborough Olive Oils, view the crafts in Quilters Barn or relax with a great coffee in the cafe.
Finish the day with a divine chocolate tasting at Makana Chocolates.
4.00pm: Depart for Accommodation
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A really nice combination of things that are uniquely Marlborough. This is a great mixed tour taking in a really diverse selection of local attractions.
10.00am: Collection from your accommodation and depart out into the fabulous Marlborough wine region
Arrive up at Highfield Estate, a chance to get your bearings and take in the fabulous 360 degree views from the tower lookout. This is a great photo opportunity and a chance to take in amazing views right around the valley. From this vantage point you can see the full length of the valley, out over the Cloudy Bay coastline and across to the Wellington coast on a clear day.
Of course while you are here at Highfield it would be fitting to try the selection of ultra-premium wines on offer.
Visit Auntsfield, a unique piece of Marlborough's history with the original wine cellar built into the hill dating back to 1873. It was another 100 years before the first of the new era vines where planted in the region. This is a place of wonderful history and stories of how things were done on Marlborough's very first vineyard. Today a modern vineyard planted in Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and brand new cellar door for tastings. Wonderful wines in a great place, with the option of a guided tour around the vineyards and up into the old original cellar. (tour incurs additional cost and needs to be pre-booked).
Time for a wonderful winery lunch, local produce, local wines.!!
Time for a different side of Marlborough with a beer tasting at Moa Brewery, "New Zealand’s native Moa is the only beer to be fermented in the bottle, like French champagne. It is also one of the rarest beers in the country, crafted somewhat eccentrically in a small rural brewery." With beers like Moa Blanc and Moa Noir you can instantly see the connection that brewer and wine maker Josh Scott has brought to his Moa Brewing company. Unique beers in a unique setting!!
Arrive at the The Village. A fantastic combination of tasting experiences with Bouldevine wines along with the Schnapps of Prenzel Distillery, the Marlborough Olive Oils, view the crafts in Quilters Barn or relax with a great coffee in the cafe. A unique combination of tasting experiences.
Finish the day with with a visit to Makana Chocolates to sample the divine hand made chocolates. A perfect sweet treat to complete the day!!
Drop off back at your accommodation, or at the Picton waterfront, the ferry terminal or Blenheim airport.
A fabulous new way to enjoy the best of Marlborough with a wine and cheese tasting experience around the wineries of Marlborough.
All cheeses have been handcrafted by Sherington Grange and put together into a fabulous picnic pack for you to enjoy at each winery. Each cheese and wine match has been carefully chosen, by the producers themselves, to give you a sample of the best we have to offer here in Marlborough.
NOTE : please note that this tour does incur addtional cost for the cheese tasting packs provided and we do require a bit of extra time to organise this tour. So please give us plenty of notice of your preferred date.
10.00am: Collection from your accommodation and depart out into the fabulous Marlborough wine region
Visit Huia winery where we will taste Queen Charlotte cheese with Huia Gewürztraminer
Queen Charlotte Cheese - Buttery and crumbly, with a natural rind and long lingering savoury tang, this white cheese compliments a wide range of food and drink. Especially good with aromatic white wines and pinot noir.
Huia 2007 Gewürztraminer - On the nose, this wine seduces with its rose petal and Turkish delight aromas, followed by warm spices, ripe pear and tropical fruit. The palate is rich in flavours; you will find vanilla bean, orange and spices. Very nicely layered, complex and long, this is a beautiful example of a dry Gewürztraminer.
Visit Forrest Estate winery where we will taste Soft goat's cheese with Forrest Doctors' Riesling
Soft goat's cheese - When young, this cheese is light and floral, with meadow hay being predominant. It ages to a pungent earthy richness, with the taste of hazelnuts and black pepper. Best with complex aromatic wines and beer.
The Doctors' Riesling - Lime sherbet, granny smith apple and mandarin flavours make an appealing wine. On the palate aromas of citrus, apricots and Asian spice, lovely fruit sweetness, balanced by fine acidity; the wine's naturally lower alcohol, 8.5%, ensure each mouthful is a refreshing, delicious experience. (Gold medal)
Visit Bladen winery where we will taste Sherrington Blue with Bladen pinot gris
Sherrington Blue - Adapted from a recipe for Stilton, Sherrington Blue has a grey-blue rind and smells of mushrooms and wet straw. Inside, the cheese is creamy with green-blue veins. The texture and taste vary with the season, from quite delicate to pungent and earthy. This cheese compliments anything with a sweet or aromatic edge, including pinot gris and sweet botrytised rieslings.
Bladen 2008 Pinot Gris - Limited Release. These predominantly hand picked grapes have produced a wine that excites your senses with its elegant perfume and oily texture. A medium bodied, dry wine, with a bouquet that offers delicate stone fruit and nashi pear flavours that mingle with hints of rock melon and nougat. The palate renders an enticing creaminess that carries through to release ripe stone fruit flavours that linger to a soft finish. Serve Bladen Pinot Gris lightly chilled.
To finish visit River Farm winery for Havelock cheese and River Farm pinot noir
Havelock cheese - Each of these cheeses has been dipped in a 10 year old, oak-aged, local brandy and then wrapped in sweet chestnut leaves, collected from the tree by the dairy door. The leaves change from green to brown with the seasons and keep the curd moist and creamy beneath. The interaction of the raisin character of the brandy and the tannins leaching from the leaves, gives the cheese the unique fragrance of the forest floor. Designed to match pinot noir. (Artisan Award winner 2009)
River Farm Estate Pinot Noir 2006 - The grapes for this 100% Pinot Noir were hand-picked and the wine aged in French Oak barrels for 12 months. Garnet in colour, this Pinot Noir has lifted fruit aromas of cherry and spicy cedar supported by flavours of ripe plum, currant and mushrooms which carried through to a complex and lengthy finish. Subtle tannins, soft oak and beautiful fruit have created a complex and elegant Pinot Noir which will cellar well for 6 - 8 years.
* Other seasonal cheeses may be included in your packs, depending on the time of year, to give you the best of the seasonal variation that characterises traditional cheeses.
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Suggested itinerary (The Cheese Trail)