Hawke's Bay Wineries

Relax and take your time. Meet the personalities behind the wine and find out where all the hard work takes place as you visit any of the 37 plus wineries found around the region. You’ll find there’s no shortage of good conversation or enthusiasm from those passionate about their creations. The knowledgeable persons pouring the wine may in fact be the winemakers themselves.

Quick Tips:

Don’t forget the natural partnership between wine and food. The region produces fruit, vegetables, meat and seafood and many of the wineries have cafes or restaurants. A further option is to take your own afternoon picnic to a winery and match a bottle with your mood and food. Many of the wines are not available outside the winery so if you find something you really like, buy a bottle or more there and then so you will not be disappointed.

Best Way To Get Around:

Mike was a wealth of information. As we drove towards the first winery he showed us some of Napier’s wonderful art deco architecture. We learned, and saw first hand, of how land was raised up from the ocean and swamp and Hawke’s Bay was changed forever by the 1931 earthquake.

Before lunch, we visited Park Estate Winery and Church Road Winery. Park Estate was not what I expected. This is the largest fruit wine producer in New Zealand and it has only fairly recently moved into grape wine production. We tried some kiwifruit wine, which I quite enjoyed, then sampled a range of grape wines. Church Road was as expected. This is part of the Montana Group and the winery produces a good selection using a range of grapes from Hawke’s Bay and elsewhere. After our tasting, we lunched at the fine restaurant.

After lunch, we first visited Mission Estate Winery. This is New Zealand’s oldest winery. The tasting room and restaurant are housed in an outstanding English Victorian-style building built in 1880, which was once a Catholic mission, moved to its present site in 1910. For a change of pace, mike then called into Penny Madden’s Pottery. Penny makes a lovely range of quality product and she is also a delightful lady. She turned out to be Mike’s wife.

The tour visited two further wineries and we rated these the two best. Moana Park is a relatively new brand but the owner first planted his vines here in 1979. This is a low-key, friendly operation and we enjoyed all the wines, which we tasted while enjoying a cheese platter, which Mike produced from the ‘back-of–the–bus’. Brookfields was an appropriate place to finish. This is a leading producer of New Zealand premium wines and owner/wine maker Peter Robertson was both entertaining and knowledgeable as he explained his wine philosophy and some practical tips to our group.

It was a good day. We enjoyed the tour, the wines, the food and the company. We had learned about different wine styles, how wine is made, and which food and wines do justice to each other.

Park Estate is unlike any other winery we have ever been to. It is established on a 20-hectare site between the two main rivers of Hawke’s Bay and has been transformed from a fruit orchard into a wine and food tourist attraction. The transformation is a tribute to the horticulture, winemaking and promotional skills of owners Dianne and Owen Park.

The visitor experience is concentrated in a family-built Spanish mission-style complex built using locally grown and milled timbers. Heavy wooden beams are a prominent feature in the warm, naturally toned interiors. The attractions are the restaurant and café, wine tastings, fresh fruit juices, and the fruitlands shop.

We started our tasting with some fruit wines. I was skeptical about these due to past experience with other attempts at producing this type of wine but I quickly changed my mind. Owen, an experienced wine maker has succeeded in producing some really interesting light, crisp and fruity wines in sparking still and fortified styles. Only then did I learn that Bay Classic Fruit Wines has become a notable Hawke’s Bay success story and is internationally recognized as producing some outstanding fruit wines.

We then moved on to some grape wines. They were almost a disappointment after the earlier surprise with the fruit wines. We tried a sauvignon blanc, a chardonnay and a Riesling. It was not until we came to the reds that I was impressed. My clear favourite was a 2000 cabernet sauvignon merlot. We learned that this had been fermented in open vats and after hand plunging every few hours for seven days the wine was pumped off and blended (60% cabernet sauvignon and 40% merlot). Part of the mixture was matured in oak barrels and the balance in stainless steel tanks. After 14 months it was then filtered and bottled. The light oak exposure makes sure it is a fruit-driven red and we found it very drinkable.

It was not lunchtime so we didn’t try the restaurant but we were most impressed by the relaxing Mediterranean-style atmosphere achieved by the architecture. There are several dining choices – alfresco in the garden amongst the trees, on the patio, or indoors. We visited on a cold day and were happy to see a huge log fire providing plenty of warmth.

As we left, we couldn’t resist the fruitlands shop. There was a range of home-grown fruit on sale together with jam, honey, pickles and chutney. Best of all was some wonderful fudge, which we enjoyed during the subsequent few days as we traveled to new adventures. Park Estate is open seven days a week, 10am-5pm.

This is home to New Zealand’s only wine museum as well as the magnificent Tom McDonald Cellar. Visitors can also enjoy a meal in the restaurant, wine tasting in the Cellar Door or even a game of petanque in the park-like grounds.

I have two strong recommendations at Church Road Winery. Take the guided tour, and stop for lunch in the restaurant. The tour encompasses the working winery where you can see winemakers in action, the Cuve Cellar where some of the red wines are fermented, the imposing Tom McDonald Cellar and the fascinating wine museum. It ends with a tasting at the cellar door. The Tom McDonald Cellar is a tribute to the father of quality red winemaking in New Zealand. It features matai timber floors recycled from the old Napier wool stores, open jarrah beams and contemporary copper lighting. In the rear are hundreds of French oak barriques in which Church Road’s premium Bordeaux-style red wines mature.

The wine museum is housed underground in old, disused wine vats. The oldest winemaking relics in New Zealand lie entombed here, some dating back to the 3000-year old Iron Age. Mannequins by a local sculptor bring the scene alive. The museum’s walls are encrusted with sparkling, gem-like tartrate crystals, formed from the tartaric acid in the wine once stored within. At the cellar door, you can chose between a variety of popular tasting trays or create your own tasting. The winery is well-known for complex premium wines that marry the distinctive fruit character of Hawke’s Bay grapes with the subtle nuances obtained from the use of traditional French winemaking techniques. There is also the opportunity to try the acclaimed Church Road Cuve Series and to purchase some rare vintages, popular vintages and wine accessories. The Cellar Door is open from 9am to 5pm every day. Tours take place at 10am, 11am, 2pm and 3pm. Cost is NZ$7.50 per person, free for children under 18.

We thoroughly enjoyed our meal at the restaurant. In our experience, the restaurant serves some of the best wine and food in Hawke’s Bay. Executive chef, Malcolm Redmond, is renowned for creating mouth-watering menus that wouldn’t look out of place at any of the world’s top restaurants. We dined indoors because the weather was cold and wet but in better weather al fresco dining is available. Our meal cost NZ$46 for two which is more than we would normally pay for lunch but we remember it with pleasure two months afterwards. The restaurant is open 11am to 3pm daily. Bookings are advised (Tel: 845 9140).

Brookfields Vineyards was founded in 1937. The winery was purchased by the current owner, Peter Robertson, in 1977 and he has since transformed Brookfields into a leading winery for New Zealand premium wines.

Our visit was restricted to a wine tasting but we took the opportunity to look around the winery, cellar and restaurant. We were very impressed. The history of the place is revealed in the hand-made concrete blocks used to build the winery and the cellar in the 1930s. These hand-made blocks create the perfect environment for aging great wines and keeping the cellar cool during Hawke’s Bay’s hot summers. We had no problem with the heat as we visited on a bleak day during winter but somehow there was a welcoming warmth about the whole place.

Peter Robertson told us that the Brookfields winemaking philosophy is to make fruit-driven wines that are enjoyable in their youth, go well with food and for those who can resist temptation, wines that respond well to cellaring. "It is my strong belief that superior wine comes from superior fruit, great wines are made in the vineyard. At Brookfields, we whole bunch press all our white wines and all our reds are barrel aged", he said.

A wine tasting at Brookfields is more than just a chance to sample some wines. Peter shares his philosophies, stories and jokes with guests as he light-heartedly debunks some of the myths associated with wine. It’s a lot of fun but there is a serious side to it as he wants guests to leave more informed than when they arrived. He believes that knowledge is an important part of wine appreciation. We sampled a chardonnay, a riesling and a pinot gris then moved on the reds – a cabernet sauvignon, merlot and syrah. We most enjoyed a gold-label cabernet merlot then discovered that this wine wins awards and accolades each vintage.

Peter Robertson says wine should always enhance the food with which it is served. At lunch the pairing of cuisine and wine is paramount. We saw the menu and wine suggestions but unfortunately could not stay. We also saw the evening function center where guests are surrounded by barrels of wine maturing in the racks and an outstanding collection of Piera McArthur paintings in a series called ‘Aspects of Music’. It was all most impressive. Winery hours are 11am-4.30pm daily. Lunches daily.

Established in 1851 by the French Marist religious order, Mission Estate Winery is New Zealand’s oldest winemaker. From a public point of view, the attractions are the cellar door, the restaurant and the wine tours, and, of course, the great location and fascinating history that is seen by every visitor.

The French missionaries arrived in 1838 and in 1851 a mission station was established between Napier and Hastings. In 1858, the missionaries moved to land at Meeanee and a major community was established. Vines were planted to produce both sacramental and table wine and the first commercial sales were recorded in 1870. In 1880, a new two-storied house known as the Big House was built and in 1897 the 800-hectare Mission Estate was purchased. For 13 years, the brothers traveled each day from Meeanee to work the new land where a small orchard and some vines were planted.

What you see today is the result of a decision made in 1910 to move the Big House to Mission Estate. The building was cut into 11 sections and rolled on logs and pulled by traction engines in a two-day journey. Thus Church Road became the center of winemaking activities and the seminary for training priests. By 1935 there were 80 students in residence but since 1991, all have moved to Auckland. What remains is Hawke’s Bay’s largest independent winery, with a reputation as a producer of consistent quality, value for money wines.

We tried a chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, Riesling,and pinot gris before moving on to the reds – a cabernet merlot, merlot and jewelston syrah. My favourite was probably the 2001 jewelston syrah with its deep, vibrant colour and aroma and structure achieved from the oak maturing. It has cellar potential of five years. The tasting cellar is open 8.30-5.50 Monday to Friday, 8.30-7.00 Friday and Saturday and 10.30-4.30 Sunday. Public tour times are 10.30 and 2.00 Monday to Thursday with an extra 6pm tour on Friday and Saturday.

We were unable to stay for a meal, but I decided on what I would chose after a quick look at the menu. How does the following sound? Mini loaf served with olive oil, dukkah, and hummus (NZ$6). Fresh herb and nut encrusted fish with spinach and balsamic, olive oil mash and vermouth cream sauce (NZ$20). Rich chocolate parcel served with valrhona chocolate mousse and orange and cardamom ice cream.