One of the main wine regions of New Zealand is Hawke’s Bay. Hawke’s Bay is located on the eastern side of the North Island. Not only does this area contain delicious wine, but it also boasts gorgeous coastline views. The following is a guide to wine tasting in Hawke’s Bay at some of the top wineries.
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. I may earn a commission at no cost to you!
TripAdvisor is a great place to start your hotel search. Search for the best New Zealand hotels here!
Elephant Hill
A rather newer winery that was established in 2003, Elephant Hill is a stunning winery that overlooks the Te Awanga coast. The facility contains a restaurant and a cellar door. Tastings cost $10 for six wines. That fee is waived with a bottle purchase.
Linden Estate Winery
Linden was a last-minute stop on the way out of town, but we ended up loving the wines. It is a small family-owned winery. Carrie, the person who did out tasting wine, spent a bit of time with us and was very good at explaining the various wines. Linden has a distributor in the United States, so we were able to order certain wines and get them shipped to our door for free! As tasting cost $5 for six wines, and it was waived if you bought a bottle.
Te Awa Winery
Te Awa Winery is unique because visitors can sample wines from a variety of wineries here. Te Awa, Eske Valley, Left Field, and Vidal are all part of the Villa Maria family. Each winery has different winemakers, but are owned by the same family. At the Te Awa Tasting Room, visitors can sample a variety of wines from the Villa Maria family at no cost. There is also a restaurant next to the tasting room if you get hungry!
Trinity Hill
Trinity Hill is located across the way from Te Awa. They began making wine in the 1980s. They are known for the Gimblett Gravels varietals. Visitors can pay $8 for a tasting of six wines, which is waived if you buy a bottle.
Villa Maria
Although not technically in Hawke’s Bay, some of its vineyards are located in the area. The Villa Maria tasting room is located near the Auckland airport and definitely worth a visit. They have some vines at the tasting room location. Visitors can choose to do a regular or a premium tasting and range from $10-$15 for a five wine tasting.
We wish we had been able to spend more time wine tasting in the Hawke’s Bay region. There were so many more wineries we did not get a chance to go to. I would recommend spending at least two nights in the region. The Airbnb we stayed at was amazing and I would highly suggest booking it. Also, make sure to check out the wine region of Central Otago on the South Island. What are your favorite wineries in the Hawke’s Bay region?
12 thoughts on “Wine Tasting in Hawke’s Bay”
Wow! Great info. Is there a tour that will take you to each winery or do you drive?
We drove because we had a rental car. If I had more time it would have been nice to do a tour.
This is one thing we really failed at when we visited NZ! Somehow I didn’t make it to a single wineries for a tasting. I did LOVE the Kiwi wine though, and I am pretty sure we had a fab Pino Gris from the Hawkes Bay area.
Ah well…I guess that gives both of us an excuse to go back and visit again. 🙂
Hahaha exactly. Thus why we have to visit again!
I definitely love a good wine tasting while traveling. I feel like it is an extra bonus when you have fabulous views to go along with the great wine!
Agreed! The views were so nice.
Adding this to the list of things to do when I visit NZ. Would have never thought of doing a wine tour there, but this really sounds like fun. Love all those pictures too.
I never would have though either but it was so fun.
Wine tasting is always a good thing! I can’t believe how cheap it is to taste the wines!
Yah. It was so crazy how inexpensive it was!
I love wine tasting! We haven’t been to Hawke’s bay yet but we will later this year! For now we absolutely loved the wine we tested in Waipara and also Marlborough 🙂
Pingback: Best Wine Regions in New Zealand: 7 Areas to Visit - Homeroom Travel