Wine tasting Tour – Marlborough New Zealand takes you around breathtaking landscapes made up of mountains and islands. Meanwhile, you enjoy the astonishing coastline with a glass of one of the world’s best wines in your hand. New Zealand offers the best views coupled with the best vineyards, all waiting for you on two of the country’s districts: Marlborough and Nelson.
For a journey filled with visits to wineries, start your route from the east at Blenheim, and continue west to Nelson. Over 60 km granting you the best wines and landscapes of New Zealand and the world.
Things to Do
Blenheim
The pleasant town of Blenheim is about a four-hour drive north of Christchurch and 25 km south of Picton. Surrounded by wineries and vineyards providing the main producers, here you will get the best samples of the award-winning Marlborough wines. Since there are many wine tours offered in Blenheim, you don’t have to worry about going on your own and getting lost. Of course, there are bicycle tours available if you want to work off any effect that sampling can cause you.
Montana
You should definitely start with Montana, a winery with a great visitor center that you can find out of town on Highway 1 to Kaikoura. This winery paved the way back in 1973 when they planted Marlborough’s first commercial vines. Since then, Montana’s fame has arisen, maintaining its leading position among New Zealand wines. This region offers many types of high-class wines, but it’s the Sauvignon Blanc that has given Marlborough the reputation for being one of the leading centers of wine production.
Queen Charlotte Sound
From Blenheim, the route snakes through the hills and heads to Picton, at the head of Queen Charlotte Sound. This region offers many exciting activities, allowing you to explore the area and take a break from all the wine-tasting. In this natural area, you can go sea kayaking and dolphin-watching. Besides, you can take a cruise on the mail boat that delivers packages to remote bays. If you’re a hiking lover, then you can walk along the Queen Charlotte Track.
Then, the Queen Charlotte Drive takes you to Havelock. As you head west, find yourself surrounded by secluded bays and hills covered with verdant forests. Once you reach Havelock, the mussel capital of New Zealand, you definitely should have a bowl of their famous mussels. Of course, a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc can’t be missed.
Nelson
Highway 6 will take you through foothills, a gorge at Perolus Bridge, small and cozy villages, and the mountainous cove of Croisilles Harbour. Finally, after sinking in the many landscapes of New Zealand, you reach Nelson. While the city offers a variety of things to to do and see, wine lovers always keep going south to Motueka. Here, boutique wineries lie close to one another in the slopes of the Moutere Hills. Filled with even more breathtaking landscapes, Nelson is the perfect way to end you high-class wine-tasting experience through New Zealand.
How to get there
There are different ways to get to Marlborough Sound, including a ferry ride that will take you to Picton from Wellington on North Island. You also have the option of starting your travel from Christchurch, South Island, home of the main international airport.
It’s not so complicated to have access to the Marlborough region from either Christchurch (South Island) or Wellington (North Island); you can take the Interislander ferry. Car rental is another option; you can rent a car in the cities’ airports and New Zealand’s roads are excellent for driving because they’re quiet. It’s also important for you to know that you can find a good range of accommodations throughout the area.
When to go
I especially recommend you to go to Marlborough in February so that you can be part of the amazing Marlborough International Wine Festival. The festival takes place on a site close to Fairhall Downs, another must-see winery. Heading to the north, you can’t miss the well-known Cloudy Bay and Hunter’s, which is popular for producing Sauvignon Blanc.
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