Treetops Activities - Wine Tasting

New Zealand has a long history of wine growing, dating back a century to the arrival of vintners as immigrants from central Europe. The first vineyards were created north-west of Auckland but today, while some of the longest-established wineries still maintain a presence in the area, the major wine-growing regions of the country are mostly further south – from Gisborne to the southern South Island. Of these regions the wine-growing areas of Auckland, Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay are within easy reach of Treetops by helicopter.

Most of the vineyards are open to the public, many serving food as accompaniment to their own wine, and a day spent wine tasting would well-reward the connoisseur.

It would be an impossible task to list the individual merits of the various wineries here. Suffice it to say that not only do many New Zealand vineyards enjoy an international reputation and produce wines that are among the best in the world but also that many of the best – eg, Craggy Range, Te Mata, Sileni – can be accessed from Treetops. However, a few pointers may serve to direct you to some of the speciality winemakers.

For port and sherry enthusiasts a trip to the tiny west Auckland based, family-owned vineyard of Mazuran’s is a must. A deliberate policy of not growing too large means that, even within New Zealand their world gold-medal-winning fortified wines are not well known or widely available.

New Zealand is the home of some excellent champagne-style wines. While several vineyards produce a sparkling wine, the winery of one of the best known, Lindauer, is to be found at the McDonalds (Montana) Winery on the outskirts of Napier in Hawke’s Bay. And, for anyone with an appreciation of fine cider, the Gisborne region is home to the gold-medal-winning cider, which is exported throughout the world.