Indulge your senses, experience the best
of three premier wine regions: Hawkes Bay, Wairarapa
and Marlborough. Taste the cuisine
sensations of leading chefs, discover culinary and vintner secrets, savor fresh
flavors and local produce. Wander through vineyards and gardens, while
enjoying
freedom for individual pursuits.
Tantalizing wine and food experiences (included in tour):
* savor a wine and food matching dinner at Craggy Range
* try the wine-makers craft and blend your own vintage
* lunch at Te Awa vineyard restaurant
* meet top winemakers and sample their award-winning wines
* embrace gourmet heaven while dining in contemporary,
leading-edge restaurants
* cruise Cook Strait by ferry from Wellington to Queen
Charlotte Sound and Pictor
* relish each region's fresh produce - visit local food
manufacturers and cheese makers
* all breakfasts, one vineyard lunch and four gourmet dinners
included.
DAY 1 Napier - Hawkes Bay (D)
Transfer to your hotel on arrival at Napier airport, the heart of this major
food and wine region. Heritage Winery, Mission Estates, await you.
Lunch among the vines and visit Te Awanga's coastal vineyards.
Tonight, enter food-lovers' territory at Craggy Range Vineyard's Terroir
Restaurant for a celebratory dinner.
DAY 2 Hawkes Bay (B,L)
Try the
wine-makers' craft - learn how wines are blended before lunching at Te Awa's
vineyard restaurant. Sample wines at vineyards in the renowned Gimblett
Gravels region this afternoon. Hawkes Bay is New Zealand's food basket -
orchards, olive groves and market gardens abound. Local gourmet food
producers manufacture some wonderful fresh products - sample some this
afternoon, perhaps concluding with a visit to Napier and the famed art deco
trail.
DAY 3 Hawkes Bay - Wairarapa (B,D)
Drive through Hawkes Bay's orchards and gardens to
the Wairarapa. Indulge in the wines of outstanding vineyards such as
Palliser and Martinborough Vineyards in this fine pinot noir region before
dining in Martinborough tonight.
DAY 4 Wairarapa - Marlborough (B,D)
It's just a short drive over the ranges to New Zealand's capital city, Wellington.
We sightsee in the city and visit Te Papa, the national museum, before taking
the ferry across Cook Strait and through the sheltered waters of Queen Charlotte
Sound to Picton. Welcome to Blenheim, Marlborough, and the world's premier
sauvignon blanc estates. This evening enjoy a fine dining experience at
the Hotel d'Urville.
DAY 5 Marlborough (B,D)
This morning we sample methode
traditionelle wines at Cellier Le Brun. Savor intense herbaceous
flavors at Hunters, Cloudy Bay and St. Clair, and visit other outstanding
vineyards including Seresin Estate. Tonight your farewell dinner showcases
local cuisine.
DAY 6 Blenheim (B)
Your odyssey concludes this morning with final tastings in the vineyards before
we transfer you to the airport.
OPERATES WITH MIN 2 PERSONS
SPECIALLY FOR GROUPS OF 10 OR MORE:
we can run a
this tour to suit your dates, with exclusive accommodation just for you and your party.
FOR ALL TOUR PARTICIPANTS:
we can make other arrangements
for you before and after the tour, including flights from the USA and/or within
New Zealand, with extensions to Australia.
DEPARTURE DATES (from Napier to Blenheim):
2008: 5 – 10 Jan; 26 – 31 Jan; 2 – 7 Feb; 23 – 28 Feb; 8 –
13 Mar; 22 – 27 March; 19 – 24 Apr.
10-15 Oct; 21-26 Nov;
12-17 Dec.
2009: 27 Jan - 1 Feb; 22-27 Feb; 7-12 Mar; 18-23 Apr.
PRICES: available on application at current exchange rate. Contact us for a list of guaranteed departures.
WINE TOURS AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND
PO Box 927136, San Diego Ca 92192-7136
Phone: 858-550 9696
E.mail: mike@winetoursaustralia-nz.com
In conjunction with Down Under Answers CST:207623340