Vineyards Honey and Black Sand Beaches from Auckland
Description
Monday to Friday enjoy a behind the scenes tour and tasting at Kumeu River Wines. See how they ferment their wines in 228 litre French Burgundian barriques. Established in 1944 they specialize in Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir and Cremant. Next taste wine and take lunch at Soljans Vineyard Restaurant established in 1937. Time is allocated to enjoy a superb open menu one course lunch, including vegetarian options from their excellent Ala Carte menu. Please note lunch costs and beverages with lunch are NOT included and are at the travellers own expense. Relax with a side trip through beautiful traditional rolling farmland to visit the West Coast Muriwai black sand beach settlement. See spectacular views of the Tasman Sea. Last we visit " The Hunting Lodge Lawn Bar" for wine or beer boards depending on your preference. To finish taste samples of the famous Arataki and Manuka Doctor medical antibiotic mono-floral Manuka MGO/UMF honeys which are available to purchase.
Tour Options
Itinerary
enjoy a behind the scenes tour and tasting at the winery owned and operated by the Brajkovich family. See how they ferment their wines in 225 litre French Burgundian barriques. Pioneers in New Zealand winemaking since 1944 they specialize in producing Estate Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Gewurtztraminer, Merlot and Pinot Noir only from grapes grown on their own ten Kumeu and Huapai Vineyards. Mate’s barrique fermented Chardonnay is considered one of the best wines in the country. After gaining his bachelors degree in Oenological Science in Australia the wine maker Michael Brajkovich MW became New Zealand’s first Master of Wine and has been a Chief Judge of the Air New Zealand Wine Competition.
Taste a selection of red, white, rose' or sparkling wines as well as their 10 year aged Tawny Port. Soljan also have an enviable repuation fo their vintage Methode Traditionelle.Then enjoy and open menu one course lunch with tea, coffee or juice from their comprehensive lunch menu
Muriwai Beach is a West Coast black sand beach settlement famous for surfing, black iron sand and spectacular coastal scenery. Our stop includes spectacular views up the coastline and a visit to the see the nesting Gannet Sea Bird Colony. Please note these are migratory birds and there are none to see from May to July
The Hunting Lodge Winery is a modern approach to a country venue that showcase their own wine and a range of artisan Beers and Gins Included in the tarrif is a wine board including 4 Hunting Lodge Wines or a Beers board including 4 artisan or local Kraft beers
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
Once you have been given a pickup time and pickup location, you must acknowledge this through email or the Viator App. Failure to do this may result in your booking being cancelled without notice. If you have not received a formal pickup confirmation and time from us 24 hours prior to departure please contact us direct or have a Viator agent do so. Tickets indicate a general final departure time and may (or may not) be the time scheduled for your hotel pickup if there are multiple collections.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Minimum age is 18 years
- A minimum of 2 people per booking is required
Reviews(99)
The Vineyards, Honey and Black Sand Beaches tour we did with John was one of the best things we did on our trip to Auckland. The tour length was just right, and all the stops were interesting and enjoyable. Our lunch was lovely, as well. Not only was John very knowledgeable about Auckland and the surrounding areas, he is truly an expert on all things wine. (And an all around interesting person.) I have done many wine tastings and winery tours in the US and internationally, but never one this interesting and informative. In addition to the wineries and our lunch, we also enjoyed the gorgeous Muriwai cliffs and beaches. We were also able to see - and hear - the gannets in their breeding colony on the cliffs. You can’t go wrong with his tour. Thank you John!
Hi Cate, Thanks for your fantastic review and I'm so pleased you considered your tour one of the best things you did while you were in Auckland. Being one of the only wine tour guides with a background in wine before I started my business 24 years ago certainly gives me a degree of elevated knowledge not only about New Zealand Wine, but wine styles and regions from all over the world, many of which I have visited more than once. So thanks for your generous praise and thanks for posting your positive feedback for others to read on TripAdvisor. I hope you'll follow NZWINEPRO® on Instagram or Facebook to stay in touch Best regards- John McFarlane
What a great day we had on the North West Coast near Auckland! Our tour guide John was wonderful lively narrator. He knows about the Wine industry! We got a behind the scenes wine tour! We had lovely food, all the cellar door staff were friendly and helpful! The black sand beach was beautiful in a desolate way! Recommend this tour!
Thanks for your great review. I am delighted the tour met with your best expectation and that all the inclusions and winery people treated you well. Muriwai is a dramatic place to visit all seasons... Halcyon in summer, ethereal and brooding in winter. I do hope you'll follow NZWINEPRO® on Instagram or Facebook to stay in touch Kindest regards John McFarlane
John was absolutely amazing! He was an extremely knowledgeable guide!! He had extensive knowledge of all of the wineries in the area. Our conversations with him were so informative. Do not hesitate to book an excursion with John! We had a fantastic day. Thank you John!
John is extremely knowledgeable about the production of wine. He has a personal relationships with wineries which allowed us exclusive access to a winery’s behind the scene production. You’ll come away with a new appreciation for how wine is produced. We had lunch at a beautiful winery, the food, and wine were very good. The staff were very friendly and courteous.We saw a wide range of beautiful country during the tour. John’s knowledge of the area was very informative. Be prepared to sample a lot of good New Zealand wine! This was the best tour during our two week cruise.
Our guide John was so knowledgeable, not only did we get to taste wine but we also got an education on the complex processes. So interesting and exciting to see the internal details of the winery. Thank you John for making the day special.
John is an exceptional guide for this experience. He possesses extensive knowledge of the city and wine, and he effectively communicated the estimated times for both his arrival and the return from the tour. We visited three different wineries, each of which exceeded our expectations. I highly recommend booking this tour, as it is sure to impress.
John gave us a great tour. The winery stops were excellent, lunch one of the best in NZ and the beach awesome. John is truly knowledgeable of the NZ wine regions and was the best guide ever!!
John our tour driver and driver was superb. Very knowledgeable about the wine industry and very familiar with the 3 wineries we visited. Jon above and beyond expectations as he went out of his way to find original Hokey Pokey ice cream and fresh cherries.
We’ve done wine tours all over the world, but this one was absolutely the best because our guide John knew everything about wine making he was terrific . he took us to the Gannet bird colony at Muriwai Beach which was loaded with gannets and their young. He even stopped at a fruit stand to get us cherries. Then he explained everything about the New Zealand honey called. Manuka, John made this Tour very interesting from the start to the finish. Terrific guide.
Wonderful day with our host John. Highly recommend this tour to anyone living or visiting the Auckland area. John's knowledge about winemaking was first rate.
Hey B, Thanks for your excellent feedback. I'm glad I could imbibe some of my wine career knowledge for you. I hope you'll follow NZWINEPRO® on Insta or Facebook to stay in touch I really appreciate your positive feedback. Kind regards - John McFarlane
