The Essence of Waiheke Wine Tour
Description
Embark on a journey through Waiheke Island’s world-class wine country, where rolling vineyards meet breathtaking coastal views. Visit three of the island’s top wineries, tasting carefully curated selection of fine wines while soaking in the passion and expertise of local producers. As you travel between vineyards, sit back and enjoy a scenic drive with live commentary from your knowledgeable local guide. Discover the island’s history, geography, and culture, making each sip even more meaningful. After your wine tastings, unwind with a leisurely lunch at the award-winning Three Seven Two, on the stunning Onetangi beachfront. Savor delicious cuisine, complemented by a glass of Waiheke wine or a refreshing beer. Whether you're a wine connoisseur or looking for an unforgettable day, this tour offers a perfect blend of wine, discovery, and relaxation. Our close relationships with the local vineyards and expert guides ensure you will leave the Island loving it as much as we do
Tour Options
Itinerary
Ananda, Sanskirt meaning ‘bliss, pleasure and happiness’, provide personalised inspirational tours highlighting the very best of Waiheke. Our close relationships with local providers and highly-knowledgeable local guides ensure that visitors to the island have a memorable and enjoyable experience. Discover for yourself why Waiheke is world-renowned for its wines. Visit three of the Island's fine vineyards with one of our local guides, all of whom have completed a Bob Campbell Diploma course and are wine enthusiasts themselves. Vineyards will be chosen according to seasonal availability. Your guide will pick you up from the Fullers ferry ex-Auckland, or, if you are staying on the Island, from your accommodation (please contact us for a pick up time) On the way, stunning scenery is around every corner, and you will be entertained by your guide’s commentary on the history, geography, culture, people and produce of Waiheke. The tour includes a two-hour lunch stop at a village or beachside café, or, for a memorable gourmet experience, at one of our top vineyard restaurants. Lunch is at your own expense on the day. If you have somewhere inparticular in mind, please let us know at the time of booking, otherwise we will book you into one of our favorites. After lunch you will be be returned to your accommodation or to the ferry back to Auckland.
Mudbrick Vineyard for wine tasting. All venues are subject to availability and may be replaced with a different venue.
Kennedy Point Vineyard - All venues are subject to availability and may be replaced with a different venue.
Te Motu - All venues are subject to availability and may be replaced with a different venue.
Stop off here for lunch, a main and glass of wine - included in tour price. All venues are subject to availability and may be replaced with a different venue.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Minimum age is 18 years
- Minimum numbers apply ( 2 people) There is a possibility of cancellation after confirmation if there are not enough passengers to meet requirements. In the event of this occurring, you will be offered an alternative or full refund
- Tours may be cancelled if ferries are not running due to exteme weather. If canceled due to poor weather, you will be given the option of an alternative date or full refund
- Venues are all subject to availability and the itinerary is subject to change.
Reviews(197)
Our guide — Debbie — was friendly and knowledgeable of the island and the vineyards we visited. The natural beauty and delicious wines made for a fantastic day. Lunch was great, too. Would go back and do a combination of wine, art and gardens.
Thank you for your lovely review, so pleased to hear you had a fantastic day out with Deb! We would love to have you join us again, we can certainly show you some different vineyards, beautiful gardens and artist galleries, among other attractions on the island.
What a gorgeous day we had! From the moment Grant greeted us at the ferry until he dropped us off, his enthusiasm for Waiheke was infectious. The land and sea are beautiful and the weather was perfect. Our first stop was Mudbrick Cellar Door. The view was stunning and the wine bright and tasty. I would have liked to have stayed there longer, just based on the view. But we had more in store! Our next stop was Te Motu where we not only had great wine, but freshly baked bread and a conversation with one of the Dunleavys, the winery owners. We ended our tasting at Stonyridge, which has hosted many celebrities over the years as evidenced by the photos on the wall. Our lunch was a delicious stop at Three Seven Two, a beachfront restaurant with choices of lamb, seafood, and pasta. The day flew by and it definitely made our memory jar. Big thanks to Grant for the commentary and welcome.
Thank you for the awesome review, so many great wineries as part of the Essence Tour! Really pleased to hear you enjoyed them all and that Grant showed you a perfect day on Waiheke.
Pick up on Waiheke was good, mini bus was comfy and it is easy to get the ferry across from Downtown Auckland. We visited 3 wine cellars, all quite different from one another and the staff at each were very informative and interesting. We were unlucky to have really heavy rain all day, but this is a good way to spend a wet day as we were in the minibus or wine cellars most of the time. We did miss some of the stunning views and I imagine the island is really beautiful in the sunshine. The only improvement would be if the driver could give additional information about both wines and the island. An enjoyable day which is well worth doing.
Great way to enjoy some of Waihekes vineyards in a casual manner, plus a yummy lunch to end trip. Small group so make new friends & enjoyed every minute of trip. Our tour guide Martin was exceptional.
Great tour overall! Nick was an excellent guide, and all of the wineries we visited were fantastic. One suggestion would be to either offer light snacks at each stop or schedule lunch midway through the tour rather than at the end. Otherwise, I’d recommend bringing your own snacks to hold you over between tastings.
Excellent tour guide, Grant. What a fun afternoon, drinking great wines, beautiful views and meeting people from all over the world.
Thank you for your great review, so pleased to hear you enjoyed the Essence of Waiheke Wine Tour. Grant will be so pleased to hear your comments.
We were picked up from our hotel at 11am and our guide Nico drove directly to Mudbrick Winery, this is one of the largest on the island and you can see how they became it (nice location, good wines and very professional) Next was a visit to the oldest winery Goldie Estate, quite a contrast from the first, however an enjoyable stop. Last, but certainly the best, Casa Miro, it is a piece of Spain in NZ, You would think you were in Parc Guell with all the Gaudi type architecture, the host Aries was knowledgeable and enthusiastic and brought all the wines to life. Highly recommend this winery and the food on tables looked excellent, alas ours was only a tasting. Next was lunch at 372 Restaurant, again very good food and great location. This tour was very good and perfect in a maximum number of 8 people. Highly recommend this tour and Nico as our guide.
Thank you for your lovely detailed review, we are pleased to hear you enjoyed the variation of the vineyards on the Essence tour. We agree, Casita Miro transports you to somewhere else, it is such a special venue. Thank you for highly recommending the tour, along with Nico as a guide.
Michael our guide was very knowledgeable and funny. The tour was well organised & professional.
Thank you for your great review of the Essence of Waiheke Wine Tour, we are so pleased to hear you enjoyed the tour with Michael.
We enjoyed our visit to Waiheke Island. Craig our tour guide was informative and very pleasant to be with! The wines were interesting. Some were just good but others were a surprise. The lunch stop at the end was amazing! Our favorite winery was Mudbrick with Jake!
Thank you for your great review, we are pleased to hear you had a great experience of our Essence of Waiheke Wine Tour. The tour includes a varied selection of venues, along with different types of wines, so something to hopefully suit everyone's tastes. Mudbrick is always a firm favorite, glad to hear it was yours too!
Our tour guide Michael was very knowledgeable about Waiheke Island and kept the tour going at a nice relaxing and very fun pace. We visited 3 very beautifully located wineries with very good award winning wines. We were given 4 tastings at each winery and a wonderful lunch at a restaurant across the street from Onetangi Beach. The choice of wineries and lunch location and food quality, i had the venison which was perfectly prepared, puts this tour above the rest.
Thank you for your great review of the Essence of Waiheke Tour, we are so pleased to hear that you had an excellent experience with Michael. Thank you for holding us with such high regard and placing our tour above others.
