Mudbrick Vineyard

Waiheke Island > Mudbrick Vineyard

16/20

126 Church Bay Road, Oneroa, Waiheke Island, New Zealand

Open 10am to 5pm, 7 days, hours may be restricted in winter months, call to confirm
Cards MC,V, AE

Tasting Bench

The Verdict

To "Cellarbrate": Amazing outlook (recommend a late afternoon visit), beautiful garden setting, tasting can be done outdoors at your own pace

To "Wine about": Relatively expensive tasting fee (although we found this policy to be fairly standard on Waiheke Island), however it is refundable on purchase of 3 bottles

How many bottles did we buy: 2

Suitable for: Couples, Groups, overseas visitiors and Families

Visited May 2016 (weekday)

Getting There

Country

State/Province

Region

Accessibility

New Zealand

North Island

Waiheke Island

Paved road with 100m gravel driveway. An approximate half hour walk from the centre of Oneroa and 40 minutes from the passenger ferry. Walk is reasonably flat

Upon Arrival

Parking

Setting

Commercial/Boutique

Ambiance

Airconditioning/Fireplace

There are a lot of gravel carparks, however this vineyard also has a popular restaurant and is the most popular wedding venue in New Zealand so carparking could be a problem at times. We do note, however, that they are currently in the middle of creating additional car parking to combat this

The cellar door has an American barn feel, set amongst beautiful potager gardens with many herbs and vegetables that are used in the restaurant. The view is amazing, looking over the gulf back towards the city of Auckland which looks sensational day and night

Boutique

The tasting room feels a bit like a cave with low ceilings and exposed beams and it is actually built into the side of the hill which adds to the feel. The tasting room is not very big, but they do have some adjacent rooms designed for large groups (of which there are plenty) or you can do your tasting outside. There are also plans to renovate and extend the tasting room in 2017

No/Yes

Tasting Experience

Number of wines on tasting

Particular wines or varietals known for

Wait time

Knowledge of wines

Staff attitude

Winery Tour Offered

Tasting seating available at counter

Tasting sheet/order form provided for notes

5 per tasting menu (up to 14 in total)

Velvet

There was no wait time, which was good given there were a number of small groups completing tastings. We do understand, however, that it can get particularly busy during the peak months of December-February

Good knowledge of the wines

Friendly and talkative

No, but they do offer vineyard tours including tasting 3 wines. Minimum of 10 people and must be booked in advance

There was no seating at the tasting bench but we were encouraged to take our tastes outside and sit on the outdoor chairs and take in the amazing views

There were tasting sheets available

Food Offering

Yes/No

Restaurant/Café/Tasting platter

Yes

There is a highly regarded restaurant on site plus there was a garden/bar menu that you could order from while completing your tasting. We dined at the restaurant on one of the nights of our stay and enjoyed our meal very much

Hip Pocket

Price range of wines

Tasting Fee

Refundable on purchase?

Tour Fee

Delivery cost per dozen

Club Membership with Discounts etc

$26-$140

$10 or $20 for 5 wines depending on if you do the standard or premium tasting

Yes, upon purchase of 3 bottles

$15 per person

$14 Auckland - $27 South Island

Velvet Society, discounts on events and wine for commitment to purchase 6 bottles of Velvet wine a year. There is also a 10% discount offered for case purchases

Other features, facilities and offerings

Gift Shop

Toys/play area for kids

Dog friendly

By the way...

Extensive gift shop including toys, wine accessories and deli products

Yes, colouring pack can be requested from the tasting bench

Yes, outside only and on a leash

This is one of the most picturesque cellar doors we have been to, and is therefore a tourism favourite. It wasn't overly busy when we were there, but it's definitely geared towards it and we understand it can get particularly busy during December-February. This cellar door really makes the most of their views and it is a great spot to while away the afternoon and watch the sun go down over the gulf and Auckland

cellar doors suitable for large groups, wineries suitable for large groups, wineries suitable for families, cellar doors suitable for families, child friendly cellar doors, child friendly wineries, dog friendly wineries, dog friendly cellar doors, pet friendly cellar doors, pet friendly wineries, cellar doors with outdoor seating, wineries with outdoor seating, wineries with fireplace, cellar doors with fireplace, cellar doors with water views, wineries with water views, wineries with vineyard views, cellar doors with vineyard views, vineyard tours offered, cellar doors with parking, wineries with parking, wineries with food, cellar doors with food, cellar doors with café, wineries with café, wineries with restaurant, cellar doors with restaurant, cellar doors with outdoor dining, wineries with outdoor dining, wineries with gift shop, cellar doors with gift shop