Waiheke Island

Waiheke Island, also referred to as "the Wine Island" is an approximate 35 min passenger ferry ride (or a little over an hour on the car ferry) from Auckland.  The island is home to over 20 cellar doors and offers a surprisingly extensive range of wine varietals.

​The region is historically best known for it's Bordeaux-style blends, but is now increasingly known for its Syrah and Chardonnay, while also offering an extensive range of other varieties of both red and white wines. 

The cellar doors in the region are very much focussed around enjoying the surrounding views, with many of the tastings able to be done outdoors.  One thing to note when visiting Waiheke Island Wineries is that all but one of the cellar doors charge a tasting fee.  Some of these are by the glass, some by flight, some include accompanying food bites and some are refundable on purchase.  While we have set out the approximate fees for the cellar doors we have visited, it may pay to check in advance if this is a consideration.  We also note that many of the cellar doors have summer and winter opening hours and during the winter hours, many are only open on or around weekends.  Again, it may pay to check opening times before planning a visit.

Many of the wineries also have food offerings, including some very well regarded fine dining restaurants.  There are also a number of dining options in the various towns spread around the island.  Some of the restaurants we visited included Cable Bay, Mudbrick, Casita Miro, Poderi Crisci, Te Whau and Te Motu and the food was excellent on all occasions.  For more casual options try Charlie Farleys or Wai Kitchen, both of which have amazing beach views.

Getting around the Island is relatively easy and while the wineries are quite spread out, there are a number of clusters whereby there are 2 or 3 cellar doors within close proximity of each other, so planning day trips is quite simple.  You can also walk between a number of the wineries, if you wanted to leave the car either at home, or in the one spot for the day.  Other means of transport on the Island include both an Island Bus and a Wine Bus, where you can hop on and off at various points on the Island.  A number of the cellar doors also have helicopter pads, with various helicopter packages available. 

There are also a number of very picturesque walking (or tramping) tracks around the Island....a good way to work off some of the delicious food and wine on offer and take in some of the amazing views that Waiheke offers!

While on Waiheke Island we stayed at Cable Bay Views, which is a great spot within easy walking distance of 3 highly regarded cellar doors and the town of Oneroa.