NZWINEPRO® — Attraction in Ōrākei

Boutique Private Wineries Tour of Matakana Scenic Coast is a Must!

I had a short holiday in Auckland with 2 friends and wanted to include a day wine tour but didn't want the hassle of hiring a car and not being able to enjoy the tastings.

We stumbled across NZWinePro's website and booked a day tour of Auckland wineries. Communication was fast, friendly and efficient and everything was sorted very quickly.

Our guide, John, picked us up from our hotel on time and in a very nice, clean, and well appointed 4WD. John was an absolute delight and very knowledgeable about wines and the region and it's history. He stopped in various places to show us little gems around the coast - lots of things we would never have known to look for if we had driven ourselves. One of my friends on the tour is from Auckland and said she had no idea about all the little places to go and things to see.

It was lovely to have a private tour and not have to deal with other tourists. John was also able to include impromptu stops for us as required.

The tour included several stunning wineries and cheese makers, an amazing lunch, some boutique shopping and some stops at historic sites and places of natural beauty along the journey. The portions at the wine tastings were all very generous - I have done many wine tours in Australia and they only give you a tiny sip! All of the tastings John took us to were generous in size and wineries were well informed ahead of our visit and ready to receive us for a personal tasting with the winery owners. John was also able to advise us on customs issues what we could and could not take back to Australia in our luggage. He also had access to a fridge if we needed to keep anything chilled rather than stored in a hot car (less of an issue for us as it was May but definitely necessary in Summer).

I can't recommend this tour enough - our host John was a delight, value for money was outstanding and we had the most wonderful day. And of course, NZ wines are outstanding - we bought quite a few bottles to enjoy back home. I will be recommending him to my friends and...

John M., our wine tour guide and owner of this Auckland wine tour was perfect! First off he was able to pick us up at our hotel not too far away from the Sky Tower which was prearranged and messaged before the tour started. This wine tour was 6 hours, visited 3 wineries and the black sand beach to see the Garret birds and included a perfect lunch. John has spent over 23+ years in the tour business and has extensive wine making knowledge, he was the perfect wine tour guide. During the tour, John was able to thoroughly explain the wine making process and how the different regions of NZ had the different climates and grew different grapes.

The three wineries we visited were in the Kumeu area of Auckland. All were smaller wineries but all were different than each other. John had a good rapport with the wineries so everything was taken care of and the pours were awesome (5 different wines, 3 wineries, 15 different wines in total). John even took us on a behind the scenes tour of Kumeu Winery (the best part of the tour)! We had lunch at the Landing at Riverhead and was able to pick a nice NZ steak for lunch (anything extra was on you). The tour comes with lunch and you’re able to choose from a variety of dishes. Even though the weather was a bit rainy, John took us to see the Garret birds at Muriwai Beach (November is egg laying season), before heading back to Auckland CBD. Overall an awesome wine tour, we were lucky to have John to ourselves for the tour. Book this tour, you won’t be disappointed. We are visitors from Los Angeles in Auckland for the...

Today, we arrived into AKL at 0600 and got to spend our first day in NZ with John, on the Piha Beach, Karekare Falls and wine tour. We enjoyed and were very impressed with the wealth of knowledge that John possesses about New Zealand as a whole from the foliage and fauna, the climate, the economy, the special properties of manuka honey and his extensive experiences and knowledge about the wine making process and much more. It was a day of spectacular scenery and interactive learning about NZ. Piha Beach is a beautiful, secluded beach to visit and the short hike to Karekare Falls was lovely. We enjoyed our wine tasting with Tyler at the multi generational family owned Soljans winery, where we got to taste NZ’s famed Sauvignon Blanc and the unique Pinotage. We got to have a delicious lunch in the Bistro, where I enjoyed the Snapper fish, mussels and lemon risotto and paired with the recommended Pinot Gris. My husband enjoyed the fish and chips paired perfectly with the Sauvignon Blanc. Afterwards, we went to the gorgeous West Brook winery and tasted wine on the outdoor patio while looking out to the beautiful views of the vineyards and pond. It was a wonderful way to spend our first day in NZ, a balanced day of beautiful scenery and wine. At the end of the day, I felt that it was a day well spent, with John as our guide. I feel a deeper and meaningful appreciation for New Zealand. Thank you John for a memorable day and for sharing your love and passion for...