Spy Valley Wines | Winery + Tasting Room — Attraction in South Island

I've enjoyed many a spy valley wine over the years. Through the likes of the fine wine delivery co, glengarry, vinomofo etc I've been a happy purchaser many, many times. As such, when planning our Marlborough trip Spy valley was one of the first added to our "must visit" list. As we approached the immaculately laid out entrance, with a pretty damn awesome outdoor sculpture, my anticipation rose further. As it was a Monday, and no cruises were in, we were the only guests, so I hoped for a fairly personal experience. Alas, this was not the case. While the wines were fine, the pours were barely a soup spoon (at $10 for 4 tastings*) and the personal experience even less. The spiel was delivered by a disinterested millennial, with zero passion and no love for the subject. A couple of coworkers who passed by received far more animation and interaction. The overall feeling was that she just couldn't be bothered speaking with us. A memorized sentence or 2 was delivered per spoonful of wine, and then she withdrew. This was just 1 of the 14 tastings we've experienced in Marlborough so far, and easily the worst. In previous years we've visited central otago and martinborough, as well as visiting vineyards and cellar doors closer to home in kumeu, waiheke island and matakana. I've honestly never encountered someone less engaged as our spy valley hostess today. For a label that clearly spends a lot of time and resources on its brand, it's a shame that this one point of contact let's the whole experience down so badly. Especially as there are many other cellar doors close by where a better experience can be had for less. *I had the reserve tasting. A $5 for 5 tasting was also available. But I prefer to try wines not readily available at home, when...

We visited Spy Valley Winery while on one of our Norwegian Jewel excursions. I would highly recommend visiting this winery; the wines are excellent and the grounds are beautiful! Without question this was the best winery we visited in Australia and New Zealand. I liked that they focus on a few wines (about 9 or so...), which I believe allows them to produce a higher quality product. I wish that I had taken advantage of their free shipping offer for purchasing a case of wine, but we ran short on time. The good news is that Spy Valley Winery ships (many time at no cost) via a distributor to many countries, including the US where we live. BTW, Margaret did a great job as our tour guide. Definitely plan...

My girlfriend and I visited this place through Little Marlborough Wine tours and the wines were delicious. Becs the celler door manager was very professional and super informative in answering all our questions, while making the visit feel very special. The tasting area décor and set up is really well done , and the behind the scenes tour really showcased a clean and professional winery. The Envoy Pinot Noir and SB were some of the best wines we've tasted in NZ. Will recommend this...