Peacock Sky Vineyard — Restaurant in North Island

This was my first time to this venue and I went in high spirits with a couple of friends who had been previously. We were doing the degustation wine tasting. The website states "prebooking is required" so my friend had phoned to book. When we arrived we were shown to the tasting area. I asked for some seats as we wanted to sit and enjoy the tasting. Stools were located and Gemma commenced with the tasting. Her speel was well-practiced and pleasant. The mini morsels were well-paired with the wines. Next minute Connie the owner walks in. My other friend (not the one who booked) had brought back a dish for Connie that her cake had been on, "Here's your dish back, thanks, the cake was lovely" - nice compliment there for Connie from my friend. Connie then goes into a weird rant about how that friends tour bus had been in earlier blah blah (cake dish friend) and then says, "did your friend tell you what she said?" (gestures to the friend who made the booking) and then LAUNCHES INTO AN UGLY DIATRIBE about how when booking my friend had been at first unwilling to pay over the phone "even though that's our policy". My booking friend has been listening patiently and then points out "I've been a couple of times previously and never been made to pre-pay over the phone" Connie: "Well, we've been doing it this way for quite some time, when were you last in?" Booking-friend: "2 weeks ago". NOTE: It doesn't say anywhere on their website that you must PRE-PAY for the tasting experience. It simply says "pre-booking is required". What my friend had tried to point out over the phone was that she could understand taking credit card details to hold in case of a no-show but she thought that if it was a group coming who all wanted to pay seperately, and maybe buy a couple of bottles afterward, then, unless you're a company doing a tour, it is a bit unfair to expect the person booking to have to front up with the money beforhand. Anyway, regardless of what my friend thought she had agreed to pay when making the booking with the booker (not Connie). So she had done what they wanted. They had her money, and yet here was Connie, the owner/manager ripping into her, acting like a raving lunatic, in front of her guests. It was unprofessional IN THE EXTREME. We were only two wines in so we had to sit there awkwardly until she'd finished her rant and stalked off and then Gemma recommenced with the speel and wine pouring. I couldn't enjoy it after that which was a pity as the friend who booked had shouted me the experience as a treat. We finished. We left. I certainly won't be back. The wine was nice but so are all the other wines at all the other waiheke wineries. Mudbrick has better wine/food and spectacular views. Passage Rock is further to travel but the food and wine is just as good as Peacock Sky but the hospitality is a thousand times more welcoming and the lush surrounds are way nicer than the bush scrub and gorse that houses Peacock Sky. After our horrendous experience at Peacock Sky we went to 372 down on the Strand at Onetangi Beach and even though they were due to close in an hour they welcomed us warmly, showered us in hospitality, exceptional wine and food and I have to say Helen who is also the owner manager of 372 is the complete opposite of Connie. She is cool, calm, collected. She and her staff are the best hospo team on the island. If you're looking for seaviews, fab food and service then go to 372. Steer clear of Peacock Sky. Gemma was professional and pleasant but it couldn't make up for her hideously vulgar and embarrassing boss. Tip for Connie: Leave your staff to run the restaurant and just steer clear. Hot heads like you ruin your venues reputation. You are devaluing that place by...

I very rarely do more than a short comment on most places we go. I am going to make an exception for this truly wonderful little gem we found in the middle of Waiheke island which is about a 45 minute ferry ride from Auckland New Zealand. My wife and I had a couple days to kill in Auckland before starting a 14 day LOTR tour and signed up at the iSite company on the pier by the Crab Shack for an afternoon wine tour on Waiheke. It included the ferry ride and 4 wineries. While the other 3 wineries were ok, Peacock Sky stood out. Most of the grapes grown in Waiheke come from vines from France and we have found that we do not particularly enjoy the Bordeaux style of wine. The thing we noticed with Peacock Sky was their wines had a hint of Bordeaux without being over powering. Their tasting included a pairing of very small items from soup to a chocolate brownie. All went amazingly well with the 4 different wines they were sampling. Here's where things got interesting. It turns out that the owner is also an amazingly accomplished chef. The item she paired with their Pinot Gris was a wonderful Green Curry soup. We had purchased bottles of two of their wines (Malbec-Merlot blend and Cabernet sauvignon) and I commented that I wished I could have also purchased some of the soup. The gentleman who did the tasting handed me the owners card and said she would answer if I emailed her which I did when we got back to our hotel. When I checked my mail the next morning there was a reply with the recipe for the soup and an invitation if we were still on the island to come back for lunch and she would personally prepare the soup for us. How could we refuse? So another ferry and taxi ride and we're back at the winery. The staff knew we were coming and took us to a table in their restaurant and let the owner (Connie Festa) know we were there. She was absolutely wonderful. We spent the next 3 hours tasting pretty much every wine we had not tried the day before as well as several items from her restaurant menu. Outstanding were the Green Curry soup, the salmon gravlax starter and braised New Zealand lamb shank which was crispy fall off the bone wonderful. We finished up with berry sorbet and coconut mousse. Overall the best taste combination we can remember, ever. Which is a lot to say. Connie and her staff work really hard to make your experience there memorable and I would be amazed if you walked away from there not feeling the same as we did. Our mouths...

I attended a hen's party at Peacock Sky Vineyard. The spread was gorgeous; it had a couple of cheeses, hummus, some rather bland meatloaf, roasted red peppers which appeared to come from a jar but added a pretty color, salami, dried apricots, cranberry chutney, bread, crackers and a couple of other items I likely can't recall.

Regarding the wine, the chardonnay was interesting specifically because the malo-lactic process wasn't taken to full intensity. It was a pretty chardonnay but IMO it's over priced. The remaining tastings were unmemorable but drinkable.

For the Hen's party they put together a four stage quiz on wine. The questions were very advanced for a Hen's party. They did offer a prize at the end but it took quite a bit of our time.

The winery may be great for couple looking to enjoy a quiet tasting. Although they offer services for Bachelorette Parties they're not actually prepared nor do they have the right attitude to take on such an event. We were in a large room which was vacant when we arrived. The event was pre-arranged and we were expected to be there for 2.5 hours. About an hour into the party a couple took a seat, they appeared to also be enjoying themselves. The quiz had just ended and they gave the group a prize. The volume wasn't unreasonable considering the event and the conversation was pretty much what you'd expect for such a celebration. When a picture was taken with one of the props supplied by the maid of honor, we were told to leave. It was truly disappointing.

Although Peacock Sky provides the option for Bachelorette celebrations, it's not an appropriate venue. This is definitely a better selection for couple's or small groups of individuals who want a pretty location but aren't too fussed...