Hawke's Bay

One of New Zealand’s oldest and most established wine regions, the Hawke’s Bay is also one of the country's largest wine producers.  Chardonnay is the main variety, but reds such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Syrah are also suited to the Bay's warm climate.Notable Hawkes Bay wine producers include Sileni, Church Road and The Mission – with over 30 other world-class wineries dotted around the region. A growing New Zealand tourist destination, the Hawke’s Bay is a food-connoisseurs dream – vineyards, olive groves, gourmet food producers and 

orchards all surround the main centres of Napier, Hastings and Havelock North. With a Mediterranean climate, the Hawke’s Bay is often referred to as the ‘Tuscany of  the South Pacific’. Wine tours, cellar-door tasting, al fresco dining, fresh produce markets, and the region’s stylish Art Deco architecture – this region is renowned for its culinary flair.

Gisborne

Located on the country's most easterly tip and closest to the international dateline, Gisborne boasts the world's most easterly vineyards and the first vines to see the sun each day. The region receives high sunshine hours on coastal plains that are sheltered from the west by a range of mountains. Soils include alluvial loams over sandy or volcanic subsoils of moderate fertility. Vineyards are predominantly sited on flats. Chardonnay occupies around half of Gisborne's vineyards and has lead Gisbornes grapegrowers and winemakers to christen their region the Chardonnay capital of New Zealand. The balance is planted in mostly white varieties, leaving red grapes a share of only 10%.

Marlborough

When the first Marlborough vines were planted in 1973 few people predicted that the region would become New Zealand's largest and best known winegrowing area in little more than 20 years. The distinctive pungency and zesty fruit flavours of the first wines captured the imagination of the country's winemakers and wine drinkers alike and sparked an unparalleled boom in vineyard development. Worldwide interest in Marlborough wines, particularly Sauvignon Blanc, has continued to fuel that regional wine boom. The free-draining, alluvial loams over gravelly subsoils in the Wairau and Awatere River valleys provides ideal growing conditions. Abundant sunshine with cool nights and a long growing season helps to build and