Waiheke Island Vineyard Tour

Waiheke Island is one of several islands accessible by ferry from downtown Auckland. Waiheke has a reputuation for beautiful beaches and great wine. We didn't get a chance to go to Waiheke while the weather was still warm enough for the beach, but I still really wanted to see the island. So, we decided to take a vineyard tour to experience the island's other main attraction besides the beach. We got to visit 3 of Waiheke's 26 vineyards. Apparently the climate on the island is similar to that in Bordeaux, France and thus the wine is supposed to be comparable as well.

The ferry ride took about 40 minutes and since it was a beautiful day, it was very enjoyable being out on the water. We went past Devonport (which was one of the first day trips we took here in New Zealand) as well as Motuihe Island (where we did the volunteer tree planting):

Here's Rangitoto Island (that's an extinct volcano):

Once we got to Waiheke, we boarded the vineyard tour bus. Our driver was pretty quirky and kept us entertained throughout the day with his commentary.

The first stop was at Stonyridge Vinegard, which mainly produces organic red wine. It is known as a "boutique vineyard," because of its small size. About 90% of their wine is sold before it is even bottled! We saw the winecellar, which was very small since they don't produce a large amount of wine. They pride themselves on their organic grapes, with no use of insecticides or herbicides. Here we sampled a chardonnay during our walk through the property and a cabernet merlot with our light lunch. We had sandwiches which were pretty good! There is also an olive grove on the property:

Our next stop was actually the olive oil factory where the olives from Stonyridge are sent to be turned into olive oil. At Rangihoua Estate, they have a machine which they use to produce their olive oil from their own olives, but they also allow the locals to bring in their olives as well (for a fee of course!). I found the tour of the olive oil factory really interesting actually! We saw the machine where they produce the oil and the woman explained to us how it worked. What I found most interesting was that they do not actually press the oil, but instead use a centrifuge to spin the crushed olive mixture so that it separates into 3 layers: the oil, the "fruit water," and the paste remnants. Then, since New Zealand is so eco-friendly, they feed the paste to grazing cows instead of discarding it as waste! (The machine is, of course, made in Italy!)We also learned about the different qualities of olive oil and what defines the oil as "extra virgin." The best part about the tour though were of course the tastings! Rangihoua is currently producing 4 different types of extra virgin olive oil, which differ in the types of olives used. They had bread for us to dip in the different oils, and they really all had distinct tastes! It was delicious!

Next, we continued on to Wild On Waiheke Vineyards. Here, I sampled a Savignon Blanc, a Rose, and a Cabernet Merlot. They also have a microbrewery as well, and we got to try their wheat beer, which I didn't particularly like, but did enjoy more than other wheat beers I have tried before. Here we also got to sample various dips and dressings, my two favorites of which were a rosemary infused balsamic vinegar and a wasabi mustard.

Our final stop was at Mudbrick Vineyards. This was perched way up on the hillside and had a BEAUTIFUL view back across the water to Auckland where, of course, you could see the Skytower. This vineyard had pretty gardens with lavender growing and the restaurant had outdoor seating. It had a very French feel to me. We first tried a Rose here, which was a Cabernet Savignon. I much prefered this Rose to the one at the previous place, which I found to be a little too sweet. (Yes, I'm actually learning a bit about wine and am able to pick up on the differences!) Here, we got to walk up through the vineyards and learned about how the grapes grow and what must be done to ensure that they crop is good. I found all of this very interesting! We tried two more wines here, both of which were red, very dry, and I didn't really care for either of them.

We then headed back to the bus and caught our ferry ride back to Auckland. I REALLY enjoyed the day and Waiheke was very beautiful. You can tell right away when you get onto the island that it is an upscale place. There were some beautiful houses and in general it just has an upmarket feel to it. It would definitely be a beautiful place to retire, and I'm sure many people have had that same idea. Apparently New Zealand's richest man (whose name I forget) lives on Waiheke. The island originally was a place where artists and others seeking an alternative lifestyle came to escape more mainstream society. But then, as the island became more discovered and built up, most of those people left and moved elsewhere. Regardless, the island was certainly very pretty and I had a very enjoyable day!