Wine, enjoyed in moderation, is a healthy food which enriches life.
Wine, Cuisine, History and Culture
12 Days in New Zealand
February 19 to March 2, 2023 ONLY 2 PLACES REMAIN
Register | Price | Itinerary | Trip Extension
Imagine summer in the vineyards of New Zealand. With its splendid climate, pure air, pristine environment and magnificent natural beauty, New Zealand is truly a feast for the senses. Join wine personality Steve Thurlow as he leads an excursion of discovery and enjoyment.
Visit wineries days before harvest with the vineyards rich with ripe grapes, marvel at some of the world's most beautiful natural scenery, visit whales at play in the Southern Ocean, learn how to prepare dishes the New Zealand way, dine in splendid settings at wineries with their owners, and soak up the hot summer sunshine.
Experience the spectacular scenery of both North and South Islands of New Zealand and South Australia, explore Maori culture, wander in streets of rural communities and shop for souvenirs.
In February, when we typically experience the depths of a Canadian winter, on the other side of the world summer is most pleasant in New Zealand. Can you imagine the difference between -22°C and +22°C?
Wine for Life presents an accompanied wine, food and
cultural visit to New Zealand.
We will explore the leading vineyards and wineries and be introduced
to New Zealand's unique cuisine.
New Zealand has developed a reputation for its
white wine grapes: chardonnay and especially sauvignon blanc.
More recently it has emerged as a producer of high quality reds from cabernet sauvignon, syrah and merlot. It is the exciting pinot noirs, however, that are currently gaining international interest the most. This tour will visit most of the major wine regions and will include many of the top producers of pinot noir. There will be an opportunity to meet leading winemakers and taste their wines. This trip offers a unique opportunity to experience first hand this bountiful wine producing country. In South Australia we will visit four of the top wine producers and enjoy the warmth of Aussie hospitality.
As well as tasting and dining at many wineries, we will find time to visit some of the major tourist sites. We will be staying in hotels in Auckland, Napier, Blenheim, Christchurch, and Queenstown.
If all this sounds like too hectic a pace, don't worry. There will be time for relaxing by the pool in the warm sunshine and wandering around some of the beautiful cities and towns that one can find downunder.
Email: Steve Thurlow steve@stevethurlow.com and he will send you a registration form.
A deposit of C$800 is required to register for the trip.
This deposit is fully refundable until 120 days prior to the trip when, it then becomes non-refundable and payment for the trip in full is required.
Price
The price for the 12 day trip to New Zealand only is C$6585 per person.
The all-inclusive trip price assumes double occupancy and does not include any air transportation.
We meet at the hotel in Auckland and disperse at the airport in Queenstown. Guests are to make all their own travel arrangements (including the internal NZ flights). We will be pleased to advise with air travel if requested.
The price includes all hotels, continental breakfasts, winery visits and tastings, and 15 meals, most with wines. Also included is the cost of the ferry to Waiheke Island and coach transportation, when we are not flying between destinations.
Air New Zealand flies direct to Auckland from Vancouver as does Air Canada. There are many connecting flights to Auckland via several US gateways.
As a guide, total roundtrip airfare in economy from Toronto for all flights, including those internal in New Zealand, is around C$2700 including taxes, fees and surcharges.
Both Air New Zealand and United Airlines are members of Star Alliance, so Aeroplan points can be used for travel even if Air Canada flights prove not to be convenient.
The three required internal flights to be added to the transpacific schedule will be specified to those registered on the trip. At present the combined cost for all three is C$550.
Included meals. B= Breakfast, L= Lunch and D= Dinner
Day 1: Sunday February 19, 2023 - Auckland
We meet in the evening at our hotel, the City Life Hotel Auckland, prior to walking to a nearby tavern for an informal first group mingle and meal.
The hotel is in the heart of the city within walking distance of the city's main attractions. There is a fitness room and an indoor heated lap-pool for guest use.
The program for the first day is light to allow for settling-in and rest after the long journey. (D)
Day 2: Monday - Waiheke Island
After breakfast in the hotel we leave at 9:30 to stroll down to the harbour to take a short ferry ride across the Hauraki Gulf to nearby Waiheke Island.
Man O' War winery will host us for a tasting and lunch.
This winery is by far the largest on the island and controls about half of the island's vineyard territory.
There will be time for a short tour of the island taking in the spectacular views of the city and the islands in the gulf.
Late afternoon, we return to our hotel, with a chance for a rest. The evening will be free to explore the many restaurants that lie around the harbour in the heart of downtown. (B,L)
Day 3: Tuesday - Auckland
After breakfast, we checkout of our hotel and leave to visit the spectacular winery and vineyards
of Villa Maria close to the airport overlooking Manukau Harbour. The
morning will be filled with a visit to the vineyard, a winery tour,
then a tasting led by the Auckland winery winemaker prior to lunch in the winery restaurant.
We will sample wines from all over New Zealand selected to show the regional differences from Villa Maria's extensive portfolio.
New Zealand's cuisine is a fabulous fusion of Oriental, Pacific and European influences with the traditional Maori.
Over lunch each course will be matched with Villa Maria wines.
After lunch we head to the airport, about 10 minutes away, for our flight to Hawkes Bay.
We will soon be at our hotel, Te Pania, in the centre of the town on the seafront.
After settling in to our hotel we will take a short walk for dinner together in one of the town's many restaurants. (B,L,D)
Day 4: Wednesday - Hawkes Bay
After breakfast we depart for our first winery visit in the area. We will soon be at the Craggy Range winery.
Hawkes Bay with its Mediterranean climate and fertile soil is a prime
fruit producing area.
The soils in the region are well suited for red grapes especially in the Gimblett Gravels area.
Craggy Range sources its wines locally and also from the cooler Wairarapa region further south. We will visit the modern winery and learn some of the secrets about why they have been so successful.
Craggy Range has one of the best restaurants in the area.
We will enjoy lunch in the company of the winemaker with a selection of Craggy Range wines with the splendid view of Te Mata peak.
As soon as lunch is over we will drive to the top of Te Mata peak for a splendid view of the Hawkes Bay region.
We will then return to the hotel. The balance of the afternoon can be filled with a visit to the Ocean Spa or maybe visiting the shops in the town or strolling along the shoreline of Hawkes Bay.
The evening will be free for visiting Napier with its amazing collection of art deco buildings or wandering by the sea along Marine Parade, and dining at one of the many quayside restaurants. (B,L)
Day 5: Thursday - Hawkes Bay
After breakfast we checkout of our hotel and leave to visit the nearby C J Pask winery for a tasting and winery visit with the winemaker.
The Pask winery is renowned for its red wines from syrah, merlot and cabernet sauvignon. 
After the tasting we head to Sileni for a tasting followed by lunch. Established in 1998, Sileni was inspired by ancient Greek mythology. The Sileni were renowned for their love of wine, feasting and a good time.
The winery is in the sub-region of the Bridge of Pa, a triangle with their grapes coming from different parts of the region. Some are grown on the hotter plains at sea level which suit merlot-dominant Bordeaux blends, and Northern Rhone style syrah, and semillon.
The cooler, higher altitude foothills and coastal sites suit the Burgundy varieties of chardonnay and pinot noir, along with pinot gris and a ripe-style sauvignon blanc.
They also produce Marlborough sauvignon blanc from their own vineyards in that region that we will see later on the trip.
After lunch our bus will take us to the airport for the transfer to Blenheim in the Marlborough wine region at the top of the South Island.
We arrive late afternoon and will soon be at our hotel for the next two nights, the Chateau Marlborough in the town of Blenheim.
Marlborough is New Zealand's largest wine region with around 50 wineries closely grouped together.
Soon after checking in we will leave to visit the nearby Wairau River Estate for a tasting and supper. (B,L,D)
Day 6: Friday - Marlborough
After breakfast in the hotel we will continue visiting wineries in the Blenheim region.
We will go first to Greywacke which is named after the local sandstone. It is a small boutique winery founded by the Judd family in 2009. Kevin was a major player in one of the area's founding wineries, Cloudy Bay, that put this region on the map 30 years ago. Greywacke is making some of the best wines in Marlborough.
By the way, Cloudy Bay, after which the winery is called, gets it name from the sea colour which sometimes in the right light looks a milky white due to the meeting of cold and warm water in this location.
After a brief tour and tasting we return to Blenheim for some shopping and a chance to wander around the town finding a bite to eat.
If there is time, there will be a side trip for those that are interested to the Omaka Heritage Centre on the outskirts of town which has a remarkable collection of airplanes from the early days of aviation.
We will then make our way to the Villa Maria winery to collect the winemaker who will take us on a tour of the region stopping at several of their vineyards in both the Wairau and Awatere Valleys, tasting at each stop wines produced from each vineyard.
We will start to understand the influence of climate and geography on the finished wine.
After a few hours on the road we will return to the winery for supper and tasting of more of the wines from their extensive portfolio. (B,D)
Day 7: Saturday - Marlborough and Nelson
Today we will visit the Pernod Ricard winery that produces the wine for Stoneleigh and Brancott wines. After breakfast we check-out of the hotel and take our bus to meet a senior viticulturist at the Stoneleigh vineyard to start a viticultural tour of their vineyards in the Wairau Valley.
After the vineyard tour we head to the tasting room to meet the winemaker for a tasting of the wines.
He will join us for lunch with a spectacular view over the vineyards.
After lunch we move westwards to the Nelson wine area. Our 2 hour drive takes us through some magnificent scenery as we traverse the Richmond Mountain Range to Tasman Bay.
We will stop briefly in the picturesque town of Havelock in the the Pelorus Bridge Scenic Reserve before leaving the mountains as we arrive in Nelson.
We will check into our hotel on the seashore in the small town of Nelson.
From the rooms at the Grand Arden Resort there are lovely sea views.
After a settling into the hotel for an hour or so we leave for a winemakers dinner with the wines of Waimea at the Gravity Winery which is a short drive from the hotel. (B,L,D)
Day 8: Sunday - Central Otago
In the morning after breakfast we leave for Nelson airport, which about 5 minutes from the hotel, for our flight to the alpine resort of Queenstown. Since there is no direct flight we will transit though Wellington airport.
We arrive in Queenstown around 12 noon.
Nestled on the shores of Lake Wakatipu, this small town was founded
in the gold rush years of the 1860s. It is now the starting point for
all kinds of adventures and has more cafes, bars and restaurants
than the capital Wellington.
After collecting our luggage we will soon be in Arrowtown which is only a few minutes drive from Queenstown airport.
This small town was founded in the gold mining era. Today it is a great shopping destination with several cosy pubs and cafes in addition to a museum which recounts its history.
There are many well preserved buildings, used by immigrants from Europe and China, that date from the gold mining days of the town.
Gold was found in the Arrow River in 1862, and a township of 1,000 miners soon sprang up. At the high point of the gold rush the population of Arrowtown rose to over 7,000.
After a few hours wandering the small town and getting bite to eat we leave for the 30 minute drive to Queenstown.
Late afternoon we will arrive at the Crowne Plaza Hotel where we will stay two nights.
The hotel is close to the town centre with spectacular views from the rooms of the lake and the surrounding mountains.
This town is a popular touist destination and there is much to see and do.
So the evening is free for exploring the town, its shops, bars and restaurants. (B)
Day 9: Monday - Fiordland and Milford Sound
Today is a free day with no included activities until the evening to allow those that wish to cross the coastal mountains to visit Fiordland and Milford Sound.
It is about a 4.5 hour drive by coach to get there. The route back is along the same roads and takes a similar amount of time. On arrival in Milford one boards a boat for a 2 hour scenic cruise out to the Tasman Sea and back in company of a guide who provides detailed interpretation. Dolphins, seals and penguins are often seen.
Coach in and coach out is the least expensive way (~C$200) to visit
the pure wilderness of New Zealand's largest national park, but it takes
12.5 hours in total leaving at 6:30 am and getting back to Queenstown
at 7:00 pm
However you can also fly in and fly out on a small plane from Queenstown which cuts the trip duration to 4 hours including a 2 hour cruise to the mouth of the sound as above. The cost of this is around C$400, which is worth it in my opinion for such an amazing experience.
Milford Sound Scenic Flights is one of several companies that organizes tours to Milford Sound.
Te Wahipounamu, a world heritage site, is one of the greatest wilderness areas left in the southern hemisphere. There one finds the highest mountains, largest glaciers, tallest forests, wildest rivers, most rugged landscapes and deepest lakes.
Milford is one of the wettest places on earth with an annual rainfall of 6.43 m falling on 182 days of the year, so be prepared for it to rain.
For those that choose to give Milford a miss, there is much to see and do in Queenstown.
Some will opt to take a cruise on TSS Earnslaw across the lake to visit Walter Farm and others will take a more restful day enjoying all that the town and the hotel have to offer.
In the evening we will gather at a tavern on the wharf for our group evening meal. (B,D)
Day 10: Tuesday - Central Otago
We head off this morning after checking out of our hotel, for a spectacular drive over the mountains to Wanaka.
We will visit the Maude winery for a tasting followed by lunch with their wines.
We then head south to the Cromwell region to visit Quartz Reef before checking in to Carrick Lodge where we stay for the next two nights.
Late afternoon we head to the Wild Earth winery for a tasting and BBQ in their vineyard in Cromwell. (B,L,D)
Day 11: Wednesday - Cromwell
We will have a late start this morning leaving for a tasting at nearby Felton Road. This famous vineyard and winery has been producing top quality wines for decades. Its first vintage was in 1996 and ever since it has received critical acclaim for its wines especially pinot noir
Winemaker Blair Walter who has made every wine since 1996 will take us on a brief tour of the winery followed by leading us in masterclass on his Central Otago wines.
Then it is on to Mount Difficulty just in time for lunch.
Here Matt Dicey, who founded the winery and produced its first vintage in 1998, will show us around before leading us in a tasting of his wines before we sit down together for lunch.
Both these wineries in the Bannockburn area are producing excellent Pinot Noir in addition to other varieties.
We will be back at the hotel mid afternoon with some free time before the evening activities.
Early evening we leave to visit Tarras Vineyards in the Bendigo area about 15 minutes north of Cromwell.
Tarras sits on top of a hill with a splendid view of the valley floor.
Founder Heyden Johnston bought the land in 2002 and established vineyards before more recently building the tasting room and event space.
He will lead us in a tasting of his wines followed by a light supper as we watch the sun set. (B,L,D)
Day 12 - Thursday March 2nd, 2023 - Alexander
After breakfast we will checkout of our hotel. On this, our final day in Central Otago, we will visit the viticitural area of Alexander. Two Paddocks Estate is owned by New Zealand actor Sam Neill and it specializes in pinot noir.
On arrival at the estate we will take a walk through Sam’s beautiful property that incorporates organic vineyards, orchards, cattle, sheep, saffron and lavender.
We will also see some of the conservation activities and we will no doubt meet some of the estate's odd pets.
It is most unlikely that Sam will be there, due to his busy worldwide filming schedule; but one never knows.
After the tour we will taste the wines before leaving for the airport. Our drive there will take us through the beautiful Kawarau Gorge.
Shortly before arriving at the airport we will stop for lunch at the Gibbston Tavern.
We will arrive at 13:00 at Queenstown airport where we will disperse. (B,L)
