Recommendations

Mellow, safe and consistent — one of the best places near the city to learn.

Steep-shelving beach that can shape good barrels.

Sandy beach breaks with both lefts and rights; family-friendly.

A volcanic plateau of active andesite cones, steaming craters and emerald lakes. Home to the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, regularly rated one of the world's best day hikes.

Boutique family winery near Napier with regular live music and a winter fire pit.

historic hillside winery.

Town beaches that work on the right swell.

A legendary pioneer with one of the region's best restaurants. Recognition: Champion Wine Company of the Year & Wine Maker of the Show, NZ International Wine Show 2024.

Popular Taradale cellar door.

New Zealand's oldest winery (1851), styled as the birthplace of NZ wine; grand grounds and restaurant.

Picturesque Meeanee estate with a rose garden, hand-made brick winery and platters.

The epicentre of Wellington surf culture, right by the airport. Lots of peaks and great vibes, though the waves are average.

Small, mushy, empty beach breaks — a longboard/SUP playground.

A Gimblett Gravels pioneer (1993) celebrated for Syrah, Chardonnay and Bordeaux blends; platters and a food truck (Wed–Sun).

Central Mediterranean-style cellar door with The Gravels eatery.

established gravels cellar doors.

established gravels cellar doors.

Boutique organic label (Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir) from former Seresin winemaker Clive Dougall.

Family-run, welcoming and unpretentious, yet one of the country's most internationally decorated Sauvignon Blanc producers.

Organic/biodynamic since day one, producing wine plus olive oil and honey across an extensive single-vineyard range.

Brian Bicknell's artisanal, minimal-intervention label sourced from local growers.

The northern end of the Southern Alps, where beech-forested mountains drop to the glacial lakes Rotoiti and Rotoroa. A compact alpine park based at the village of St Arnaud.

Powerful, fickle and serious; not somewhere to paddle out without local knowledge.

boutique Cellarbration-trail cellar doors.

Glaciers that tumble from the Southern Alps almost to the rainforest and sea. The Franz Josef and Fox glaciers are the headline draw, with mirror lakes and wild beaches below.

A dark, tannin-stained lake near Fox Glacier whose mirror-still surface produces some of New Zealand's most famous reflections of Aoraki/Mount Cook and Mount Tasman, best at dawn on a calm day.

A pioneering 1987 estate reached by a thrilling cliffside private road above the Kawarau River.

Tasting room at the Gibbston Tavern (Rockburn Stables). Recognition: Tigermoth Riesling featured in the Metro Wine Awards 2025.

Small-batch, age-worthy wines; garden platters and pétanque.

Shared cellar door and bistro pouring five boutique labels (Coal Pit, Hawkshead, Valli, Wild Irishman, Kinross). Recognition: inaugural Qualmark NZ Wine Tourism Award, 2024.

Relaxed cellar door in a converted wool shed on a working station; platters and pétanque.

New flagship winery facility in Cromwell.

clustered Bannockburn cellar doors.

Hilltop cellar door with sweeping views, a popular lunch destination.

Organic estate with an on-site restaurant.

boutique Wānaka cellar doors.

boutique Wānaka cellar doors.

convenient trio for limited time.

convenient trio for limited time.

New Zealand's highest mountains and longest glaciers, crowned by 3,724 m Aoraki/Mount Cook. A pristine alpine basin and one of the country's premier dark-sky reserves.

By appointment.

Picturesque tasting shed with lawn games and food.

Cellar door in Central Otago. Recognition: #3, The Real Review Top Wineries of New Zealand 2026.

Cellar door in Central Otago. Recognition: Grand Reserve "Professors' Block" Pinot Noir has won trophy-level recognition at the NZ International Wine Show.

By-appointment cellar door in a boatshed on the Queenstown Marina.