Wine touring in New Zealand's Marlborough

Enjoying the local cuisine is an important part of any holiday and New Zealand is blessed with an abundance of delicious fresh produce, seafood and of course great conditions for growing and creating good wine.

As well as the iconic sauvignon blanc you will find chardonnay, pinot gris, pinot noir, riesling, gewürztraminer, cabernet sauvignon, merlot and methode traditionelle sparkling wines.

New Zealand's premier wine-making region is Marlborough, at the top of the South Island.

Sunny and dry but relatively cool, it boasts a wonderful climate for slow, flavour-intensifying ripening and cool nights to keep the grape acid levels high.

Wine tasting and touring is an essential part of any holiday in New Zealand and offers the opportunity to experience vintages and styles that are not exported to Europe, including botrytised aromatic wines.

To view a great video on tasting holidays in the winelands of Marlborough click here.

Travelbite.co.uk visited Marlborough to bring you our recommendations for a wine touring holiday.

Cloudy Bay is probably one of the best known and popular wines sold on shelves in the UK and so the vineyard on Jacksons Road is a must for any wine touring itinerary.

As well their famous sauvignon blanc, try the Pelorus sparkling wine label produced from chardonnay and pinot noir grapes.

Because touring the Marlborough region is not only about wine but about food as well, the Alan Scott vineyard (also on Jacksons Road) has a gracious homestead with tasting at the cellar door and fine dining in the Twelve Trees restaurant.

Highfield Estate in the Omaha Valley is another favourite place for lunch or a late afternoon snack.

It's the setting and the food that draws visitors to Highfields as much as the wine, with its attractive Tuscan-style tower overlooking miles and miles of vines that stretch away across the Wairau valley to the hills.

Montana is one of New Zealand's oldest and biggest wine-making enterprises and the winery on the road out of Blenheim offers a good range of wines to sample, as well as a good restaurant and cafe. Winery tours run daily - every half hour from 10:00 to 15:00 local time.

In this video, Montana's Marlborough winemaker Patrick Materman reveals some of the secrets behind New Zealand's world-beating sauvignon blanc wine.

The Grove Mill vineyard on Waihopai Valley Road is a small outfit with a strong commitment to minimising the environmental impact of wine production.

Free wine tastings are available seven days a week between 11:00 and 17:00 local time and you will find excellent pinot noirs and top quality white wines, as well as an art gallery and a beautiful wetland nature area.

Hunters on Rapaura Road near Blenheim produces distinctive prize-winning vintages. For something a little different try their sauvignon blanc oak aged - called Kaho Roa, which means barrel-aged in Maori.

Tastings are available from 09:00 to 17:00 daily at the cellar door. The winery is set in a garden of attractive native plants and the lovely restaurant serves lunch between 12:00 and 14:30. You can also enjoy dinner here on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 18:00 local time.

Spy Valley Wines on Waihopai Valley Road is set on the terraces of the Omaka river and against the breathtaking views of the Richmond Ranges.

The intriguing label name of this family-owned company comes from the local name for the Waihopai Valley - where a satellite communications monitoring station (aka the spy base) is sited.

It is easy to enjoy wine tasting in the Marlborough, with a number of companies offering transport around the vineyards or cycle tours if you don't want to drive yourself.

A great time to visit the Marlborough region is for the Wine and Food Festival. Kiwis and visitors descend on the vineyards, eateries and farms of Marlborough to partake of the gourmet delights on offer.

The 2009 festival will be held at the height of the next southern hemisphere summer on February 14th. Tickets go on sale Wednesday October 1st 2008. See the festival website for more information.

Click here for a free map of the Marlborough wine touring region.

Natasha von Geldern