Discover the produce and panoramas for which New Zealand’s North Island is famous on this 5.5-hour winery and black-sand beach tour from Auckland. Visit the Kumeu River Winery with your guide and learn of New Zealand’s early winemaking pioneers. Sample award-winning wines made from pinot gris, gewürztraminer and pinot noir grape varietals at the Coopers Creek and Matua wineries. Enjoy a delicious lunch at the Provenance Matua Valley eatery, and perhaps try local Manuka honey. Explore the black sands of Muriwai Beach where the west coast meets the Tasman Sea.

Enjoy a day away from the hustle and bustle of the city
Get inside tips from a local
A la carte lunch included
Small-group tour by minibus

What's Included

Wine tasting
Lunch
National Park Fees
Local Guide
Local taxes
Bottled water
Hotel pickup and drop-off (selected hotels only)
Transport by air-conditioned minivan

Personal expenses and gratuities

Meeting And Pickup

You can head directly to the meeting point, or request pickup

Meeting point

Auckland Central
Auckland Central, Auckland Central, North Island

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Start time

10:30 AM

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Kumeu River Wines

1 hour • Admission Ticket Included

Westbrook Winery

45 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Soljans Estate Winery

1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Muriwai Gannet Colony

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking, unless booked within 12 hours of travel. In this case confirmation will be received as soon as possible, subject to availability
Minimum age is 18 years
A minimum of 2 people per booking is required
Not wheelchair accessible
Service animals allowed
Near public transportation

Infants must sit on laps
Not recommended for travelers with back problems
Not recommended for pregnant travelers
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Most travelers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 11 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.

Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.

Traveler Photos

Featured review

talboman

John was on time for our tour & we were treated to his great hospitality, and knowledge of the locations that he took us on. We had lunch at a great restaurant on our tour. The wineries that we visited were excellent. Thank you John for a memorable experience!

Reviews

5.0

41 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

Showing 1-10 of 41 reviews

Beautiful vineries, good wine. knowledgeable host

David_P, Mar 2023

We Were Picked from the hotel by our host John and travel through some beautiful and picturesque Vinyards. We have tasted fine wines and has a lovely lunch. We have learnt about wine making in New Zealand and New Zealand Economy. Unfortunately Getting to the Black sand beaches these days is impossible after the cyclone (we know it in advance) however we have wonderful time.

Response from Host, Apr 2023

Hi David, I'm so pleased you enjoyed your tour and that regardless of access to the black sand beach at Muriwai that you still thoroughly enjoyed the tour. Best regards - John McFarlane

Sunshine and good spirits…

George_C, Mar 2023

John was great, excellent wine knowledge, good narratives, safe driver…winery docents were knowledgable and entertaining…countryside was beautiful…

Response from Host, Apr 2023

Hi George, Thanks for your great feedback. I'm so happy you enjoyed the tour and that the inclusions met with your approval. Kind regards - John McFarlane

Fun with Friends

Patricia_F, Feb 2023

A fun time had by all despite the weather. It was a rainy day however everyone was in good spirits. The chosen wineries were good. Our driver Jonathan was delightful.

Great day to see the NZ country side, taste wines & learn!

Elaine_R, Feb 2023

Landed in Auckland and an hour later we were on this tour. Incredible way to see the country side and enjoy NZ wines. Lunch was at one of the wineries. It was much more than expected! Terrific food & service. Our guide John was experienced, interesting & professional. Tour moved at a good pace. The vehicle was very comfortable. Tour was limited to only 4 couples so we didn’t have to spend too much time picking up guests. We never felt like we were being pressured into buying anything. It was truly about tasting wines. The chats on honey were interesting too. Great way to spend the day!!

Wine, birds, and great conversation

Daniel_B, Nov 2022

John was a great guide and made the day extremely enjoyable. The wineries chosen offered a great variety of wine types and education about the process. The excursion to the beach offered incredible views and the opportunity to view wildlife up close. Highly recommended tour!

A Super Day of Grapes and Gannets

Angela_N, Oct 2022

John is incredibly knowledgeable about wine making in New Zealand (and elsewhere) and a wonderful guide. We enjoyed tastings at three vineyards who even rolled out some reserve vintages for us. Lunch was at a charming spot on the river with gourmet cuisine. Our favorite part of this tour was the opportunity to visit the gannets at the black sand beach - so beautiful and such a rare treat to see the migrating colony up close.

Really enjoyed the day!!

Janet_P, Aug 2022

We had the most remarkable wine tasting tour with John! The trip was Very enjoyable and more than expected. John is super knowledgeable and passionate about wine. We learnt a lot from him (not only wine, also about NZ) throughout the whole day. What a wonderful experience!

Wine tour & lunch

talboman, Feb 2020

John was very informative with not...

Kevin S, Jul 2017

John was very informative with not only with wines, but general New Zealand info as well, the cellarmasters would go through the wines with us in detail. We went to several wineries and had at least 4 tastings at each, with a mix of white and red wines. It was raining and cold when we did our tour, so just viewed where the penguins would be at that Black Sandy Beach, didn't go walking down to the beach. Will do this next time we do the tour. Excellent tour would recommend highly.

A great tour. Even though the...

Stephen P, Sept 2016

A great tour. Even though the weather was not great, our tour guide took us on a tour of the Villa Maria winery first as he correctly anticipated the bad weather would make our trip on the coast not that great. Visits to several wineries, lunch that was lovely and lots of commentary, all in all a great day out.

Good one. But recommended to deal...

Michikazu N, Sept 2016

Good one. But recommended to deal directly with the operator.