Tasting the land - New Zealand vineyards

Tasting the land

New Zealand by yacht has plenty to uncover, not least award-winning vineyards where an anchorage is part of the appeal.

By Isla McKechnie

The land remains forever

History has been draped across the land in layers here. The first Māori waka (voyaging canoe) arrived in Northland around a thousand years ago after a long journey navigating via the stars from Polynesia. Those early settlers were followed to this warm, fertile northern part of New Zealand by English missionary Samuel Marsden, who landed in the Bay of Islands in 1814 and planted New Zealand’s first vines a few years later. Spread over 1000 acres, The Landing is a site layered in cultural treasures, rich in minerals, and bathed in warm sea breezes.

The Landing is a vineyard and retreat on the edge of New Zealand’s Bay of Islands And underneath it the land keeps the slow undulations of this place, its fertile soils running in a gentle slope to the Bay of Islands full of marine life. This is The Landing; a vineyard and retreat in New Zealand’s Bay of Islands, and the first stop on a wine tour of the country via your yacht.

Around the vines, The Landing is bringing the land back to its earlier iterations with the restoration of 35 hectares of native forest. Absorbing three times as much carbon as the businesses on its 1000 acres emit, the regeneration of wetlands, control of predators and improved biodiversity has seen one of the densest kiwi populations in the country flourish.

‘Whatungarongaro he tangata, toitu he whenua hoki’ Man may come and go, but the land remains forever, is the phrase that puts perspective to what The Landing is working to achieve.

That land gives back too, in the form of richly rewarding vintages.

The Landing’s ancient clay and sandstone soils, and long warm summers produce syrah, chardonnay, rosé and port, from the gentle slopes which roll down to Rangihoua Bay. Pull into the jetty at The Landing from one of the many anchorages in the Bay of Islands’ 144 islets, to embark on a private tasting or long lunch within The Landing’s tasting room.

Experiences are bespoke here, and available by appointment only. They can see you walking amongst the vines before a visit to the hilltop winery to taste the reds and whites imbued with the taste of the land, or being guided through the history of this place. Guides will be happy to take you on a tour of archeological sites of interest across The Landing during your visit, plus there’s six private beaches to explore.

A vineyard and an anchorage

Man O’ War Vineyard would like you to take off your shoes. Set in the midst of the sheltered Man O’ War Bay which has provided safe harbour for hundreds of years, it’s best reached by tender and a barefoot stroll across golden sands.

Early Polynesian adventurers discovered the benefits of sitting out a storm here. The European explorers following in the 1700s gave it its moniker, eyeing up the stands of ancient Kauri trees as ideal masts for Man O’ War warships.

Aucklanders now consider this spot a beloved weekend destination; anchoring in the Bay or nosing into the beach in tenders to slip into the water, sandals in hand, and onto the lawn of Man O’ War’s beachside cellar door. It lies on the Hauraki Gulf’s Waiheke Island, around 120NM from the Bay of Islands.

A tree-draped lawn sits between beach and cellar door. Often festooned with picnicking groups enjoying Man O’ War’s much loved rosé and pinot gris, it’s the ideal place to order a platter

Approach The Landing from one of the Bay of Islands’ many anchorages

Man O War is a beachside vineyard known for its barefoot ethos and treedraped lawn

Experiences are bespoke at The Landing, and available by appointment

and while away a sunny afternoon for a quintessentially Kiwi experience. Move through and past it to the tasting room, and you’ll find private tastings of Man O’ War’s Kulta – the loved one – wines of limited production which are only available in New Zealand.

Demand often exceeds supply for Man O’ War’s Kulta syrah, white burgundy, bordeaux, and champagne. A nod to winemakers who approach their craft with a determination to give these old world wines an individual expression that reflects the Man O’ War terroir.

Unseen are the 4,500 acres of vineyards, farm, orchards, olive groves, restored native forests and beehives, all of which are foraged to supply the restaurant and cellar door.

Under the Range

Two million years ago the sea floor tilted and thrust a ragged ridge into the skyline. Sitting on the lower edge of the North Island’s east coast, Te Mata Peak holds marine fossils 399 metres above sea level, and in its shadow nestles the vineyard, Craggy Range.

Craggy Range has been named among the world’s best vineyards

With such a bold neighbour, this Hawkes Bay vineyard would be remiss in producing wines which weren’t equally as daring. Grown in vineyards of warm stone, and sandy soils, Craggy Range produces syrah, merlot, cabernet sauvignon, and has been named amongst the world’s best vineyards.

Step into the restaurant with the escarpment of Te Mata Peak reaching over you, and you’ll have a chance to taste this ancient part of the country. The intimate space pairs a regionally-inspired menu with Craggy Range’s wine selection, and a large array of produce drawn from the vineyard’s own garden.

The generous sea and land

Approach the Marlborough Sounds by yacht and you’ll be met by battalions of green and blue. Long flanks of greenclad hills roll away into the deep fiords of the sounds, where dolphins, orca, seals and native birds pass you on your journey. Also passing could be the charter yacht of vineyard, Cloudy Bay. Gliding past as it takes guests on a foraging experience to collect the ingredients for their wine-matched evening meal, or anchored in place during paua (abalone) dives. Visitors move across the generous sea and land in a bespoke experience collecting wild produce which is later transformed by a private chef.

Marlborough sits across the top of the South Island and is one of New Zealand’s best-known wine-producing regions. Cloudy Bay is a vineyard tucked into the heart of this region; known for its intense sauvignon blanc and immersive private experiences.

Like the foraging. Taking guests into the depths of Marlborough, Cloudy Bay will help them collect wild produce like crayfish, paua, fish, clams, honey, flowers, herbs and plants, before returning to the intimate dining room of the Cloudy Bay Shack. There, the private chef prepares the foraged food into a one-off menu complete with curated wine list.

There’s also guided vineyard tours by helicopter or car, and tailor made tastings where Cloudy Bay ambassadors guide guests through rare wines and vintages from the wine museum. All taking place within easy reach of one of New Zealand’s most-beautiful cruising grounds.

Good merino country

Step off the yacht, and onto a helicopter to the landscape which epitomises New Zealand. Clumps of tussock cast long shadows in the alpine sun as it drops behind stark rock faces. Central Otago is a place of sharp lines. The range of the Remarkables mountains rises abruptly out of an iconic lake, seen on New Zealand postcards, and to the west lies Gibbston.

A soft, fertile valley flanked on one side by the Kawarau River which carved Gibbston’s shape into the land, it’s also home to vineyards which carry the taste of the ancient hills and rock reefs their vines wind through. And at the head of the valley sits Chard Farm. Once described by a local as ‘a waste of bloody good merino country’ in reference to the sheep so at home in Otago’s hills, Chard Farm’s output is now predominantly pinot noir and aromatic whites.

The team here like to take their time. They have a special press for white wines to do the job gently and slowly, and a tank room to handle aromatic whites in small parcels. There’s a pinot noir hall where grapes are processed without unnecessary handling.

Visit and you’ll find a philosophy driven by the enjoyment of drinking wines, not tasting wines. These are wines to be savoured - not fussed over - and enjoyed. In them you’ll taste the clean, vivid cool climate flavours, and the long flavour length that comes from being grown in the bed of minerals that Central Otago’s schist and quartz deliver.

With a slightly irreverent approach and interesting wines, it’s a deeply satisfying spot to end a day, and your wine tour of New Zealand.

Cloudy Bay’s experiences sit within one of New Zealand’s most beautiful cruising grounds

Central Otago’s Chard Farm produces interesting wines with an irreverent approach