Gisborne Wine Region

Gisborne sits on the eastern edge of the North Island and gets more sunshine hours than almost anywhere else in the country, on fertile alluvial flats. For decades that combination made it the volume producer - vast plantings of Muller-Thurgau and other high-yielding varieties feeding the cheap wine of the 1970s and 80s. When that market collapsed the area under vine shrank dramatically, and what survived turned to quality. Chardonnay is the result, and Gisborne calls itself the chardonnay capital of New Zealand with reasonable grounds; gewurztraminer, chenin blanc and viognier also do well in the warmth. The producers now are mostly small and several cellar doors are open by appointment only. Gisborne is genuinely remote - four hours from Napier, six from Auckland - and that isolation is why the region gets far fewer visitors than Hawke's Bay or Marlborough.

What you actually see

• The chardonnay - the region's defining variety and its recovery story.
• The Poverty Bay flats - fertile alluvial land under high sunshine hours.
• The small producers - what survived after the bulk-wine collapse.
• The aromatic whites - gewurztraminer, chenin blanc and viognier.

When to go

November to April; harvest is February and March. Many cellar doors open by appointment or on limited days - book before driving out.

Honest expectations

Far fewer cellar doors than Hawke's Bay or Marlborough, and several are appointment-only. Gisborne is a long drive from anywhere. Tastings are charged.

Nearby

Gisborne city and Wainui Beach are close; the Eastland coast runs north.