Hawke's Bay Wine Region

Hawke's Bay has grown wine since missionaries planted vines in the 1850s, which makes it the country's oldest wine region, and the warm, sunny plains behind Napier and Hastings still carry most of it. The best-known patch is the Gimblett Gravels, a defined area of stony old riverbed left behind when the Ngaruroro River shifted course after a flood in the 1860s. The stones hold heat, and the Syrah and Bordeaux-style reds grown on them are the region's calling card, with Chardonnay doing well across the wider plains. Flat roads and dedicated cycle trails link cellar doors around Hastings and Havelock North, and the same soils produce apples, pears and stone fruit sold at roadside stalls.

What you actually see

• The Gimblett Gravels - the stony riverbed area behind Hastings, planted in Syrah and Bordeaux varieties.
• Cellar doors by bike - flat trails linking vineyards around Hastings and Havelock North.
• Chardonnay and Syrah - the two wines the region is judged on.
• Roadside fruit stalls - apples, peaches and berries from the surrounding orchards in season.

When to go

November to April is warm and dry, with harvest through late February and March. Summer weekends fill up around the region's food and wine events, which book out well ahead. Cycling suits the flat terrain in any of the warmer months. Winter is quiet, with shorter cellar door hours and some places closed midweek or by appointment only.

Honest expectations

Cellar doors are spread across a wide plain, so without a bike or a driver you spend the day in a car. Tasting fees are common. Summer heat on the gravels is real and the shade is patchy. Napier's art deco crowds and the region's event weekends push accommodation prices up sharply, sometimes doubling them for a single weekend.

Nearby

Napier's art deco centre is twenty minutes away, with Te Mata Peak rising above Havelock North.