Described by National Geographic as a world in miniature,
New Zealand is a land of rare natural beauty and breathtaking contrasts.
February 2 - 19, 2009 - Cost: $8,500.00 - 11,000 PP
Exclusive of Airfare, Double Occupancy,
Three Pricing Tiers Available
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13 Night Luxury Ensuite Lodging
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Auckland, Nelson, Wellington, Waiheke Island
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Vineyards of the Matakana Coast
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Vineyards of Hawkes Bay, Marlborough
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Vintner Dinners in Hawkes Bay
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Maori Hangi Feast in Rotorua
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Cook Straits Cruise to Picton & the South Island
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Hands On Cooking Classes with Noted Local Chefs
TRAVEL ICONS
Wonder Down Under
A visit to New Zealand will leave you no time for twiddling your thumbs, because there's so much to do, and so much to taste! You can quench your thirst for adventure, great food, friendly people and outstanding wine by joining Vagabond
Gourmet on this 14-day wine tour through the award winning wine-producing regions of this island nation.
What's more, Vagabond Gourmet has organized exciting visits to the area’s most prestigious wineries as well as unique adventures you can't get anywhere else...like being the post man for a day with the only licensed rural delivery service by water. This is a chance to see some parts of New Zealand completely foreign to most visitors.
Don’t worry, we haven't forgotten about your stomachs. You’ll dine on local cuisine, visit family run and award winning vineyards, and share in the warm hospitality that is abundant down under.
We hope to raise a glass with you on this one of a kind New World Wine extravaganza. Cheers!
Land of the Long White Cloud
The North Island offers golden sandy beaches, Hot thermal springs, soaring geysers and pristine Native bush. In a single day you could ski the snow-covered slopes of Mount Ruapehu in the morning and then follow it up with a bracing ocean dip off the beach at Mount Maunganui that afternoon.
The South Island is a place of grand extremes. From magnificent fjords to picture perfect alpine areas, beautiful lakes to ancient glaciers, sub-tropical forests to rolling farmlands, it truly has it all and we'll cover and taste it all!
While there is plenty of tasting that has been done, and much more ahead, there is still a lot more to this beautiful place. Let us not forget we are in the land of "the long white cloud".
While driving towards Hawk's Bay, you'll be treated to a visit into the heartland of Maoridom, Rotorua. Rotorua is the spirit of Manaakitanga-a uniquely Maori concept. Manaakitanga places the obligation on the hosts to give the visitor the very best of themselves. It is deep-rooted cultural concept, expressed throughout the Polynesian world. To arrive in Rotorua, is to know immediately that you are somewhere, unlike anywhere else. Hissing geysers just minutes from the city centre, scalding water, bubbling mud and sinister formations remind you that you are close to incredible earthly forces and towering volcanoes (thankfully now dormant) are reminders of this land's turbulent past.
The Vineyards
The Vineyards of New Zealand are endless, and the quality, outstanding. You will sip among the best that New Zealand has to offer including stops in Waiheke Island, Marlborough, and Hawke's Bay, New Zealand's second largest wine growing region and one of its oldest.
If you only had time to visit one winery in New Zealand Stoneyridge might be it . But neighbor Te Whau Vineyards with breathtaking 360 degree views, stunning architecture, exquisite food and New Zealand's largest wine list, including its own 5-star wines, rates high as a truly unique wine lover's experience.
Esk Valley is on our list. Best known for the production of high quality red wines, it is one of Hawkes Bay’s finest boutique wineries. "The Terraces" from the home vineyard is consistently rated as one of New Zealand's finest red wines. Along Marine Parade, passing through half of this beautiful bay to Clearview Vineyards where owner Tim Turvey is waiting to greet us. Tim brags that they produce New Zealand's "most power packed Chardonnay” Bob Campbell (MW) describes their award winning Chardonnay as 'Exceptionally mouth-filling and overflowing with peachy, oaky, mealy flavor...a hedonist's delight'.
The Dartmoor Vineyard an Craggy Ridge both produce exceptional wines described the Terroir restaurant as "a meal as close as you can get to perfection"” Enjoy sipping the Craggy Ridge wine as your roast chicken is spit- turned in front of you on a roaring wood fire and the grilled figs were picked one hour before. Heaven.
The Neudorf vineyard is credited with producing one of New Zealand's best Chardonnay's. UK wine writer for the Independent, Anthony Rose, described Tim Finn's Chardonnay as 'New Zealand's convincing answer to premier cru Puligny Montrachet’.
Marlborough is New Zealand's largest winegrowing region. It has an enviable International reputation for producing the best Sauvignon Blanc in the world.
Cloudy Bay is New Zealand's most famous winery. The winery takes its name from the bay at the eastern extremity of the Wairau Valley and winemaker Kevin Judd is one of New Zealand's most respected wine makers. He is the man who created for sauvignon drinkers of the world, the internationally acclaimed Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc.
Hans and Therese Herzog come from a wine growing family that dates back to 1482. They moved their renowned winery and Michelin-starred restaurant from their native Switzerland into the heart of Marlborough, where they have become established as one of New Zealand's leading boutique estates. Herzog Wines are made very much in the old world style. They are considered the new world version of the famous Burgundy and Bordeaux houses and belong to some of New Zealands’ most age worthy.
Nautilus Estate , Awatere River Vineyard boast intense fruit flavors and fine aromatics dedicated to Pinot Noir and in many respects unique for their winemaking art. Sitting on the wisteria veranda of Hunter’s Wine and enjoying top quality dining in this beautiful region, along with Hunter’s gold medal wines is what this Vagabond
Gourmet’s extraordinary tour is all about.
World Class Retreats
During this wine and dining extravaganza you’ll be treated to everything from sumptuous celebrity chef picnics set in vineyards, to feasting on the authentic flavors of this beautiful region with its abundance of fresh seafood, oysters, herbs ,stone and pip fruit, lamb, venison and salmon, to the Maori traditional Hangi banquet.
New Zealand's Pacific Rim cuisine draws inspiration from Europe, Asia and Polynesia. This blend of influences has created a mouth-watering range of flavors and dishes that have a distinctly New Zealand style. The national dessert the Pavlova, a meringue, cream and fruit concoction has been challenged by the booming boutique cheese-makers for top place in foodie exports.
“Dining with the vines” is wildly popular
and the winemakers compete
as passionately to seek
world class chefs for their estate restaurants
as they do in their
wine production. Lucky us! Wine pairing and
exceptional food, “Kiwi
style” is
typical of the laid back
nature
of the New Zealand
people and their generous hospitality
Hangi is an ancient New Zealand Maori method of cooking food using super heated rocks buried in the ground in a pit oven. Modernized hangi methods are still used today and are often saved for special occasions due to the large amount of time and preparatory work involved. The secret is in the smoke Created by the fat and juices from the meat drip onto the hot rocks and burn causing smoke which flavor the food and make for an intoxicating aroma. The stones themselves have been handed down for generations. The following explains a common method.
Traditional hangi food is pork, mutton or lamb, and chicken, with generous portions of root vegetables such as kumara (sweet potato), pumpkin, carrot, potato, onions and cabbage. With a hangi no special preparation of the food is needed besides peeling the root vegetables, but adding herbs and exciting flavors.
Lodging with be in small boutique B&B style estates chosen for comfort and the kitchen talents of their chef owners. After a day of wine tasting we’ll relax and then join the Vagabond Gourmet team to see what’s cooking. Visiting local food artisans and a special cooking class geared towards the home chef who lives and breathes food, who creates rather than cooks and is always keeping a sharp eye out for new ingredients. Students use only the best ingredients and learn about creating fine cuisine at the beautiful Paratiho Lodge.
Our base for our time in “the Bay” is Wallingford Homestead surrounded by sweeping lawns, rose gardens and English Oak trees and apparently the finest goose down beds ever.
In Nelson the view from the Monaco says it all it all, why Kiwis spoilt on natural beauty, have a special attachment to this quaint beautiful town... This small luxury property and the area surrounding, is called Monaco. Nobody seems to know how the name came about, though for a unique location it certainly holds its own with the original. Located on a small bay where the Waimea River reaches the ocean. Nelson, it's the perfect spot for discovering innovative cuisine.
Island Hopping
No visit to Auckland is complete without a trip on the water and, among the many intriguing distinctions of New Zealand's vineyards is the extraordinary places you may find them. Waiheke Island is one such place. Lying just 35 mins from Auckland by ferry, the Island is a picturesque blend of farmland, forest, beaches, vineyards and olive groves. There is a delectable cuisine on offer and this is complemented by a range of award-winning wines produced by the island's many wineries.
Wellington, the Capital is hard to imagine a city smaller than New Zealand's Auckland would be so hip and alive with excitement. What better place for Vagabond Gourmet goers is there?
Wellington is also the culture capital of New Zealand. Our lodging is downtown, everything is close by, and there is a free afternoon and evening to discover the beauty of Wellington.
One morning we are off to that other New Zealand, the South Island. Our ferry for the Cook Strait crossing leaves early and Wellingtons harbor is full of expectant travelers. For although Cook Strait is just 19 kilometers wide, this stretch of water separating Wellington on the North Island and Picton on the South Island is spectacularly beautiful. Cruising out through Wellington Harbor offers panoramic views, a dramatic cityscape set on green hillsides which run down to sparkling waters. Cook Strait is a historic waterway full of myth and legend.
And our destination Picton is a picturesque town, deep within Queen Charlotte Sound, gateway to a region which is a Gourmet paradise abundant with olives, mussels, salmon, fruits and, of course, great wine! Once we've arrived at Picton you are in for a truly UNIQUE experience! We are going to change ships and meet up with the local mailman. He's the only licensed NZ Post Rural delivery service by water in the Queen Charlotte Sounds and we are going to share the excitement of a mail run, as we reach places that remains unknown to most visitors and is some of the most beautifully remote places imaginable. Cruising through the Sounds is an experience that you will never forget.
Nelson is an irresistible blend of lifestyle and stunning landscapes at the top northwest corner of the Island. It stretches from the northern edge of the Southern Alps across fertile plains and out to a great sweep of beaches, the town is beautifully laid out under a generous sun that delivers New Zealand's highest sunshine hours.
Along the coast between Richmond and Motueka lies some of the region's most fertile land where export crops of apples, berries, hops and olives are grown. Motueka is the country's centre for Hop growing and as you would expect some great boutique beer gets produced from the local crop. In this part of the world, beer is almost a religion and we are in the heartland of Kiwi beer brewing. After seeing how the hops are raised, we are well prepared for a trip to the breweries back in Nelson.
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A visit to New Zealand will leave you no time for twiddling your thumbs, because there's so much to do, and so much to taste! You can quench your thirst for adventure, great food, friendly people and outstanding wine by joining Vagabond
Gourmet on this 14-day wine tour through the award winning wine-producing regions of this island nation.
The North Island offers golden sandy beaches, Hot thermal springs, soaring geysers and pristine Native bush. In a single day you could ski the snow-covered slopes of Mount Ruapehu in the morning and then follow it up with a bracing ocean dip off the beach at Mount Maunganui that afternoon.
The Vineyards of New Zealand are endless, and the quality, outstanding. You will sip among the best that New Zealand has to offer including stops in Waiheke Island, Marlborough, and Hawke's Bay, New Zealand's second largest wine growing region and one of its oldest. 
During this wine and dining extravaganza you’ll be treated to everything from sumptuous celebrity chef picnics set in vineyards, to feasting on the authentic flavors of this beautiful region with its abundance of fresh seafood, oysters, herbs ,stone and pip fruit, lamb, venison and salmon, to the Maori traditional Hangi banquet.
Traditional hangi food is pork, mutton or lamb, and chicken, with generous portions of root vegetables such as kumara (sweet potato), pumpkin, carrot, potato, onions and cabbage. With a hangi no special preparation of the food is needed besides peeling the root vegetables, but adding herbs and exciting flavors. 
No visit to Auckland is complete without a trip on the water and, among the many intriguing distinctions of New Zealand's vineyards is the extraordinary places you may find them. Waiheke Island is one such place. Lying just 35 mins from Auckland by ferry, the Island is a picturesque blend of farmland, forest, beaches, vineyards and olive groves. There is a delectable cuisine on offer and this is complemented by a range of award-winning wines produced by the island's many wineries. 
