Tastings · BLENHEIM DRINKS TOURS
The good ones fill up weeks ahead. Below: the 10 blenheim drinks tours to book early, what each includes and how they differ once you are through the door.
Start with hotel pickup from Blenheim or Renwick, then collect a bike, helmet, lock, and wine map at Vines Village. Staff help shape your route before you pedal between up to 12 nearby wineries. Expect easy roads, cellar-door tastings, cafés, and flexible timing. E-bikes, child bikes, and baby seats cost extra.
“Great day, what a fantastic way to visit the wineries!”
You’ll be collected from your Blenheim or Renwick accommodation and taken to The Vines Village, where staff fit your bike, helmet, vest, lock, and basket. With a detailed wine map and local advice, you choose the cellar doors and lunch stops. E-bikes, tandems, kids’ bikes, and free bottle collection make this a flexible six-hour outing.
“A truly wonderful experience with so many opportunities to taste the vast array of wines available in the region. The electric bikes made getting from cellar door to cellar door a much more pleasant experience!”
Spend four hours touring Marlborough’s Wairau Valley with Discovery Wine Tours. Your afternoon begins with a winery lunch at your own cost, followed by tastings at up to four cellar doors. Guides such as Bill, Toni, Vic, Kevin, and Chris add local stories, wine knowledge, and door-to-door transport from central Blenheim.
“Cellar doors informative and wine tasting excellent. Only downside is that the majority of the wine was white which was not clear in the trip detail. A connoisseur would have known this as the region specialises in white wines but the lay man would not.”
Spend about 4.5 hours tasting Marlborough wines at three or four wineries, with pickup in Blenheim or Renwick and lunch at your own cost. Guides such as Darlene, Maurice, and Cameron are known for friendly, wine-focused commentary. A brewery or chocolate shop can sometimes be added.
“We went to 4 different vineyards and got to taste multiple wines at every one. The tourguide was lovely and explained some things about the region, and at the vineyards themselves we got to speak to the other tour particpants and we got some backstory on the wines and wineries.”
Spend about five hours touring Marlborough vineyards with guides such as Bruce, Mike, or Sue. Visit up to five cellar doors, taste sauvignon blanc and other varieties, stop for lunch at your own cost, and finish with gourmet chocolate. Pickup and return to Blenheim accommodation are included.
“Mike was a great tour guide and we had an awesome group that we met on the tour. Highly recommend. He listened to our likes and took us to other vineyards to accommodate our tastes.”
Spend the morning tasting Marlborough wines at two wineries, with a possible extra stop, then enjoy lunch and a seafood cruise through Queen Charlotte Sound. Guides such as Heather, Matt, Sam, Job, and Andrew provide local commentary. Hotel pickup, tastings, lunch, and seafood samples are included.
“Entertaining, friendly, informative, magnificent staff, really interesting, cruise, I cant recommend this trip highly enough, a great way to spend your time and money in Marlborough”
Spend five hours visiting Marlborough cellar doors in a small group of no more than 10. Guides such as Bruce, Mike, Sue, or Lucinda explain the region’s wine, arrange tastings at boutique and major wineries, lead a vineyard walk, and finish with chocolate tasting. Lunch is optional and paid separately.
“There are so many opportunities to visit vineyards and cellars it’s a good idea to get a guide unless you are a competent wine buff. We chose to have a half day tour and found the whole trip thoroughly enjoyable, our guide Mike was very knowledgable and provided us with a lot of local knowledge on the vineyards we visited and tailored the selection of cellars to suite our tastes in wine. There was no pressure to buy wine and we received all the information necessary to choose wine and export back to UK if required.”
Spend six hours touring Marlborough’s family-run and boutique wineries with a guide such as Chris or Bill. Taste sauvignon blanc, pinot noir, reserve, single-block, and late-harvest wines, with standard tasting fees and Blenheim accommodation transfers included. Lunch is not included, and Picton pickup requires a separate arrangement.
“Chris is extremely knowledgeable and clearly enjoys sharing that knowledge about this beautiful part of New Zealand and its fabulous wines. An excellent guide tour and lunch. I recommend joining Chris on his tour. It will be another great New Zealand experience well worth doing Thank you Chris”
Spend a full day in Marlborough’s wine country with a local guide such as Bruce, Ray, Steve, Jim, Lisa, or Andrew. Visit several wineries, taste sauvignon blanc, pinot noir, riesling, sparkling wine, and more, then enjoy a two-course winery lunch. Transport, tastings, and local taxes are included.
“A great sampling of the different wineries in the area. A great introduction to some of the smaller producers that you may not have otherwise known about.”
Spend a morning visiting four Marlborough cellar doors with a professional guide, tasting sauvignon blanc and pinot noir while transport is handled door to door from Blenheim. Groups are capped at 11, and guides such as Nicola and Phill add thoughtful commentary. Allow four to five hours and bring only one small bag.
“It was a very lovely half day tour that coloured our last day in Blenheim as a wonderful memory! The four wineries has amazing tasting wine lists which we couldn’t find in store back in Auckland and the host Phill was so kind and thoughtful!”
The lists most people start from.
