Australia, New Zealand & the South Pacific - Blenheim in May

Hello,

Mrs TWAForever and I will be travelling to wonderful New Zealand in May. We made our first trip there last May and have been trying to plan a return trip since the day we left. We are going to Christchurch and Wellington and have a few days in between. We have already been to Queenstown and wanted to visit Blenheim. We both like food/wine. My only concern is if everything will be open since May is off-season.

Does anyone know if the wineries and wine tours still operate in May/June?

Is it reasonable to spend 2 nights in the region?

Is Bec Spa a good place to stay?

Thank you in advance for your replies.

May is off season for tourists. My guess is some wineries will be closed, but the big ones (and likely some smaller ones too) stay open year round AFAIK.

Blenheim is a nice area in May/June. Often a little warmer than neighbouring parts of the country and a little sunnier.

Not sure how many wineries are open but would say that most of them still are. Easy enough to get around in a rental car too. Montana has a big winery there with a good tour to teach you a little more about wine so it should definitely be on your list.

Some of my favourite wineries are Spy Valley (near the spy base), St Clair, Forrest Estate (they charge for tastings though), Fromm la Strada and Wither Hills. There are many many wineries in the area though so you're bound to find something you like. They're particularly proud of their Sav Blanc (goto Cloudy Bay) but I think most of the wines from this area are pretty decent.