Originally Posted by
FLYMSY
Thanks to all of you for recommending Waiheke and the winery suggestions. ^ I’m researching all of them to try to narrow it down.
In case it helps, a few impressions from our visit a few years ago (in addition to the
Batch recommendation above).
- I think my all-round favourite of the ones I visited was Goldie - some fantastic wines from a true Waiheke pioneer, with lots of passion and no pretensions of grandeur.
- Stonyridge was quite fun and we had a nice sharing plate there, but it's a real scene - it has a cult following and a rock'n'roll back story and it shows. The Stonyridge Larose is Waiheke's most legendary wine and probably NZ's most celebrated bordeaux-blend red (which outside of Waiheke and Hawke's Bay is not really an NZ strength) so that's interesting to try if you don't mind paying for it!
- Cable Bay and Mudbrick are the two best know restaurants on the island, both near the ferry and apparently both with excellent (though pricey) food. I got the sense they were more focused on the hospitality operation than on the wine (though no complaints about the wines - they're still good). In addition to the fancy restaurant, Cable Bay also had a more casual side with more reasonable prices and still delicious food, which we enjoyed.
- When we went, Te Whau was a super fancy restaurant and winery; now it seems to have morphed into a luxury lodge.
- I keep reading great things about the food at Poderi Crisci, Casita Miro and Peacock Sky, and I think all produce their own wine too. If you're looking for a gastronomic experience I'd put them on your list.
- I would have loved to make it out to Passage Rock and especially Man O'War, at the far end of the island, but it was just too far on our e-bikes.