Guide

Eat & Drink

If you’re a foodie with a passion for matching cuisine with great quality wine or beer, or just love to eat and drink, then Marlborough will surprise and delight you and your tastebuds.

World-class wine, multi-award winning craft beer and boutique gin distillers, paired with local produce and gourmet cuisine means eating and drinking in Marlborough requires a thirst, an appetite and a belt with plenty of notches...

Check out the interactive wine map here and locate cellar doors with ease.

Eat

Marlborough is a foodie haven, with plenty of gourmet produce on offer from land and sea. Take a Marlborough Sounds seafood tour, visit the many local markets or head to one of the eateries to sample seafood delicacies and locally-grown foods, to pair with Marlborough wine, beer and gin.

Taste Marlborough's delicious gourmet food
Drink

With more than 120 wineries and more than 30 cellar doors to visit, a Marlborough wine tour is a must. Take a guided tour, self-drive or bike. Approximately 2/3 of wine produced in New Zealand comes from Marlborough, and 85% of New Zealand's sauvignon blanc is from the region. Boutique gins made right here in the region are available to tickle your tastebuds.

Explore the Marlborough wine region

Stephanie McIntyre

“We are so spoilt in Marlborough when it comes to great food. We’ve got crayfish from the east coast and salmon, oysters and mussels grown in the Marlborough Sounds."

My insider guide to Marlborough

Wine tasting

No trip to Marlborough is complete without heading to a world-acclaimed Marlborough winery or two. You can self-drive or take a guided tour around Marlborough’s cellar doors and taste what is so special about the region’s wine. Try your favourites along with some new blends and varietals – with some wines only available to buy via the cellar door.

Wind down the pace and cycle around the cellar doors and vineyards on your bike, or hire one for a guided/unguided tour of cellar doors.

The scenery in the Marlborough’s wine region is so spectacular it won’t matter if wine is not your thing. And many cellar doors also sell a range of products, to satisfy any retail therapy needs, and yes, there's a chocolate factory close by!

A break for lunch can be an experience in itself. Choose to dine at one of many cellar door restaurants amongst the vines, pairing the wine with beautifully cooked local produce.

COVID-19 response.
Cellar door opening hours and offerings may have changed. Please check in with them directly.

Specific varietal

Choose a varietal such as sauvignon blanc or pinot noir, and taste only that as you visit each cellar door. Compare the difference as you go, and learn about the subclimates and terroir the grapes for each wine came from.