We made reservations at the last minute, and we are so thankful for that decision. This was the best day on our trip. Aaron was a knowledgeable and delightful host. He took us to delightful vineyards, gave us a lesson on local wines and the food was some of the best I have had. Aaron was also a professional chef.
About Activity
What's Included
Includes
- 3 Venues for wine tastings
- Water
- Luxury car/van tour with Modern late model cars and vans
- A French gourmet food and wine experience just 75 minutes north of Wellington.
- Private local guide
Excludes
- Wine by the Glass or Bottle
Departure & Return
Departure Point
- Traveler pick up offered
Itinerary
The meet and greet hub for Wellington tourism
Transport from Wellington to the Wairarapa region via the Remutaka hill road with a mountain top view for photos and concluding after 75 minutes.
Stop for some photos at 555 meters above sea level and witness the amazing views of the Wairarapa
Meet the Wine maker and enjoy a tour through the vines learning about wine making and the seasonal variation of Martinborough. Have a cheese tasting while enjoying the 2024 vintage recognised by the Decanter Wine Awards. We will be sampling • Pinot Noir • Merlot • A Rose with a Pinot/Merlot blend • Semillon • Chardonnay • A selection of organic Wairarapa cheese & olives
Gourmet lunch stop with 7 Wine tasting Meet the Wine maker Lisa Coney at Coney wines and experience Alsace style wines and a 2024 Pinot noir from the award wining soils of the Te Muna valley Sample menu items on the locally sourced shared food board • Arancini (Vegetarian) • Beef cheeks Slow-cooked until fall-apart tender, often braised in red wine for deep flavor • Lamb rump, herb-marinated lamb rump with accompaniments like smoked labneh, mint/watercress sauce, and local wine drizzles • Beetroot, spinach and walnut salad with artisan bread • "Kentucky Fried Cauliflower (KFC)" served with hot Manuka honey drizzle and possibly with roasted brassicas (like cauliflower/broccoli) with goat cheese and almonds on their seasonal menus • Crunchy Cornflake Prawns with Tamarillo & Chilli Chutney
Experience a vertical tasting with a wine expert at Luna Estate and review Pinot Noir from • 2016 • 2018 • 2020 Eclipse • 2020 Silver river • 2021
The town square is in the shape of the Union jack as the town was the invention of John Martin an Irish Royalist who crafted New Zealand's first private town. John's wife was a Alsace native and planted her indigenous grape verities such as Pinot Gris Riesling and Gewurztraminer which are commonly found there today. Martinborough village lies in the beautiful South Wairarapa, offering a range of unique lifestyles from vineyards to olive groves, cafés, beauty therapy, restaurants, hotels, cinema & gorgeous boutique retail shopping.
Language Offered
Additional Info
Cancellation Policy
Reviews
Our wonderful day spent with Aaron, the magnificent guide, chef and wine connoisseur was amazing. Aaron went above and beyond, the whole day was a fun and unforgettable experience.
Our wonderful day spent with Aaron, the magnificent guide, chef and wine connoisseur was amazing. Aaron went above and beyond, an unforgettable day.
Absolutely the highlight of our visit to New Zealand! It was the perfect way to see some of the countryside, learn about the NZ history and have great wine! I should also mention… the most yummy food!
The trip was fabulous!! We enjoyed everything. Aaron was exceptional. His knowledge of all things New Zealand and historical facts was mind blowing. The wineries were great and the food at the Pallister Estate was delicious. I live in NZ and was showing my sister and husband from USA the magic of Martinborough😊
Wow, fantastic experience with Aaron with our private wine tasting tour!! Husband is not a huge wine drinker but he very much enjoyed this tour also. Lunch at Moy Hall was great also. Wonderful tasting menu. Aaron was a great guide and wine/food connoisseur- learned so much from him and the vineyard! We lived Tiwaiwaka vineyard was exceptional- very small but great wine and very educational! Loved this tour!
David was absolutely fabulous. This was carried out by Kosher Tours and David, our driver, was knowledgeable, friendly, easy to chat with and flexible. We could not have asked for a better day or driver. Tiwaiwaka winery with Morton was superb. And we loved lunch at Coney winery. We highly suggest this our for an intimate and personal wine tasting experience of Martinborough.
Fully personalised itinerary from start to finish this made the day easy with lots of local wine and food history to inform us and provide a knowledgeable experience. Definitely suits true wine lovers wanted variety and expertise.
A perfect day! Combining history, boutique wineries, delicious locally sourced - charcuterie board & shared lunch, whilst exploring the hidden gem of Martinborough
A wonderful experience start to finish! Easily the most customer friendly, well coordinated wine tour I have experienced.
A last minute request that Aaron kindly agreed to and we were delighted with his knowledge of the area and noted his good relationship with the wine estates we visited. Highly recommend contacting Aaron if you’re considering a trip to Martinborough.
Very knowledgable and informative of the local wine and food industry but also informative of the history and current activities of the region. Chef Aaron made our experience comfortable, enjoyable and infformative. Highly recommended
We spent a wonderful day with Aaron, owner of Kosher Tours, and an ex chef, doing a Martinborough Wine and Food tour. Aaron picked us up from our hotel at 10am and we drove north from Wellington to Martinborough. Along the way he pointed out various locations or landmarks and had a wonderful knowledge of the history of Wellington. He also knows lots about the Lord of The Rings and showed us various locations used for filming the movies. Martinborough was a comfortable 1 and 1/4 hr drive north of Wellington. We visited three different wineries in Martinborough - each lovely and with their own unique style and we were lucky to share a magnificent lunch board/platter at the second one while doing a tasting with one of the owners and winemakers. Aaron was also very knowledgeable about Martinborough and shared with us it's history and development as largest of the three Wairarapa wine regions. If food and wine are your thing I would highly recommend booking a tour with Aaron. We had an amazing day!
One of the best days ever— wonderful wine, fantastic food, and a gorgeous sun-filled day in New Zealand’s wine country! We loved visiting the smaller wineries, picked for the wine and also amazing food. This was one of the platters we shared on the tour and was delicious. Aaron was a wonderful host, extending our itinerary to visit the Lord of the Rings filming locations. He was knowledgeable and so pleasant to spend the day with! Thank you Aaron for terrific memories with friends.
Aaron was extremely knowledgeable about the area, its history, wines and the vineyards visited, and the both the food preparation and presentation. He provided several helpful hints for our experimentation with future meals.
Aaron’s knowledge about wines and history is spectacular! We spent a day full of stories and learning about NZ, LoTR, food and wines. It’s totally worth it! Thanks Aaron!
Aaron has a fantastic knowledge of history, culture and the environment of New Zealand, especially Wellington. He is a foodie and his knowledge of wine is to be appreciated. A fantastic day spent in wonderful company
Special thanks to the coolest driver we've ever had for a wine trip. The drove out was very entertaining. The 4 wineries were so friendly and the lunch at coney was so interesting...12 small dishes and all superb. I can't rec this tour enough
Great experience. Great friendly & knowledgeable driver. Highly recommend. The van was clean & safe. The winery and food was awesome.
Aaron organized a great wine trip to 4 wineries, with a gourmet lunch at Coney Winery. Our driver Emile was very professional, with a great sense of humor. He also accommodated my LOTR obsession with a stop at Rivendell on the way. I highly recommend this tour!
We had a wonderful time on Kosher’s “Martinborough wine tour with lunch”. Plenty of wines to try and our lunch was amazing - interesting and tasty. All of the wines we tasted were grown and produced in Martinborough area, known for its ideal Pinot Noir growing conditions. Each Pinot Noir was a little different than the other. We also had some excellent whites, Reisling, Rose, and red blends. Aaron gave us an interesting and informative history of wine growing in the area. We especially loved how Aaron personalized the trip to us, even fitting in an extra tasting and a stop at an amazing cheese shop.
My wife and I took this tour with Aaron last week and could not have asked for a better experience. Aaron is a fantastic tour guide, who gave us loads of information about New Zealand, LOTR filming, and of course, wine! The selection of wineries he took us to were clearly very thoughtfully selected and all had very tasty offerings. The standout for us was the lunch and wine at Poppies; the lunch platter they provide there was insane, and all of their wines were delicious (we bought one bottle there and plan to order several more to be shipped back home). Aaron also took us by a cheesery on the way back into town so that we could sample and buy some cheeses. Overall, I would highly recommend this tour, and really, any other tour that Aaron runs. My wife and I are huge LOTR fans, and after talking to him, we 100% would have also booked his LOTR tour if we had another day in Wellington!
The tour that my colleagues and I went on was fantastic to say the least. We were picked up from one of our colleagues houses by our tour guide Aaron. The van was spacious and could seat 10. Delicious wine was provided along with wine glasses for the ride from the hutt valley to Martinborough. Very comfortable for the hot Martinborough roads in the summer time with air con between stops. Our tour guide was very knowledgable about the history of Martinborough and the wines. Fantastic Selection of Cheeses, cured meats, pickled vegetables and more at our first stop. Coneys provide a fantastic lunch a beautiful selection of banqueting boards that satisfied everyone was included in the pricing. The runholder was a highlight with gin and wine tastings with spectacular views on the premises. Bathrooms available at every stop, important when drinking wine in between stops. We also had a stop at the Martinborough gelato stop where we could relax. Overall a 10 out of 10, would recommend and would do this experience again with a group of friends or drinking age family.
Right from the onset of the trip we knew we were in for something special with Aaron. His knowledge and stories of the area on the way from Wellington from Martinborough was a fascinating mix of local history, of course Lord of the Rings tidbits, and a mix of his own family's journey in the region. The array of different wineries and wines was simply amazing, in particular the Merlot from Piwakawaka and the Pinot Selection from Luna, and the lunch from 3 Little Words at Coneys winery was beyond exceptional. Then to top it off with the Devine Monkey Blue Cheese on the way home, maybe we shouldn't have, but so glad we did. Definitely a tour and time to remember with an amazing host.
Aaron provided such a fantastic tour! The tour reached the summit of Remutaka Crossing and the weather was foggy so that meant we didn’t stop at the overlook but it also meant we were early arriving in Martinborough so Aaron added an additional Vineyard to the itinerary. All together we visited 5 vineyards including ATA Rangi, Schubert, Hawthronthwait, Poppies (including a great assorted meat/cheese platter for lunch), and Luna Estate. Aaron introduced us to a large variety of great Wairarapa wines including Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Riesling, Rose, and Pinot Noir which the region is known for. He specifically pointed out his favorites at each vineyard and ensured we enjoyed the best each vineyard had to offer. He also introduced us to some varieties we had never explored including a couple of great Gewurztraminer and dessert wines. The food at Poppies was outstanding. On the return trip back to Wellington we stopped at a Formaggio shop to pick up some Blue Monkey cheese that was also very good. With the weather cleared we were able to stop at the summit of the crossing for photos as well. Overall I would highly encourage others to go on this tour. The personalized attention Aaron provided made the tour well worth the money!
This was one of the best trips we have taken. Our tour guide Aaron made all the difference. He was amazing. He picked our wine stops, lunch, and even added on. It was unreal. Could not give him a better review
Awesome time was had by all with great shopping wine tasting and food. Door to door pick up and drop of highly recommended.
Aaron & Jeannie were fantastic tour guides and hosts! They picked us up from one of our staff locations and delivered a great experience. From the drive (which I must say for some one who gets car sick, didn't feel a thing!! A huge win for me). Aaron's knowledge of the wineries and especially the food made it more exciting and I loved the places they chose for us! Our lunch was UNREAL and would go back just to eat there. Thank you Aaron and Jeannie for your hospitality and kindness. It made our end of year trip super relaxing and fun!
We had the absolute best time and thoroughly enjoyed our guide Emile’s commentary - very knowledgeable about the area and was able to point out lots of interesting locations for us! Felt very safe and well looked after for the entire trip. Arron was able to give us plenty of information on the local wines, the vineyards and restaurants - great team effort to make the day enjoyable - would recommend and will definitely do again if back in the area! Thank you both for an awesome day of wine tasting, amazing food and lovely locations! Krissy & Scott
Really wonderful day out with Aaron. Personable, engaging and knowledgeable. Had sorted out a personalised itinerary of great vineyards and (truly fantastic) food which was amongst the best I have tasted in a month touring New Zealand. Knew just when to engage and when to leave me to taste/chat with the winemakers and we kept to time without ever feeling rushed. Would really recommend as a high quality, personalised and just really enjoyable way of seeing the Martinborough area.
Have completed an amazing day with Aaron on his Martinborough Wine and Food tour. Sampled excellent wines, chocolate and olive oil. The lunch platter was just scrumptious! Thank you again, Aaran, for your knowledge of food, wine and the area. We all enjoyed our day and listening to your stories
My partner and I went on a two-week vacation to New Zealand. Two days before our departure, we went on a half day Martinborough winery tour as the highlight of our trip in the North Island, in particular in the greater Wellington region. Our guide Aaron who was exceedingly knowledgeable about a wide variety of subjects ranging from NZ history to geography, wine expertise to cooking delicacies . We tasted some lovely wines at different wineries and had lunch at a lovely upscale restaurant attached to one of the wineries. The wines that we tasted really enhanced the food we had! Thoroughly enjoyed our trip and would certainly recommend it to anyone interested in culinary delights and wines!
It was a wonderful day with Aaron! He really knows his way around wine, the wineries, and history of New Zealand. As an added bonus, he even does tours for Lord of the Rings, and will pass along information, if there is time! He works to make sure you are having a good time and experience, and time is only a slight concern for him. Well worth the visit to the area, and worth the tour! Thank you for the wonderful excursion and insight in to the country, industry, and wares!
This was our first trip to Wellington, New Zealand and definitely the first to Martinborough. Our our guide Aaron from Kosher Tours really made the day for us. Aaron is very knowledgeable about the region in general, but he also has a wealth of detailed information about the numerous individual wineries, the terroirs and growing areas, and the unique aspects of the wines produced. Aaron is a trained chef, so it's like spending a day with a chef and sommelier rolled into one energetic bundle. Even better, Aaron knows which wineries have the best food options and steered us to a fabulous lunch (which also happened to have 8 wine pairings!). I cannot imagine a more wonderful experience, and we are quite excited about coming back with some wine and foodie friends to spend an entire day (or 2) with Aaron.
This was our first trip to Wellington, New Zealand and definitely the first to Martinborough. Our our guide Aaron from Kosher Tours really made the day for us. Aaron is very knowledgeable about the region in general, but he also has a wealth of detailed information about the numerous individual wineries, the terroirs and growing areas, and the unique aspects of the wines produced. Aaron is a trained chef, so it's like spending a day with a chef and sommelier rolled into one energetic bundle. Even better, Aaron knows which wineries have the best food options and steered us to a fabulous lunch (which also happened to have 8 wine pairings!). I cannot imagine a more wonderful experience, and we are quite excited about coming back with some wine and foodie friends to spend an entire day (or 2) with Aaron. He is a 5 star person and a 5 star guide
Absolutely wonderful Martinborough!! An amazing day with whanau, sharing brilliant wines & kai in the beautiful vineyards! The weather was great, as was the hospitality & the people were real honest working kiwis! Such a delightful day, just do it!!
We really enjoyed our Martinborough wine and food tour. Our guide was Aaron, who is very passionate and enthusiastic about his backyard and everything it has to offer. Aaron's knowledge of the areas of Martinbrough were informative, travelling to 3 different boutique wine producers to experience the fruits of their labour. We enjoyed our day. Thanks, Aaron!
This tour was an amazing experience. If you like to talk food and/or wine Aaron is your guy. He picked us up at the cruise port right on time. Drove us through Wellington and gave us info on the city as we drove by. The stop at the mountaintop was beautiful. All along the way Aaron spoke about wine and food. He is a chef and is very knowledgeable on the production and pairing of wine with food. The lunch we had at Poppies was an excellent variety of foods in a beautiful outdoor vineyard setting. A great way to spend the day in Martinborough/Wellington.
Great tour of a number of smaller wineries. Aaron did a great job with the guiding and the bus was very comfortable. Food for lunch was really nice. We had a mix of ages (including elderly) and everyone had a good time
A fantastic wine tour that allowed us to visit a variety of high quality wineries with a great commentary by Aaron. Not only was he knowledgeable about wine, food and cooking but he also was a wealth of knowledge on Lord of the Rings. Lunch was spectacular with a shared tasting platter for two. We were able to watch the harvest, taste ripe grapes ready for picking and interact with wine pickers, makers and owners. I highly recommend this tour.
Our guide was a mind of information about general NZ history as well as the Martinborough wine region. His selection of vineyards was varied and interesting. He was an extremely entertaining Bon vivant and a proud New Zealander. However, I was rather surprised that his patriotism didn’t extend to his charges being in NZ dollars.
Aaron hosted us and 3 other couples on a wonderful trip through the Martinborough region. In addition to learning about the history of the region on a picturesque drive, we visited 4 wineries (all uniquely different) and sampled a variety of varietals -- all of high quality and quite appealing. Our gourmet lunch was especially delicious and complemented the tastings very well. Aaron was knowledgeable, gracious and clearly enjoyed taking great care of his guests. We would highly recommend this excursion -- especially for those who are into wine and wish to visit a lessor known (and high quality) wine making region in NZ.
Great views and wonderful wine tasting experience. The driver was knowledgeable about the area and the wineries.
Aaron is a wonderful guide with a great knowledge of local history and culture, not to mention food and wine. This tour is a great way to spend a day, share a delicious meal with other travellers and meet the wine makers.
Aaron was a wealth of culinary knowledge. Very knowledgeable and informative in wine and food. He passed along recipes and insight to us all. Wineries were excellent. We were scheduled for 3, but made it to 4. Excellent choices and each different. Lunch was excellent as well.
Great tour! Aaron is a great guide - vast knowledge of the region as well as food and wine. Great selection of wineries that varied from small intimate settings to larger ones. Highly recommend!
Aaron is a fabulous guide to go on tour with - his passion and experience with wines and food was so evident and made the tour a great experience. He’s also a history buff and loves telling stories but makes them relate to where you are. Highly recommend this tour with Aaron
We had an amazing time on Aaron's tour. He selected a great choice in local wineries and provided a wealth of useful information along the way on NZ culture and history. Thank you Aaron for the great memories.
Aaron was an excellent host and guide and the tour was amazing. Great choices in wineries, very knowledgeable, downright entertaining, and always thoughtful. Lunch was perfect and delicious. Thank you kindly Aaron for the tour.
Aaron took us on a wonderful tour of select wineries in Martinborough. He’s a great storyteller, happy to share his knowledge of the local history and culture. Lunch was delicious, and we were really pleased with the small, local, family-owned wineries he took us to. It was a great day out!
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