Marlborough wine tour with private guide: Four wineries, 6 hours

Unlock Marlborough’s hidden wine secrets with a local expert’s insider access

A private 6-hour wine tour of Marlborough with a guide who has worked in viticulture, cellars and sales across the region for 20 years. You visit four wineries (a Sancerre producer's tasting room in a colonial Kauri church, an organic vineyard with restaurant, a small family-run artisan winery, and a boutique organic producer) with tasting fees included. Lunch is at a venue you choose from five options. Private transportation, bottled water and an air-conditioned vehicle are provided.

Step-by-step itinerary

Marlborough boutique wineries and lunch

• Drive through organic vineyards
• Visit historic colonial tasting room
• Taste wines at organic vineyard
• Lunch at selected winery restaurant
• Visit small artisan family winery
• Visit boutique organic certified winery

The experience

How do you get to know a wine region without spending a week there? Jimmy's tours compress what matters into a single afternoon. You're picked up and driven through Marlborough's vineyards in a private vehicle, stopping at four distinct producers: each one chosen to show a different side of what the region makes. The first is a boutique tasting room housed in an historic colonial Kauri church, with views over organic vineyards you'll drive through on the way. The second wraps a tasting room and restaurant around the vines themselves. The third is a very small family operation. The fourth produces from organically certified grapes on a small scale. Tasting fees at these stops are already paid. You only add lunch.

Your guide has spent two decades in the Marlborough wine industry (viticulture, cellar work, sales, tutoring), so he knows the producers personally and can take you behind the label instead of just pouring. That access is what separates a tour from a self-guided drive: he'll explain what you're tasting and why each winery does what it does. The day runs six hours total, which gives you time to linger without feeling rushed through a checklist.

Lunch stops at one of five venues: ST Clair, the Wine Kitchen, Alan Scott, Cloudy Bay, or Wither Hills. You pick which one when you book. Bottled water travels with you, and the vehicle is air-conditioned, which matters on a long afternoon of tasting.

What’s included

• Private transportation in an air-conditioned vehicle.
• a live English-speaking guide with 20 years of Marlborough wine industry experience.
• tasting fees at all four wineries.
• bottled water throughout the day.

Before you book

Days and timesEvery dayDeparts at 10:00

Book up to1h before

AgesAdult (18 to 70 years) · Senior (75 to 85 years) · Youth (15 to 16 years): free · Child (5 to 9 years): free · Infant (1 to 3 years): free

GroupPrivate

Live guideEnglish

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup is optional; you can also go straight to the meeting point. Ends back at the starting point.You can choose from 20 pickup points.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.It may be canceled if the minimum number of travelers isn't reached. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund.

ConfirmationConfirmation within 48 h

Prices and times updated today

Good to know

Low physical effortStroller-friendlyInfant seats availablePets welcomePublic transport nearbyNot recommended during pregnancyInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Jimmy’s Classic Marlborough wine tours

Is this one for you?If you're staying in Blenheim or elsewhere in Marlborough without a rental car, pickup is included, so you don't need to arrange your own transport to the wineries. The private vehicle means you move at one pace and taste at four stops without the schedule pressure of a group tour.

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Top questions

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Youth (15 to 16 years): free; Child (5 to 9 years): free; Infant (1 to 3 years): free.

What's the difference between these four wineries on the tour?

The first is a boutique tasting room in a historic church overlooking organic vineyards; the second combines tasting and restaurant seating among the vines; the third is a very small family-run artisan operation; the fourth is a small boutique producer using organically certified grapes. Together they show the range of what Marlborough makes.

Is lunch included in the tour price?

Tasting fees at the four wineries are included, but lunch is at your own cost. You choose where to eat from five options: ST Clair, the Wine Kitchen, Alan Scott, Cloudy Bay, or Wither Hills.

Do I need a car to do this tour?

No. Private transportation is included. The guide picks you up and drives you through the vineyards in an air-conditioned vehicle, so you can taste without worrying about driving yourself.

What makes Jimmy's guide different from a standard wine tour?

Your guide has worked in the Marlborough wine industry for 20 years in viticulture, cellars, sales and as a wine tutor, so he knows the producers and can explain what's behind each label instead of just pouring.