Napier wine tasting: 3 wineries, chocolate, 5 hours

Taste three Gimblett Gravels wineries and learn the vineyard from someone who grew the grapes

An afternoon wine tasting tour in Napier visiting three wineries: Mission Estate (New Zealand's oldest), Trinity Hill and Pask, with tastings included at each stop, a visit to Silky Oaks for handmade chocolates, and complimentary wine, cheese and biscuits. Your guide is a retired grape grower who explains the region's viticulture as you travel through the vineyards. Pickup and drop-off from your accommodation in Napier are included. A surcharge may apply for Hastings or Havelock North pickups.

Step-by-step itinerary

Afternoon wine tasting and chocolate visit

• Visit Mission Estate Winery and taste wine
• Explore Mission House and underground cellar
• Learn about grape growing on Gimblett Gravels Road
• Taste wine at Trinity Hill Winery with cheese board
• Taste wine at renovated Pask Winery
• Visit Silky Oaks Chocolates shop

The experience

The afternoon starts with pickup from your accommodation, then heads to Mission Estate, New Zealand's oldest winery. You'll taste wines while learning the 120-year history of the Mission House and the Marrist Brothers Missionaries who built it. Time is left to explore the underground cellar before moving on. The guide, a retired grape grower named Ross, walks you through what makes Gimblett Gravels distinctive as a growing region, stopping at a vineyard on the road itself so you can see the terrain and soil the vines grow in.

Trinity Hill comes next, where you taste their Gimblett Gravels wines with a complimentary cheese board. Then Pask Estate, recently renovated, offers another tasting. Silky Oaks, a chocolate shop producing handmade chocolates, is the final stop before the drive back. Tastings at all three wineries are included in the ticket price, along with bottled water and the packaged wine tasting glass from Mission Estate to take home. The whole outing runs about five hours, so you're back with time left in the afternoon.

An air-conditioned vehicle handles the driving, and the route stays within the Gimblett Gravels wine-growing region around Napier. Children from age 3 are welcome, and the tour suits all fitness levels. You're moving between stops and tasting, not hiking or standing for long stretches.

What’s included

• Tastings at Mission Estate, Trinity Hill and Pask.
• complimentary wine, cheese and biscuits.
• bottled water.
• a packaged wine tasting glass from Mission Estate.
• visit to Silky Oaks Chocolates.
• air-conditioned vehicle.
• pickup and drop-off from your Napier accommodation.

Before you book

Days and timesEvery dayDeparts at 12:30

Book up to3h before

AgesAdult (18 and older) · Child (3 to 17 years) · Under 3: can't be included in the booking

GroupUp to 14

Live guideEnglish

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup included.You can choose from 48 pickup points.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.

Prices and times updated 2 days ago

Good to know

Easy physical levelStroller friendly

Operated by Vines and Views Tours

Is this one for you?Five hours leaves the rest of your afternoon and evening free. You're tasting and learning, not spending a full day away from Napier. The guide's background as a grape grower means you're not just drinking. You're understanding why the Gimblett Gravels region produces what it does.

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Top questions

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Child (3 to 17 years). Under 3: they can't be included in the booking.

What's Mission Estate like compared to the other two wineries?

Mission Estate is New Zealand's oldest winery, and the tasting includes the history of the 120-year-old Mission House built by Marrist Brothers Missionaries. You get time to explore the underground cellar after the tasting, which the other two stops don't offer.

Does the guide actually explain what I'm tasting, or just pour?

Your guide is a retired grape grower named Ross, so he explains the viticulture and the region as you go: what the Gimblett Gravels soil and climate produce, and why the wines taste the way they do. He also stops at a vineyard on the road so you can see the growing conditions firsthand.

What's included in the price and what costs extra?

Tastings at all three wineries, complimentary wine and cheese and biscuits, bottled water, the packaged wine tasting glass from Mission Estate, and pickup and drop-off from your Napier accommodation are all included. A surcharge may apply if you're picked up from Hastings or Havelock North.

How long is the whole afternoon, and will I have time for dinner after?

The tour runs about five hours from pickup to drop-off, so you'll be back at your accommodation by late afternoon with the evening still ahead of you.