Gourmet Vineyard Tour Packages...

Are you looking for a UNIQUE & MEMORABLE wine & food experience to share with guests during September & October's Rugby Extravaganza?

Our family has been cooking lamb on spits the old-fashioned way over Ti-tree embers for generations. On seven special nights you can see, smell and taste NZ lamb the way it is supposed to be, right in the middle of our vineyard less then 40 minutes from Auckland!

For details, click here.

PLUS three very special Authentic Tour Packages to share with guests during September & October's Rugby Extravaganza!

1. Luncheon & art experience

2. Luncheon & sheep experience

3. Spit-roast dinner experience

These tour packages are limited availability during the rugby months of September and October 2011 only. Each tour package authentically captures the essential elements of the 'real' New Zealand. Best of all, it is just a short, stunning and entertaining journey north of Auckland to Matakana Coast Wine Country.

1. Luncheon & Art Experience

11:00 AM TO 5:00 PM

• Coach pick up from Auckland at 11:00 AM
• 'Real' local guide.
• Scenic coastal route to Warkworth.
• Behind-the-scenes tour of the iconic Morris & James pottery workshop. Watch the artisans working the Matakana clay and rich glazes to create a distinctive and unique look that cannot be matched by cheaper, mass-manufactured products.
• Traditional Powhiri (Maori welcome) to multi-award winning Ascension Wine Estate.
• Private tour and wine tasting, including a sample direct from the barrel - and an opportunity to try 40-year-old brandy from the estate's private collection.
• Two-course lunch featuring the finest produce from the estate's own gardens and from throughout New Zealand at Ascension Wine Estate's acclaimed bistro.
• Stopover at nearby Parry Kauri Park featuring two of the largest native Kauri trees in New Zealand (including one that is almost 1,000 years old) and a stunning boardwalk among native flora and fauna!
• Direct return to Auckland via the Northern Gateway eco-highway, arriving 5:00 PM.

For groups of 20 or more.

2. Luncheon & Sheep Experience

11:00 AM TO 5:00 PM

• Coach pick up from Auckland at 11:00 AM
• 'Real' local guide.
• Scenic coastal route to Warkworth.
• Working sheep dog demonstration, and 'sheep farm to chic knitwear' rural insight.
• Traditional Powhiri (Maori welcome) to multi-award winning Ascension Wine Estate.
• Private tour and wine tasting, including a sample direct from the barrel - and an opportunity to try 40-year-old brandy from the estate's private collection.
• Two-course lunch featuring the finest produce from the estate's own gardens and from throughout New Zealand at Ascension Wine Estate's acclaimed bistro.
• Stopover at nearby Parry Kauri Park featuring two of the largest native Kauri trees in New Zealand (including one that is almost 1,000 years old) and a stunning boardwalk among native flora and fauna!
• Direct return to Auckland via the Northern Gateway eco-highway, arriving 5:00 PM.

For groups of 20 or more.

3. Wood-Fired, Spit-Roast Dinner Experience

5:00 PM TO 10:30 PM
N.B. We can bring this experience forward to an earlier time on rugby game days.

• Coach pick up from Auckland at 5:00 PM
• 'Real' local guide.
• Scenic coastal route to WarkworthWarkworth, stopping briefly at Parry Kauri Park featuring two of the largest native Kauri trees in New Zealand (including one that is almost 1,000 years old).
• Traditional Powhiri (Maori welcome) to multi-award winning Ascension Wine Estate.
• Private tour and wine tasting, including a sample direct from the barrel - and an opportunity to try 40-year-old brandy from the estate's private collection.
• Three-course dinner in a private room at Ascension Wine Estate, featuring the traditional New Zealand lamb spit roasted over Manuka wood coals.
• Direct return to Auckland via the Northern Gateway eco-highway, arriving 10:30 PM.

For groups of 30 or more.

Additional experience options...

• Clay bird shooting in the vineyard.
• Ex-All Black guest speaker.

What to do next...

1. View or download the online brochure...
   Click to view, or right click and select "Save Target As" to download.
   > Ascension Gourmet Vineyard Experiences brochure (PDF 835 KB)
   
   
2. For reservations and industry pricing, please contact our Connoisseur of Corporate Events on...
   Phone: +64 9 422-9601 ext 3
   Email: [email protected]

Read what the CRITICS say about Ascension Wine Estate...

• "It reminded us of good family restaurants in Italy, alive with the enjoyment of company, food and wine." - John Gardner, Herald 'Canvas' magazine.
• "Enjoy lunch or dinner at this top notch kitchen with a dining room sitting among the very vines that you are sipping. Recommended. Highly." - The New Zealand Herald.
• "Ascension... the regional star of Matakana." - Peter Saunders, wine judge, author 'Guide to NZ Wines'.
• "Here is a vineyard that takes its food as seriously as it takes its wine." - Peter Calder, Sunday Herald.

Here's what JUDGES think about Ascension Wine Estate...

• Winner "Outstanding Dining Experience" 2010 Manaakitanga Awards.
• Winner of four HANZ (Hospitality Association of New Zealand) national "Awards for Excellence" and a national finalist 14 times.
• Awarded the New Zealand Beef & Lamb "Hallmark of Excellence" in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010.

Need we say more?

What to do next...

1. View or download the online brochure...
   Click to view, or right click and select "Save Target As" to download.
   > Ascension Gourmet Vineyard Experiences brochure (PDF 835 KB)
   
   
2. For reservations and industry pricing, please contact our Connoisseur of Corporate Events on...
   Phone: +64 9 422-9601 ext 3
   Email: [email protected]

Do it now...