Winery hotels & vineyard stays in Hawke's Bay

Hawke's Bay on New Zealand's North Island is the country's second-largest wine region and its oldest. Gimblett Gravels and the Bridge Pa Triangle anchor a Bordeaux-style red wine scene, and the vineyard accommodation here leans into rural-chic — black-clad barn villas and farmhouse retreats among rows of Syrah.

Where Marlborough is famous for Sauvignon Blanc, Hawke's Bay built its identity on warmer reds: Merlot-Cabernet blends and savoury Syrah from the gravel-heavy Heretaunga Plains. Properties like Black Barn Vineyards, Craggy Range, and Mission Estate combine cellar doors with vineyard cottages and villas. The region pairs naturally with the coastal town of Napier, an Art Deco enclave rebuilt after the 1931 earthquake. Most travellers fly into Hawke's Bay Airport, base in Havelock North, and split days between cellar visits, beach detours, and dinners at producer-owned restaurants. Harvest runs February through April, slightly earlier than Tuscany or Bordeaux.