Top Tips for Touring the region’s wineries by bike

When covid-19 put an end to international wine tours for Wellington man Trevor Garrett, Marlborough moved to the top of the hit list.

Previously spending weeks walking and biking around some of the world’s oldest wine regions, including Burgundy and Chablis in France, Trevor opted to do Marlborough by bike.

“I’m not a wine expert or a grape connoisseur, I just happen to like it,” he says.

“Over the years I have just spent a lot of time, probably too much time, going to vineyards or tastings and things like that. Once I retired I would just go walking and cycling around vineyards in different countries.”

Trevor’s travels have seen him spend days walking up to 30 kilometres to visit wineries, with others seeing him cycle up to 70km in a day.

Exercise, he says, is his first passion.

“My first degree was in physical education, so I used to run a lot, then I probably got overweight so I couldn’t run, but then I lost weight again so I still run, and bike.

“I just do lots of exercise, I walk up [Mount] Kaukau every day, or walk the hills. I really really do like exercise,” Trevor says.

He recently visited Marlborough for the second consecutive year, opting to tour the region by bike while harvest was underway.

Alongside the exercise benefits, touring the region by bike is an excellent way to slow down and see things in between wine stops.

“When you do it by car, it’s obviously easier to get around and you get from place to place but in between, things can be a bit of a blur, you might see something and think ‘that might’ve been interesting’, but but the time you realise that you’re five Ks down the road,” Trevor says.

“If you’re on a bike, or if you’re walking, you just slow down a bit. I was even amazed seeing the clearness of the water in those springfed little rivers you have got, they are so clear, and you wouldn’t see that in a car.”

Despite a love of exercise being a driver for Trevor, one would not need to be ultra fit to enjoy a winery tour in Marlborough by bike, he says.

"I think that anyone with average fitness could do this quite easily.  Depending on where you stay, you only need to be able to bike for about 25 kilometres over a whole day, and I would have thought that most people that can ride a bike can do that."

Opting to take the tour around March is an excellent way to soak up the industry, he adds.

“It’s a wonderful time of year, the weather was very nice, but it’s also vintage … [that] just means you can stop and taste a grape or two … and you can watch the harvesters and smell the fermentation, it’s a really interesting time of year.”

As a seasoned ‘wine tourist’, Trevor knows what he’s looking for when he tours a region, and while not 100% necessary, says a little research can be helpful.

“I always do a little bit of research … you look at what places have a cellar door, and when they are open and then you work around that.”

A wine map of the region's wineries, he says, is very helpful for planning a visit, and can be found at the airport, wineries, as well as many other tourist spots. 

Trevor was also in touch with Wine Marlborough prior to his second visit, who gave him up to date information on winery cellar doors, along with their current opening hours.

Alongside the first visit being so good to entice a second, Trevor found he did not have enough time to visit all the wineries he would’ve liked the first time round.

He recommends allowing for about three wineries per day to do them justice, and says you could easily spend four days touring them all.

During his most recent visit, Trevor visited Johanneshof, Hans Herzog, Saint Clair, Nautilus, Whitehaven, Hunters, Wither Hills, and Tupari, describing each as an excellent experience that he would recommend to others.

He also visited the Marlborough Museum, which he says has an excellent exhibit on the history of Marlborough wine, a fascinating surrounding park and the added bonus of free entry on Saturdays.   

For each of his visits, Trevor stayed at a B'n'B, Opus Retreat, which provided two electric bikes for guests’ use, an attractive feature that saved him bringing his bike on the plane.

Marlborough, he says, is well worth a visit, particularly if biking takes your fancy.

“Most [other wine regions] you really need a car … with Blenheim every vineyard is relatively easily accessible,” he says.

“It’s the ideal place to hop on your bike and just mooch … for me it’s just a really nice holiday.”

Trevor’s Top Tips for a Wine Tour Holiday in Marlborough

1. Tour the region’s wineries by bike - everything is close enough to make it achievable for anyone who can ride a bike, and the slow pace enables tourists to take in sites and sounds that otherwise might be missed from the car.

2. Do enough research to establish where you want to go and whether your chosen spots are open while you’re in town.

3. Book accommodation close enough to the wineries that you can tour without hassle. Bonus tips if they provide bikes or e-bikes for guests! Trevor highly recommends Opus Retreat B’n’B in Springlands.

4. Grab a ‘wine map’ from the airport or one of the region’s tourist spots to guide you as you make your way around the region.

5. Look into bonus attractions you might like to check out while in town. The Marlborough Museum has a fantastic exhibit about the region’s wine history!