Best of Blenheim

With more than 150 cellar doors in the Marlborough region, Blenheim has grown into a vibrant hub servicing the wine and hospitality industry. So, following a magnificent few days walking the Queen Charlotte track (read the full post here), I persuaded my dear friend Jane to stay an extra day to find the best of Blenheim and our discoveries follow.

Best accommodation in Blenheim 

• The Marlborough 
• 14th Lane Urban Hotel
• Timara Lodge
• St Leonard’s Vineyard cottages (self catering)

Best Blenheim restaurants and cocktail bars

• Harvest Restaurant at The Marlborough 
• Franks Oyster Bar – tapas sharing menu – delicious!
• Arbour – fine dining – no kids policy
• Gramado’s – family friendly Brazilian flavoured
• Bamboo Garden – Asian fusion about a 10 minute walk from the town centre
• Bamboo Tiger Bar at Hotel D’Urville
• Scotch Wine Bar -great for a nightcap on the way home – closed Wednesdays and Sundays

Best lunch venues at the Marlborough wineries

• Cloudy Bay – owned by the luxury company LVMH – open 7 days
• Wither Hills – stunning venue – open 7 days
• St Clair’s – open 5 days, Wednesday to Sunday
• Allan Scott Bistro – open daily (we loved our lunch here and the seafood platter was excellent)
• Wine Kitchen – at Rock Ferry Vineyard – open 4 days, Wednesday to Saturday

Also recommended

• The Gin Shack – at Elemental Distillery, open daily – I can attest their Roots Gin is superb 
• Moa Brewery – tastings and food truck on site Thursday to Sunday
• Fancy Cow – Italian restaurant – open 5 days, Wednesday to Sunday
  
  Everything recommended above is also easily accessible from nearby Picton and shuttle services and wine tour operators will collect you from your accommodation there.
  

There are interesting activities in the region that don’t involve wine or food, the best of which is the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre. This curated display of WW1 and WW2 aviation history includes some of Sir Peter Jackson’s personal collection of rare historical aircraft and memorabilia, and the excellent exhibition was conceptualised by the same creative team behind the Lord of the Rings movies.

However, with food and wine top of mind for us, flying over the sunny Wairau Valley made for a lovely visual start to our experience. Every available inch of acreage is planted with perfectly spaced vines that facilitate machine harvesting of the grapes. Driving into town was somewhat less inspiring until we dug a little deeper.

We were surprised to learn our first restaurant choice, the Harvest at The Marlborough, was fully booked so we veered into the town centre to try out Frank’s Oyster Bar. Their food was fantastic, and the place was packed on a Thursday night. Clearly, it is wise to book your preferred venues well ahead of time. This also applies to your winery restaurant of choice as several remain closed following the difficult years of stringent Covid restrictions and soft tourist traffic.

The following morning our wine guide collected us to continue our investigations.

The soils and weather conditions in the Marlborough region are ideal for growing the Sauvignon Blanc varieties which make up 80% of the wines produced here. The remaining production is 10% Pinot Noir and a 10% hotchpotch of other passion project varieties.

The wineries spread across a flat grid and are easily accessible if cycling on a self-guided tour or rental car. For example, five good vineyards and a brewery are all located on Jacksons Road.

I find it is usually more fun and informative to join a small group guided tour. Our tour took us to the tasting rooms of Spy Valley, Clos Henri, Allan Scott and Jacksons. Each venue and their wines were unique. Spy Valley has utilised its proximity to the old spy station as inspiration for its brilliant branding that includes morse code, missing links, clues and puzzles on its labels, merchandise and buildings. Clos Henri uses the traditional French style of winemaking and is certified organic. Allan Scott has a fabulous outdoor restaurant and garden, and a large, comfortable tasting room in which to spend an entire afternoon. And Jacksons, with it’s cellar door designed by Brian Massey of Meta Workshops fame, simply uses whatever the season offers up in any given year to inform their winemaking. This means their wines are not uniform in taste every year. I would have realised none of this had I been navigating the area alone.

Many excellent wines are only available at the cellar door so I recommend purchasing on the day. The Wine Collective Direct will deliver to your doorstep and almost all cellar doors will arrange this on your behalf.

Jane and I are both enthusiastic NZ Chardonnay consumers. However, we felt inspired to broaden our palates after our glorious day slurping these superior savs. As the entire wine world has already noted, Marlborough Sauvignon Blancs have substantial merit.