A warm East Coast welcome to the our Wine Region – really, it is the only place to be to experience wine, sun and fun altogether.

We know our wines are fabulous, our hospitality heartfelt and our scenery stunning, so please make the most of it. Tairawhiti has it all - from secluded beaches to beautiful clutches of native bush.

Our history is rich too. Tairawhiti is widely recognized as the special place where the Maori immigrational waka Horouta first landed and it is also where Captain James Cook made his first New Zealand landfall in 1769.

The name Tairawhiti means the coast upon which the sun shines across the water.

It is the first city in the world to greet each new day.
It started back in the 1800s with the missionaries, who interestingly thought they had landed in Hawke’s Bay and happily started planting their grapes. It took a little time for their mistake to be realized but by then the fledgling wine industry was born.
It was later picked up by the Wohnseidler, Chitty and Zame families, and carried through by wine labels that are part of New Zealand’s history.
Known as the Chardonnay Capital of New Zealand, we also have some other rather special varieties, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Gris and Viognier, alongside a raft of reds.
It is the aromatics that are really starting to create waves and those in the know are picking the region to add the crown of Aromatic Capital of New Zealand to its credit in the not too distant future.

Gisborne wines are renowned the world over for their distinctive, intense fruit flavours, full bodied roundness and easy drinking. Our wines are special because they're deliciously drinkable when young, and will also develop well with age.

We invite you to share our history, meet our winemakers and visit our wineries so that you really get an appreciation of the diversity our region offers. Come join us on this unique adventure, we call it ‘home’.

As you set off on your exploration of Gisborne's celebrated vineyards, cellars and wines, we wish you a very warm and special welcome.